The rapid expansion of broadband access, emergence of low cost and low-barrier website/ecommerce solutions, and increase in freelance opportunities have created an environment in which residents in rural areas can work and build businesses in their home communities as never before. Freelancers and entrepreneurs can now operate in rural areas with minimal obstacles, creating a new challenge and opportunity for economic developers, workforce developers, and educators. Recognizing these dynamics, stakeholders throughout the region have invested in new strategies and mechanisms to spur innovation and assist entrepreneurs and small business development, including:
- Venture Call LLC is an entrepreneurship business development, consulting, and training firm. Entrepreneurship training is provided by Certified Facilitators trained by and registered with Kauffman FastTrac® and the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. Venture Call LLC holds weekly luncheon meetings for entrepreneurs on Mondays at 12 noon in Abilene, TX.
- Abilene Christian University (ACU) operates programs and offers resources to develop and grow entrepreneurship. The Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy offers training, special events, and a fellows program. The Maker Lab is an ideation studio and prototyping shop on the ACU campus available to students, faculty, and staff. The Lab offers training and equipment in a collaborative environment that reflects a broader concept called “Maker Movement”—a global sub-culture that is focused on rapid fabrication of innovative products that address personal interests and sometimes broader societal problems.
- Abilene Small Business Development Center (SBDC) all consulting, training, and research services at no cost to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. The SBDC also provides seminars, sometimes with a rare minimum fee for certain if workbooks are required. The SBDC is empowered to provide the no fee consulting, training and research services due to the financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) and the Comptroller’s office via Texas Tech University.
- The Tarleton State University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) serves Brown County by providing business counseling, technical assistance, training workshops, and business plan development.
- Develop Abilene (Development Center of Abilene, DCOA) is an “umbrella” brand for the organizations that work together to bring business to the City. It consists of the Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) and the five groups that receive funding from the DCOA: Abilene Industrial Foundation (AIF), Downtown Programs, Economic Development Department, Military Affairs Council, and Texas Tech Small Business Development Center.
- The Business Factory is an incubation program designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs for San Angelo and the Concho Valley Area. The Business Factory is provided by the Center for Entrepreneurial Development and was designed for small business and entrepreneurs who enjoy the networking benefits and atmosphere of a professional environment but still want the flexibility of no long-term lease. The group also provides business assistance and business planning in conjunction with the ASU Small Business Development Center.
- Startup Texas is a regional arm of the Startup America Partnership, a not-for-profit working in coordination with the White House Startup America initiative. Startup Texas connects entrepreneurs throughout the state in order to strengthen startup communities throughout Texas, and encourage young companies to grow in their hometown. Startup Texas is a grassroots, entrepreneur-led initiative and serves as a rallying point to bring all the elements together – entrepreneurs and startups, local talent and universities, activities and mentorship, large companies and local government – all to help startups grow.
- The Veteran Entrepreneur Program (VEP) fosters and promotes Veteran Entrepreneurship throughout the state of Texas. The Texas Veterans Commission, with the help of the Governors office as well as several prominent Legislators, passed Senate Bill 1476 in 2013. This allowed for the funding of a team of experienced business consultants to be available for any Veteran in the state of Texas to consult with, free of charge to the Veteran.
- Texas Wide Open for Business is a website with resources available to entrepreneurs and businesses of all types and sizes. Through fundraising efforts and member participation, TexasOne™ has directly enabled strategic economic development outreach at the state level through the marketing campaign "Texas Wide Open for Business®". Dollars raised by TexasOne™ are used to fund special events, business recruitment missions, advertising campaigns, outreach programs, and other exciting and highly visible marketing and communications programs. These programs are directed at a targeted audience of corporate decision makers and site selectors.
- The WCTEDD receives funding from the Economic Development Administration Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) to promote entrepreneurship in the region. Housed within the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the OIE works to foster a more innovative U.S. economy focused on turning new ideas and inventions into products and technologies that spur job growth and competitiveness while promoting economic development.
Innovation Index: Understanding the composition and assets of the region is critical in (1) evaluating the climate for entrepreneurship and business development and (2) developing strategies to promote these growth opportunities. The Innovation Index provides important insights in understanding how well positioned the region is for these types of growth opportunities. The Index is affected by input measures (60%) and output measures (40%). The input measures include Human Capital and Economic Dynamics whereas output measures are comprised of Productivity and Employment and Economic Well-Being.
The Innovation Index score for the West Central Texas Economic Development District region is 81.3 reflecting the current input and output measurements. The composite categories that make up that score are as follows:
The Innovation Index score for the West Central Texas Economic Development District region is 81.3 reflecting the current input and output measurements. The composite categories that make up that score are as follows:
By County Evaluation: Threshold levels, comparable to the Innovation Index composition measures, can also be calculated for the individual counties in the region and are useful in better understanding the economic opportunities and challenges for individual communities. Effective analysis should consider each county synergistically within the region as well as independently. In addition, many funding streams utilize distress threshold calculations comprised of unemployment and income data to allocate funding and evaluate effectiveness.
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Overall for the region, unemployment rates are not as distressed as the rest of the nation; however the per capita incomes are not as generous as the national average.
Each of the lower input scores can be increased through expansion of knowledge industries and associated job creation. Expansion of the knowledge economy creates a virtuous cycle in which retention of graduating university and collegiate students is improved, creating increased job growth and economic opportunity. |
Table 2.14 lists the threshold calculations for the region as compared to the United States based on 2013 per capita money income, 2000 per capita personal income, and the 2000 per capita money (source: US Census).
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