Turning Fairfield, Iowa into a Rural Renaissance City

The Power of the Entrepreneurial Class

A new paradigm of entrepreneurial development was developed in tiny Fairfield, Iowa and
resulted in the creation of a rural renaissance city, teeming with more jobs than the folks who live
there and creating an arts community as robust as cities 100 times its size. Fairfield is 60 miles
from the nearest interstate and over 100 miles from the nearest metro.

It started with the
growth of the entrepreneurial class and the Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association http://www.toolsforbusiness.info/success-in-iowa/index.cfm?cx=fairfieldcas a next-generation
economic development organization that taps into the collective wisdom of entrepreneurs.

Once a culture of entrepreneurship was established in the city, it became self-perpetuating
and spilled over into the social and civic fabric of the community.

By Burt Chojnowski

Full Story: http://www.matr.net/files/IEDCEDJChojnowski.pdf