MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

Thanks to David Young, Professor, Community Resource Specialist Extension Service & College of Nursing, MSU, MEDA has more access to community grant information. You can bet we will have links from David in every newsletter.

Mark your calendars and be watching for the MEDA conference agenda: “Montana Small Towns: Big Success”, February 25th and 26th, Chico Hot Springs.

Governor Jim Doyle has made entrepreneurship a priority in his Grow Wisconsin
plan.

Venture capital is a lagging indicator of an entreprenurial economy, not a leading indicator. That said, local and regional civic leaders can encourage the formation of more effective networks of early stage investors.

The current focus in rural small business development involves helping the rural
entrepreneur.

AIBL and other organizations across the West are part of a groundswell of entrepreneurialism, said Velma Pretty on Top, director of Billings-based Native American Development Corp. That nonprofit has two revolving loan funds and offers technical assistance and training for would-be business owners.

Now is the perfect time to create a tech startup — As long as you have a perfect plan.

The business leaders have formed a volunteer think tank to research and develop strategies for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in Western Kentucky.

"DECA is a precursor to how to expand the business world and how to be able to survive in the business world," he said. "(Helping these kids) is like watching a flower bloom. All of a sudden it starts clicking for them."

The Kauffman Foundation’s Hot Shot Business, the award-winning Internet entrepreneurship simulation for kids, now has been enhanced to give players an even more challenging taste of what it takes to start and run a business.