Panelists discuss a ground-breaking study of new Pennsylvania firms; examine patterns/needs of small businesses during phases of start-up, growth, maturity, and decline; describe untapped markets in the federal government and through export trade; and review how states can support small business growth by legislative and regulatory change. (NEC)

The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, a local development district based in Venango County, focuses on nourishing small business development and entrepreneurship in business incubators owned by local governments. One of the region's resources is the nation's first "teaching factory," which provides job…

Four small business development experts examine ways of encouraging/helping entrepreneurs: market identification; management education; improved capital access; emphasis on business and producer services; import substitution; local purchasing; local business expansion; adaptation of good ideas; response to problems/trends in lifestyle changes,…

Aimed at stimulating new jobs in Appalachia, especially through creation/expansion of small businesses, the 1986 workshop attracted 200 participants from throughout the region, including state and local officials and community and business leaders. Workshops addressed new developments in capital opportunities, market development strategies,…

A nonprofit community action agency, BusinesStart, provides business training and small loans to entrepreneurs in 18 rural counties in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. The entrepreneurs, many with no previous business experience, cite the agency's basic business training as key to their success. (SV)

Five panelists discuss how small businesses can acquire seed capital by considering venture; capital's role in the financing of business start-ups, using local banks as sources of advice and community support as well as funds for new entrepreneurs in rural areas, and investigating states' roles in supporting new ventures. (NEC)

Five panelists discuss alternatives to venture capital sources for Appalachian business expansion, new institutions created or supported by state and local governments to provide capital, and how businesses can best position themselves to take advantage of all capital sources. (NEC)

Women's Initiative Networking Groups (WINGS) provides low- and moderate-income women in Appalachian Kentucky with training in business skills, contacts, and other resources they need to succeed as entrepreneurs. The women form informal networks to share business know-how and support for small business startup and operations. The program plans to…

Shoals Entrepreneurial Center, in two Alabama locations, supports would-be entrepreneurs with extensive planning advice, rental space, loans, business training, and back-office infrastructure. The center favors business plans with the potential to create fairly high-paying jobs, a different focus from other businesses in the region, and an…

Case studies demonstrate four capital packaging approaches: a comprehensive statewide enterprise program for Pennsylvania; a county-based industrial development fund in Chautauqua County, New York; an employee buyout in Saratoga Springs, New York; and establishment of a small venture capital company in the Kentucky Highlands with Office of…

Describes various programs in Appalachia that offer small loans and extensive technical assistance and training to entrepreneurs that operate microbusinesses (businesses with five or fewer employees). Discusses the potential of entrepreneurs and microbusinesses to stimulate economic development in small towns and rural areas such as Garrett…

In Tompkins County, New York, the Business Innovation Center (BIC) uses "intellectual capital" to help local entrepreneurs succeed. Founded by faculty from Cornell University and community members, BIC helps successful scientists start up businesses and uses the combined expertise of area businesspeople and college faculty to solve the…

Hagerstown Junior College's advanced technology program enables entrepreneurs to take an idea from computer-assisted design and manufacture, through prototype development and test-marketing, to full-scale production. An interactive video facility and the financial expertise of economic development agencies combine with the technology center to…

A panel on technology transfer considered ways in which educational instructions and industry could share attempts to innovate. Examples of technology transfer in action included Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Partnership, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's program, and NASA's Technology Utilization Division. Results of an Appalachian Regional study…

Describes Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC), a nonprofit community development organization that creates jobs and helps small manufacturing businesses succeed in nine "perpetually poor" rural Kentucky counties. Outlines KHIC services: loans for both expansion and working capital; equity and real estate investments;…