BUTLER, AL - - In rural Alabama, many towns and counties depend upon small businesses and entrepreneurs for survival.  “It is vital that we nurture and support these endeavors,” said Virginia Loftis, executive director of the Choctaw County Chamber of Commerce.  “We need to help them be successful so our community can be successful.”

Ms. Loftis made her comments after being trained as a MyBiz Network Navigator.  She is now one of a growing number of community champions in West Alabama and East Mississippi trained to better assist individuals wanting to expand or start local businesses. 

“It is important that our communities and counties learn about MyBiz and how to use it, said Nichole D’Andrea, community development coordinator for Alabama Southern Community College.  The college is one of eight participating in the WAEM Regional Initiative and bringing entrepreneur support and training opportunities to the area.  “MyBiz is an invaluable tool to anyone looking for assistance in starting or growing a business.  Network Navigators learn the ins and outs of this tool and how to connect entrepreneurs to nearby and needed resources.

Ashley Taylor, from the Choctaw County Public Library,
concentrates during MyBiz Network Navigator Training.

MyBiz Network Naviator training was conducted March 19, 2009, by Chris Reed, director of Entrepreneurship Development Programs at The Montgomery Institute in Meridian, MS.  The website www.MyBiz.am provides assistance to entrepreneurs at every stage, whether it is dreaming of starting a business, the process of actually starting a business, or growing an existing business.  The website also has a function called the “Resource Navigator” that goes far beyond a basic resource directory.  The Resource Navigator can provide an individual a report customized for his or her particular situation in just a few seconds. 

"MyBiz is a wonderful resource for rural communities,” said Ashley K. Taylor, director of the Choctaw County Public Library and another new Network Navigator.  “It provides so much information for local entrepreneurs."

Through Loftis and Taylor the Choctaw County Chamber of Commerce and the Choctaw County Public Library can better assist local entrepreneurs and business owners seeking information and support. 

“My Biz is a great tool for entrepreneurs,” reiterated Ms. Loftis.  “It gives them the directional resources necessary not only to put them on the right path to success….but to keep them there!  And these entrepreneurs are the backbone of a lot of our communities.”

We had a working session this afternoon on the next WIRED Academy. The agenda, timing, and other factors are still up in the air. The goal involves distilling the learning from WIRED and spread these insights and tools around.

Stay tuned for more details.

A new report from the Piedmont Triad, projects that the region could generate 29,000 jobs from businesses and the creative industries. About 10 years ago, the Blair government in the UK began to focus on creative industries as a cluster. About five years later, foundations in New England began exploring the strategy.  Still, regions in Europe are farther ahead than the US in developing strategies to promote business clusters in the creative industries.

Now, increasingly, regions around the country are looking at the creative industries as a potential job generator. The definitions of these businesses are understandably vague, but in the case of the Piedmont Triad, they include "such companies and occupations as architecture, crafts, graphic and industrial design, film, performing arts and writing, and publishing." 

Read more.

You can learn more about what's going on in Europe and the creative industries from this website.

Here's an example from the Piedmont Triad of a regional survey of school to work programs:

Piedmont Triad School to Work Survey Report

Michigan has launched a new job training program.  It ties together community colleges with employers. Read more.

As this commentary notes,

Michigan New Jobs Training Program allows the state's 28 community colleges to incur debt, such as selling bonds, to finance training programs for companies adding new jobs or new businesses coming into the state. Bonds would be paid off from income taxes withheld from employers on the new jobs generated. Since the bonds are retired with dollars paid to the state as withholding taxes, there's no cost...

Community colleges can enter into these agreements until Dec. 31, 2018. There is no set number of jobs that must be created to be eligible to participate. However, companies will be responsible for as many jobs as the training contract states. So, if a company contracts for a training program for 15 people, but late in the process needs only 10 positions, the company will be on the hook for paying the equivalent of those taxes for the other five people.

The New Jobs Training Program is modeled after a successful program Iowa began in 1983. Here is a brochure.

Iowa New Jobs Training Program Brochure

A couple of years ago, Kalamazoo, Michigan made headlines with the Kalamazoo Promise. A group of anonymous philanthropists launched an ambitious idea: provide schoolchildren in the Kalamazoo schools with free tuition to a Michigan university. You can learn more from their website.

Since the launch of the Kalamazoo Promise, a number of other cities are exploring this option. So, for example, Pittsburgh has launched the Pittsburgh Promise.

Davenport, Iowa is the latest city to  proposed a similar initiative. Next Tuesday, voters will go to the ballot to decide whether to fund the Davenport Promise. Read more.

You can learn more about the Davenport Promised from their website.

It is clear that we are undergoing some major structural shifts in our economy. It changes the way we need to think about reemployment. New options in self-employment and starting new businesses are emerging.

In Wisconsin, a network of Inventors and Entrepreneur Clubs provides a place where individuals can explore the ideas of starting a new business. This is commentary notes:

As long-standing corporations fail and hundreds are laid off, I&E Clubs around the state offer a place to pursue new business ideas. When corporation fail, the talent doesn't disintegrate. It is still there, and that talent can now explode into numerous new businesses that find their niche in this new and changing environment, eventually creating jobs.

Read more.  You can learn more from this page about these clubs in Wisconsin.

 The White House Middle Class Task Force  also released a report from its staff last week on green jobs. You can review the report below:

White House MCTF Green Jobs (2009)

The Obama administration links green jobs to economic recovery. It is a bit of a stretch, especially when we don't know exactly what the term "green jobs" actually means. It will take some time to figure this out.

Last week, Vice President Biden hosted a meeting in Philadelphia to explore these issues. There is a good summary of what took place here. The downloads include a number of  helpful presentations, and at least one good report.

The Duke Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness compiled on analysis of the impact of carbon reducing technologies and jobs. You can go through the report below:

Duke Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs

And

In North Central Indiana, we have posted our Department of Labor reports on our website. In addition, we are working to develop a clear set of materials that explains what we've been doing through our WIRED investments.

You can download copies of our Department of Labor reports from this page.

Below, you can come through a PowerPoint presentation that we have used  to explain the different initiatives we have undertaken.

We are now also looking at how we can tell the story of our regional transformation through video. So, for example, we are looking at our guitar video as a template to explain different initiatives. As I've shown the guitar video around the country, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Telling the story of regional transformation with video creates a new opportunity. Video conveys more powerful messages on the printed word or PowerPoint's. Next week, we will be meeting with the Purdue video production unit to explore how we might translate some of our initiatives into short video productions.

Here is the presentation on success stories.

In NCI WIRED Success Story Power Point 12-31-08-1