Just Do It

The Nauvoo Commuter spent the weekend in a rural area so remote it had no internet access and only spotty cell phone coverage. It was refreshing.

The theme for today is getting off the sofa and trying something.

You can't gain six-pack abs by reading Muscle & Fitness Magazine. No one ever learned how to lead a military campaign by watching Gone with the Wind. And the way entrepreneurs hone their skills is to get their hands dirty doing business.

A related truth is that the way to learn if a business idea is valid or not is to try it out.
One of the Nauvoo Commuter's fundamental business philosophies is that an entrepreneur should test the business hypothesis as soon as possible. And that test should involve live ammunition.

In other words, don't take eight months to conduct market research, write a business plan, and write reports, only to find out the Business Concept is flawed. Just start doing something now. Grab a prototype and start hawking it. If people show interest, then you have a business. If they are hesitant, then review the price. Otherwise you may need to re-think product design or even the whole raison d'etre of the business. Most planning is just a cover for procrastination. Most research is a refusal to take responsibility.

Create a Little App on the Prairie for the iPhone

Calabasas, California is not a big town, but it is not rural, either. But three local moms have created a way for you to change the world.

Appsnminded, the company they started, can help you turn your concept into an app. And your app might literally change the world. Not all apps earn $100,000, like one that one Appsnminded made herself. But some make more.

David Sarno of the Los Angeles Times said in June that creators will earn $7 billion  this year creating apps for the iPhone and Google's Droid formats. Next year it will probably be $14 billion. And part of that could go to you. In fact, an app developed for the Blackberry format would better reach business users, if that is your target.

Want a no-risk solution? Convince Austin, Texas-based Chaotic Moon to make your idea into an app, and they'll build it for free, market it for free, then keep a cut of the profits.

You might be the one to put your town on the map.

The Upside of Rural Entrepreneurship

Yesterday we addressed the disadvantaged that plague rural entrepreneurs. They were only broad, sweeping generalizations. Today we make generalizations about some of the advantages of rural entrepreneurs.

- the ability to be involved in more fundamental commerce: food. People will always need food more than ipods. That is gratifying for those involved in the food production industry. And that is the primary industry of rural regions.

- reprieve from the full brunt of international competition. If you are creating services, or even goods, for consumption in your county, then you can worry a little less about the price of manufactured wares in East Asia. Let Pittsburgh and Houston and Detroit feel the anxiety for you. It doesn't mean you live in a no-competition bubble, but if you are profitable on a small scale, then you don't need to sell shoes to 40 percent of the planet to survive.

- living a real, connected life. Living in a large city is spiritually grating. Being jostled and called after all day can make one people weary. But where you live, out on the edge of the prairie, people are genuine and life is simple. You are connected to the basic roots of life. You are connected to basic human needs, without psychological office games. So you can understand consumers better.

So use sincerity to your advantage.

The Downside of Rural Entrepreneurship

The environment for rural entrepreneurs is different from our city cousins.

We can think positive, dream big, and arrange crystals to attract abundance from the universe. But environment still matters. It is not completely negative, but it cannot be ignored. 

Here are some concerns for rural entrepreneurship:

- We need to be geography agnostic. We can't think of a market as a location. 

- Hypothesis testing/ Concept testing is more challenging. The best way to start a business is to test out the Concept of the Business as soon as possible, preferably before money has been sunk into the idea. But customers are spread out. You can't stand on a street corner and talk to people or set up a temporary shop downtown to test the business plan's hypothesis. It takes longer. Or you may need to rely on traditional survey market research, something the Nauvoo Commuter dislikes. 

- Feedback is sparse. Cities breed creativity and exchange of ideas. They are full of quick people who provide quick feedback on a concept or on your customer service. Not so out here, on the edge of the prairie.

- Funding sources are remote. Or rather, the entrepreneur is remote from funding sources. If you're hoping one your neighbors can introduce you to a venture capitalist with appetite, you're waiting to win a lottery without buying a ticket. Unfortunately the best way to access investors is through personal introduction, and you don't know anyone who knows them. (We do have other money sources here at home, but that is a topic for another day.)

America Still Manufacturing

Think America is a "has been?" You have plenty of people with whom to share that opinion. We've been hearing about the death of America's manufacturing sector for decades.

The idea is completely wrong.

True, the U.S is offshoring or giving up low-value-added production. And the remaining sector employs fewer people. But the remaining sector still "contributes 22% of global manufacturing output and ranks third, behind Germany and China, as a manufacturing exporter, with an 8.1% market share."

That is one of the exciting facts coming from "US Manufacturing: Still the One," a report by Turner Investment Partners in Pennsylvania.

Want ore good news? "U.S. manufacturing exports increased by 60% from 2000 to 2008." And the value of manufactured exports are almost 10 times as much as agricultural exports (57% vs. 6%).

But that is still good news for rural entrepreneurs. Manufacturers are hiring fewer people, because technology has made factories so efficient, but we still have a base of potential customers that make stuff.

Midwest Development Manifesto

The longer I live in the Midwest, the more I like it. While most of my business is still in Asia, I realize that I  have something to offer that will bring the region out of economic doldrums. 


The Midwest has many remarkable companies, and should not concede to foreign competition. The tide is turning back in our favor.

People in the Midwest are smart, industrious, and prudent. Through those traits, we have built lasting companies. 

Our remaining need is to capture insight and skills the companies need to progress to the next level by hiring from outside the region. 

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The first question that every executive needs to ask is: "Do you have an Asia strategy?" If you do not, your days are numbered. 

Community Development

The Nauvoo Commuter spent last week in Moline, Illinois learning ways that Nauvoo can improve. It was the Midwest CDI Conference.

First impression: clever sayings on power point presentations... I've seen this about 10,000 times.

Final impression:
all these community leaders, who to some degree compete for resources, were helping each other. Both leaders and participants were tremendously generous with sharing ideas from the lessons they have learned in each of their towns. Coming from the private sector, the Nauvoo Commuter was impressed by the openhanded view that the CDI system encourages.

Being allowed to participate in this whole event was humbling.