Adam Shull | The Journal EntrePaducah Concierge Terry Reeves (far right) speaks during the first meeting for the culture change committee, a group of local preofessionals and entrepeneurs seeking ways to expand and raise awareness for local business owners. Committee members (from left) Todd Duff, Tina Hayes and Keith Jennings look on during the committee's first of four planned meetings at Innovations Branding House, which Duff operates, at 612 Broadway.

July marked EntrePaducah's first full fiscal year of operation, so this month we're doing a year-in-review look at 2009-2010 entrepreneurism. It seemed at times like a year when good economic news simply didn't exist.

Getting straight to the numbers, we actively served 65 clients for the year. Actively is defined as people we actually helped prepare a business plan, or spent significant time working on starting a business or helping turn one around. The clientele included people exploring business ownership for the first time, as well as established companies wanting a fresh set of eyes for the launch of new products and services.

Of the 65 total clients, seven of those businesses actually launched during the fiscal year and 22 are still pending. We helped 12 existing businesses while we closed our files on 24 inquiries. Those clients either determined the time wasn't right, funding would be a problem, or that entrepreneurism wasn't a fit for their personality or lifestyle.

Closer look

Breaking down the numbers even more:
• Most of our clients were interested in retail or service-driven businesses.
• The majority were ages 25 to 45.
• 80 percent were Caucasian, 20 percent were African-American.
• 65 percent were male, 35 percent were female.

The seven new businesses created 25 to 30 jobs — or as we like to say, paychecks. As a disclaimer, these numbers do not reflect the many businesses, including many franchise operations, that opened and either sought no help or help from other sources.

What makes job creation encouraging is that for most of the year, economic recession clouds hovered heavily. McCracken County unemployment peaked at over 10 percent in the first quarter, but has declined to 8.6 percent.

National trends didn't appear positive during this time period, either. In January, the Kauffman Foundation — the nation's leading entrepreneurial information foundation — revealed polls that showed basically a little-less-than-status-quo picture of entrepreneurial growth.

But much like the stock market, wise heads typically say it's the long-term picture that's important. Kauffman's Carl Schramm seemed to reiterate that by saying:

"Entrepreneurs are still the primary engine of job creation in the United States. In the last 30 years, literally all net job creation in this country has taken place in firms less than five years old."

Year ahead

So what's ahead for entrepreneurism in next 12 months? Since we don't have a reliable crystal ball, we hope luck will find us. My favorite definition of luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. If that's the case, things are looking pretty lucky.

EntrePaducah's strategic and financial partners are the City of Paducah, McCracken Fiscal Court, Greater Paducah Economic Development Council, Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Kentucky Department of Commercialization & Innovation via Murray State University. They all decided three years ago to commit to EntrePaducah's goals of fostering and supporting entrepreneurial businesses.

That preparedness luckily served the community well during the height of the recession when many of our clients were either companies or individuals affected by the layoffs. Our response to those needs was the basis of our Innovator Award from the Southern Growth Policies Board earlier this year. Awards, of course, don't open businesses. But the added exposure helps us reach out to more potential clients.

Fresh faces and approaches to economic development will help us respond to opportunities for job creation that may come our way. One positive effect of the recession is the wake-up call it gave many agencies to break down silos and work together for the good of the community.

I think Paducah-McCracken County is in its best position in years to become an innovative community. Doing so will mean finding creative ways to recruit and support business start-ups — particularly tech-driven start-ups.

Our community thought preparedness in opening West Kentucky Community & Technical College's Emerging Technology Center and with the new Community Scholarship Program. Few communities are comparable to Paducah in stepping up to the challenges of providing higher-education opportunities for so many people.

Goals, strategy

These efforts dovetail with EntrePaducah's strategic goals. Our board of directors identified four areas that we feel can best support entrepreneurial growth, and we have solicited volunteers to help us achieve the goals.

Our technology committee was the first to launch last year. Its members help identify what's really needed to secure tech-driven businesses, and the jobs they bring, to our area.

To aid in changing our cultural mores, our cultural change committee launched in July. Its mission is identifying educational, social and professional opportunities to help plant the seed of entrepreneurial thinking among all age groups of residents in our area.

This fiscal year, a networking and mentoring committee and a capital funds committee will address our two remaining goals. The former will help ensure any entrepreneur has a willing-and-able volunteer resource for advice on how to start or run a business. The latter committee will facilitate funding for business start-ups by creating venture capital investment opportunities for local investors.

EntreForum

Among the things we've learned in our first full year is that local entrepreneurs are eager for guidance. That said, we've also learned that certain settings to receive that guidance work better than others. Our EntreForum series is designed to be a workshop on various topics of interest to entrepreneurs.

We were fortunate to have at our disposal several excellent speakers on various topics, but we're still seeking the best approach for presenting the information at the most convenient time for our guests. As always, watch the journal, The Paducah Sun and www.entrepaducah.com for dates and locations of our programs.
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So with 2010-2011 off and running, we welcome your input on what we can do for entrepreneurs. Our partners have granted us the time, the money and the resources to make it happen. Your wisdom is also a gift — the one that keeps on giving.

Terry Reeves is the concierge for EntrePaducah, a joint effort by Paducah and McCracken County governments, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater Paducah Economic Development Council to foster small-business growth. Contact him at 443-1746 or treeves@entrepaducah.com.