Organic Entrepreneurship: How to Turn Your Town into an Incubator

Building a successful entrepreneurial program is not easy. Ask anyone who has tried.

Then, there is Fairfield, Iowa. Fairfield shows us you can build an entrepreneurial culture in a community. Fairfield has been a model of entrepreneurial success with three times the national average of entrepreneurs. With over sixty companies’ headquartered in Fairfield, it has created jobs faster than the population of 9,500 can bear. Consequently, over 2,000 workers commute in from nearby counties. These are just a few of the reasons why Fairfield, Iowa is the entrepreneurial capital of rural America or “Silicorn Valley”.

Take the “entrepreneurial pulse” of your community than apply the tried-and-tested methods to grow and nurture the entrepreneurial class. Turn your town into an “incubator” that provides what entrepreneurs need to succeed in rural communities and how community support plays a pivotal role.

Burt Chojnowski, our featured authority will discuss how to create a new entrepreneurial class, strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and provide insight into how failed businesses become stepping-stones for innovation.

With his work in Fairfield and beyond, Burt has helped define the rural economic gardening strategies that support homegrown businesses and create stable jobs across rural America. Burt is the former president of the Fairfield Iowa Entrepreneurs Association and is chairman of Fairfield First! He has been involved in dozens of startup companies and helped raised nearly $100 million in venture capital for rural high tech companies.

Burt will share some of the innovative, low cost strategies he helped create to support an entrepreneurial culture including:

What you will learn  

1.     Thinking inside the box: local living economies

2.     Moving existing companies from “good to great”

3.     Access to alternative financing

4.     Creating vibrant downtowns and economic gardening “hot spots”

5.     Community branding

Invest in your career. Invest in your community's success. Join us for a conversation with one of the best marketers in economic development.

Bring your questions. Bring your curiousity. Bring your team!

Webinar Details

     What: Organic Entrepreneurship: How to Turn Your Town into an Incubator

     When: Tuesday, June 22nd, 1:00 PM CT

     Time Zone Conversion: 2:00 PM ET; 1:00 PM CT; 12:00 Noon MT; 11:00 AM PT

     Where: On your desktop or projector

     Cost: See Above

     Off-line Registration:  Registration Form

Featured Authority

Burt Chojnowski

Founder and Managing Partner

BrainBelt Consulting, Fairfield, IA 

Burt Chojnowski is the former president of the Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association and played a major role in attracting $275 million of investment in over sixty startup companies in a community with fewer than 10,000 residents.

Burt is the Founder and Managing Partner of BrainBelt Consulting based in Fairfield, Iowa. The firm’s areas of expertise include peer-networking entrepreneurial development planning and economic gardening strategies, taking the “entrepreneurial pulse” across a region, creating local living economies, entrepreneurial community branding and grass-root strategic planning services utilizing “asset quilting”.

Burt has senior management and capital formation experience with dozens of startup companies in California and Iowa. Burt serves on the boards of the National Network of Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (N2TEC), the Community Vitality Center (CVC) and Fairfield First! Burt is also a screener and mentor for World’s Best Technology Showcase. Burt hosts a Rural Entrepreneurial Gathering and an Economic Gardening Boot Camp, annually.

Host and Moderator

Eric P. Canada

Chief Strategist, Blane, Canada Ltd.

Eric P. Canada of Blane, Canada Ltd. is a nationally recognized authority on economic development marketing and business retention.

Mr. Canada has a long-term commitment to professional development, training, and primary research as a way to "give back" to the profession he loves. The Professional Learning Lab is an extension of that commitment.

In his 1995 book, Economic Development: Marketing for Results!, Mr. Canada outlined the application of b2b (business-to-business)strategies in an economic development environment. In his work, he often interviews senior economic development professionals in search of best practices and innovation. He has conducted marketing program audits of 60 of the top economic development organizations in the US.

Mr. Canada created standards for business retention where none existed before. His competitive capacity analysis technique and benchmarks to replace the subjective SWOT analysis common in economic development. Now, the Synchronist Key Performance Indicators allow local, regional, and state EDOs to compare their findings to national benchmarks providing a clear picture of their competitive position. He created the Synchronist Business Information System® to manage existing business strategy. He also manages the largest BRE research collaborative in North America.

Mr. Canada regularly works with clients to develop effective marketing and existing business strategies and programs.

This webinar is produced by Blane, Canada Ltd. It is part of the Professional Learning Laboratory economic development educational series. The Lab is a joint venture of dedicated professional trainers committed to the provision of high-quality content, and expert instruction without commercial messages.

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