How to Grow an Ecosystem of Entrepreneurs in Your City
Image via Unsplash.
Despite the fears and predictions of many, local businesses did not all die out during COVID. In fact, many found creative ways to adapt, survive, and even thrive over the past year and a half. In many cases, it was the determination and resilience of local entrepreneurs that enabled the businesses in our communities to keep on trucking, despite enormous challenges.
What makes a successful entrepreneur? How can your city encourage more entrepreneurs to step up and put their ideas into action?
It starts with developing an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can thrive. We’ve put together this helpful how-to guide, based on one of our Strong Towns Academy short courses: “3 Strategies for Growing Entrepreneurs in Your City.”
First, it’s important to distinguish between investors and entrepreneurs. It’s the difference between the person who owns a Dunkin Donuts franchise in your city, and the person who opened up their own donut shop downtown.
The investor is someone who typically has a lot of money and is just looking to make some low-risk return on that investment. Their business doesn’t do much for your community; they don’t utilize a local accountant for bookkeeping or purchase flour from the local mill, nor does their Dunkin Donuts offer opportunities for employees to rise up in the ranks and maybe start their own businesses one day. They’re just there to plop down their store and make some money off of it.
The entrepreneur, on the other hand, is a passionate person with a vision and a dream. They might not have a lot of money, but they’re determined to build something, and in the process, they patronize local businesses—using the nearby sign shop for their storefront or the local roaster for their coffee. They might be occupying a formerly vacant storefront, breathing new life into the city center. Maybe they’re helping to train a young employee who will go on to open their own bakery some day.
We need more entrepreneurs in our cities. The good news is that there are many simple steps we can take to create fertile ground for local businesses to flourish. These include lowering the bar to entry on existing buildings, prioritizing biking and walking investments, ceasing subsidies for investors, and more…
Get the full scoop in our free downloadable how-to guide.
Then be sure to sign up for our one-hour online course, “3 Strategies for Growing Entrepreneurs in Your City,” featuring Charles Marohn (President of Strong Towns) and Skyler Yost (Economic Ecosystem Builder at the York County Economic Alliance).