Monday, May 31, 2010

Home Grown Commerce Is Fueling Growth!

Tomorrow night is class #2.

The class is Introduction to Entrepreneurship

We are going to be discussing how to assess the marketplace, consumers and competition.

In my presentation of the course curriculum, I told the students that information access today is virtual. There is no excuse for not knowing something. The answer is accessible as quickly as you can Google it.

There were seven students in class #1…received an Email telling me that four more students have since signed up.

I have taught other marketing classes, but this class is different.

It is not about my making a difference.

I am moved by their making a difference.

The youngest attending is age 16 and the oldest is a “frontline Baby Boomer.”

It is about half men and half women.

They are basically all from the same town.

A small town.

According to the just released 2010 US Census estimates, the town has a population of 6,298 people.

This is the largest town in its corresponding county.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority is sponsoring the class.

The reason they are sponsoring it?

To build business. To grow their economy. To build a sense of local pride.

Trust me.

I have sat on a number of state and large city economic development and chamber of commerce groups.

Did they ever do something like this?

No.

Now they had their business leadership and mentoring programs. A number had their links to Junior Achievement. And a few put together internship programs for the local university and business school.

But did they actually help to underwrite a class on Entrepreneurship, promote it and host it?

No.

In a time when Big Business and Big Government cozy up together, the idea of a small town taking time, energy and money and fueling local Entrepreneurs is not only innovative…its cool!

The name of the town doing this is Commerce, Georgia.

No joke.

Not New York, not Washington, not Chicago, LA or the ATL… but Commerce.

How much cooler can a name of a town get?

If you are reading this…be encouraged.

The economy will improve. Business will improve. Sales will start growing again.

Maybe I am too much of an optimist.

But when I see small towns and local businesses coming together to get local people to think way outside the box, innovate beyond conventional funding routes and take risks that are way beyond the safety zone…it motivates me.

The corporations cannot change and the universities cannot educate fast enough and affordable enough.

I worked today even though it is a Holiday.

Stop the fixation on Wall Street and Washington…

Instead focus on home-grown Commerce!

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