Certifiably Entrepreneurial

Unemployment is down, entrepreneurship is up. While the numbers haven’t shifted significantly (8.5 percent unemployment and 55,000 new small business jobs in December), there is a glimmer of economic hope worth acknowledging. Entrepreneurship is now all the rage—foundations across the country are shifting their focus to entrepreneurship, colleges and universities are introducing entrepreneurial studies at an all-time high, and entrepreneurship is the federal government’s new BFF (best friend forever).

With so much focus on entrepreneurship, communities across the U.S. are competing to be known as the most innovative and entrepreneurial, but on what basis? Number of investments? Some great startup success stories?

I started wondering how the entrepreneurial assets of one community could outweigh the assets of another to legitimize a claim of entrepreneurial supremacy. How could such a claim be substantiated? Maybe a community could be “certifiably” more entrepreneurial than another. Maybe a community could prove it has the systems in place to support an entrepreneur’s continuum of needs, from favorable small business regulations to access to business mentors.

As it turns out, long before I began searching the web for “entrepreneurial communities” over a chai latte in a cramped hotel lobby, someone else had the same idea and actually did something about it.

Google search result numeral uno:

1. “Certified Entrepreneurial Communities,” a brainchild of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group based in western North Carolina

So, it’s not national and it’s not based in Silicon Valley, but isn’t that the most refreshing/enlightening/hopeful aspect of all? Small communities across the country are shouting “you ain’t the boss of me” as they develop their own standards of entrepreneurial excellence and, in some cases, literally become certified. And you’re wrong if you think this is a case where they created their own self-serving, meaningless certification—the Certified Entrepreneurial Community Program is supported and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (remember, entrepreneurship and the Feds are BFFs). To sum it up, a Certified Entrepreneurial Community (CEC) is built to be entrepreneur-ready; community leadership is focused on the entrepreneur, and a supportive entrepreneurial network exists to motivate and mentor the entrepreneur.

The beauty of the CEC Program is that it endeavors to create thriving, supportive entrepreneurial environments in rural towns that might otherwise leave entrepreneurship to larger, more competitive metro areas. It’s a program worth checking out, and others like it are cropping up all over the country.

In the end, if every community claimed to support innovation and entrepreneurship, would that really be such a travesty? In my estimation, not at all. It’s not a death match; it’s about creating regions that support innovators with the potential to create jobs, wealth, and great ideas for their communities.

The CEC Program touts a community’s entrepreneurial propensity without competition or accusation. If every entrepreneur, business mentor, economic development professional, and community leader could harness that entrepreneurial spirit—a mindset built on creativity, compassion, and ambition—there’s a good chance the Burke Counties of the country could unite and borrow (not steal) some of the Silicon Valley spotlight.

As engagement and communications manager for JumpStart, Kate pairs her marketing expertise with her interest in supporting JumpStart’s engagement work in communities across the country. Prior to JumpStart, Kate worked at Vitamix in Cleveland where she was sales and marketing assistant in the Direct Household Division.