Missouri 4-H Youth Entrepreneurship: Cultivating “Cloverpreneurs”
in the Show Me State
November 12, 2009
On Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 2 p.m. EDT; 1 p.m. CDT; 12 noon MDT; 11 a.m. PDT the eXtension Entrepreneurs & Their Communities webinar topic was Missouri 4-H Youth Entrepreneurship: Cultivating “Cloverpreneurs” in the Show Me State. Steve Henness is Extension Associate with the University of Missouri Extension 4-H Center for Youth Development. Steve provides leadership for 4-H programs and events in Youth/Adult Partnerships and Youth Entrepreneurship. He directs the MU Extension Youth Enterprisers Program, a statewide AmeriCorps*VISTA project placing full-time adult volunteers in assignments to build community entrepreneurial capacity. As a teen, Steve operated his own lawn mowing business, and as a 4-H leader, now supports youth in discovering “green” market opportunities in their “green” 4-H Clover experiences.

Topics covered:

• Introducing entrepreneurship as a 4-H project area
• VISTA/national service programs
• 4-H youth/alumni entrepreneurship stories
• Youth business startup guides
• Summer camps
• County/state fairs

Economic Gardening
October 8, 2009
On Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 2:00pm (EST);1:00 p.m. CST; 12:00 p.m. MST; 11:00 a.m. PST the eXtension Entrepreneurs & Their Communities Webinar topic was Economic Gardening. Chris Gibbons, Director of Business/Industry Affairs in Littleton, CO led the discussion. In 1989, the Littleton City Council decided to focus their economic development efforts on investing in local businesses rather than the traditional approach of luring businesses to Littleton from elsewhere by offering incentives and tax breaks. Chris Gibbons, director of the Business/ Industry Affairs office, has developed and refined this economic gardening approach over the past 20 years. The conversation discussed over two decades of Economic Gardening.

Entrepreneurs and Their Communities Webinar Series
October 29, 2008 – June 10, 2009

The Entrepreneurs & Their Communities team offered a free monthly webinar on a variety of issues of interest to small business owners, farmers, business coaches and mentors. Topics included the following:

• "The Nebraska EDGE Program from 5 Years of Growing Entrepreneurs"
  October 29, 2008. [Archived Webinar]
  
  
• “Effective Networking Tips and Techniques for the Business Owner”
  November 12, 2008. [Archived Webinar]
  

• “Next Level eMarketing”
  December 10, 2008. [Archived Webinar]
  

• “A Real Story about E-Commerce”
  January 14, 2009.

• “Maximizing Your Pay-Per-Click Campaign”
  February 11, 2009. [Archived Webinar]
  
  
• “Informal and Formal Planning: Using INVenture to Build Your Business Plan”
  March 11, 2009. [Archived Webinar]
  
  
• “Tips and Tricks for Successful Farmers Markets”
  April 8, 2009. [Archived Webinar]
  
  
• “Finding Your Target Market Using MarketMaker”
  May 13, 2009. [Archived Webinar]
  
  
• “Youth Entrepreneurship Programs”
  June 10, 2009.

All Webinars are recorded and archived for on-demand viewing.

e-Commerce 2008 Webinar Series

As part of the National e-Commerce Extension Initiative, a Webinar series, began October 27, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. (CST). The hour long Webinars were designed for Extension educators, economic development professionals and other interested parties who have a desire to work with local leaders, citizens, and organizations to build a strong, vibrant plan for introducing and effectively using broadband in their communities. The archived e-Commerce 2008 Webinar Series topics are as follows:

Connecting Rural Communities Webinar
October 27, 2008
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
Archived Webinar

Internet Strategies to Improve Farm Business Management Webinar
November 11, 2008
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
Archived Webinar

Helping Artisans Reach Global Markets Webinar
November 20, 2008
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
Archived Webinar

Strengthening Competitive Advantage of Rural Businesses with e-Commerce and Experience Economy Strategies
December 16, 2008
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. CST
Archived Webinar

eXtension youth entrepreneurship webinar Wednesday
June 18, 2008 from 1:30pm-2:30pm

Co-presenters Gae Broadwater, Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension and Mark Johnson, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development shared some history and insights related to their Youth Entrepreneurship Camp and Marilyn Kipp, Executive Director for Marketplace for Kids introduced us to this exciting program from North Dakota.

Building Communities Education (Webinar)

June 13, 2008 - Community Development - The Art & Science of Putting It All Together

SRDC Partners with NERCRD to Host Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium
June 4-6, 2008
State College, Pa.

The First Annual Land-Grant Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, or Land-Grant YES, was held June 4-6, 2008, at Penn State University. Hosted by The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development in partnership with the SRDC, Land-Grant YES brought educators and program leaders from eastern United States and beyond together for a face-to-face symposium focused on youth entrepreneurship best practices, research findings and future program development. For more information, visit http://nercrd.psu.edu/Entrepreneurship/YESymposium.html

Rural Tourism: Virtual Institute for Small Town and Rural Development

Do you want to stimulate the development of rural tourism in ways that will substantially benefit both the quality of life of individual rural families and improve the economic stability for rural communities?

Course Objective: Key concepts include significance of rural tourism, planning and managing rural tourism, rural tourism business opportunities, marketing and economics of tourism. Heritage tourism and ecotourism, two major components of rural tourism, are explored in specific case studies or practical examples for application.

Course Outline: Case studies in this course focused on a rural county in northeastern North Carolina. This county once depended upon agriculture for survival but today is witnessing the daily struggle of farmers and rural communities to maintain economic stability and their quality of life. Its poverty ranking is fourth out of 100 counties. Ranked 20th in unemployment, this county is still proud of its heritage, both its cultural and natural resources. Course participants learned to apply course concepts to their unique situation in their state or county.