Cashing in on Business: Entrepreneurship

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Cashing in on BusinessEntrepreneurship

• Rural Community College Initiative Institute
• April 4, 2006
• Presented by Howard College
• 1001 Birdwell Lane, Big Spring, TX 79720
• [phone]
• www.howardcollege.edu

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Entrepreneurship What does it mean?

• Global Definition- Definitions have emphasized a
  broad range of activities including the creation
  of organizations (Gartner, 1988), the carrying
  out of new combinations (Schumpeter, 1934), the
  exploration of opportunities (Kirzner, 1973), the
  bearing of uncertainty (Knight 1921), the
  bringing together of factors of production (Say,
  1803)
• Local Context- Entrepreneurship in a rural
  setting, while adhering to the standard
  characteristics, can have a much more obvious,
  poignant definition.

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Profile of an Entrepreneur

• someone who organizes and assumes the risk of a
  business in return for the profits (Casson, Mark
  www.econlib.org )
• Someone who pioneers change
• One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks
  of a business or enterprise (Merriam Webster
  Dictionary)

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Rural AmericaBig Spring, TX

• Big Sky, Big Heart, Big Spring
• -History representative of a classification but
  unique in its character-

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An IdeaThere is one thing stronger than all the
armies in the world, and that is an idea whose
time has come.-Victor HugoMoney never starts
an idea. It is always the idea that starts the
money.-Owen LaughlinAll achievements, all
earned riches, have their beginning in an
idea.-Napoleon Hill

• It began as a conversation in passing

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A Partnership

• RCCI-Howard College and its land-grant affiliate
  Texas AM University
• Texas Cooperative Extension Agency
• Big Spring Area Chamber of Commerce
• Moore Economic Development Corporation
• Permian Basin Workforce Development Board

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A Plan

• The logistics
• Determining the audience
• Setting the program getting the curriculum
• Assigning and requesting speakers
• The marketing strategy
• A sponsored kick-off luncheon
• Print materials and registration forms
• Radio and newspaper

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To Date

• A successful kick-off luncheon
• Attendance statistics
• Future plans

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Data Collection

• General community buy-in and responsiveness
• Authentic feedback from individual participants