Changing the Narrative: Why Not Us? Why Not You? Lessons from a smaller ecosystem

Changing the Narrative: Why Not Us? Why Not You? Lessons from a smaller ecosystem

Changing the narrative is imperative!

Is there anyone who does not realize the gigantic impact of new and small business on local economies?

New & small biz are the people we need to listen to… and really hear what they are asking. Why is that so damned hard? Keep hearing “doesn’t fit the narrative.”

If you surveyed economic developers and asked to define economic development in a couple of words, the vast majority would still say “business attraction”. No matter that it’s a negative ROI effort. If the real levers of creating jobs, innovation, GDP… of creating opportunities for everyone… are existing firms that grow and startups (especially those that will grow) why is the dominant narrative so damned far off?

What does the dominant narrative say about local economies? Is it that small business is cute & cuddly and not seen as a force, even in small communities? Is it that entrepreneurs are life’s lottery winners? (And thus as heroic as they might seem, it isn’t for me or thee?) And… all that is magnified if you cannot see yourself as an entrepreneur or as a business owner.

So let’s change the dominant narrative in our communities. A recent facepalm moment for me is reading about a city smaller than Boise and maybe less tech/innovation where the narrative IS changing. How? The radical idea: to change the narrative, engage those who know how to change the narrative!

Read this first – I’ll wait…

https://ecosystembuilderhub.com/case-study-the-erie-pennsylvania-ecosystem-building-pr-campaign/

Swimming upstream against the same forces that confront ecosystem builders everywhere – the bullies, credit-stealers, bad-mouthers, and worse (LOL) the “amateur night” folks… without complaining. But this story struck me as gold for us. I think it will be gold for you too!

To change the narrative: change the focal conversations, change the voices that are heard.

Find the right leaders who are PR-savvy (and obsessively inclusive). Ignore those who want to be in charge or want to be seen as THE experts. Yes, I’m supposed to be an expert but I hope I’m expert enough to know that changing the narratives is letting those unheard voices step up and be at the heart of the focal conversations. To LEAD some of those focal conversations.

Finding… and Building the Tribe

Ever walk into a room or meet someone and immediately flash “^%$&@#, this person is part of my tribe”?

Of course, walking into ESHIP Summits or Dell Gines’ Growing Entrepreneurial Communities pretty much shorts out my brain – so many, many in the tribe. Makes it hard to go home and immediately be confronted by those who just have to be in charge, to be “the man.” A few people here have broken my heart by becoming one of those[i] but…

I’m so blessed to have found some awesome people who get all this AND know how to steer the focal conversations toward putting entrepreneurship and small business at the center. They know that Job One is putting those unheard voices in the conversations, in helping lead[ii] those conversations.

I’ve bragged on local folks before – if you’re not in idaho, you have your own list, so close your eyes and see them! Some of you know that I’ve found myself part of the new Idaho Women’s Business Center. Working on that grant was a blast[iii]. But it started by a casual interaction on LinkedIn on a post by Sheli Gartman of Women Ignite International with Diane Bevan, then head of Idaho’s fast-rising Hispanic Chamber. As with Sheli, I knew instantly. There are others I’ve met that are in the tribe like Karen Appelgren who does the best biz training in the area, John Williamson who reps the great VentureCapital.org in Idaho, Isaac Belden of the Veterans Entrepreneur Alliance. We even have academic allies like Mike Satz & Danielle Horras of UI-Boise and Deans Mark Bannister & JoAnn Lighty of BSU who do get it![iv] [I know I am missing a few tribe members – I will edit this list, especially if you “nudge” me ;) ]

The Right Tools…and Allies

Beth Zimmer and the Erie crew also remind us that finding the right tools is also important. “Right” = what people want (not what us experts think they need). That means being open to tools that we don’t realize are available. So many of my #ESHIP friends are just a phone call away – and if need be, send them a plane ticket and they’d be here, just as I pray that I’d be there for them.

A golden”rule” of economic development is “we can’t really learn from other places(people)… ____ is different, _____ is special. Besides, we have to do it ourselves. What can a world-class expert possibly tell us?” [v] ;)

Boise/Idaho is not unique to having immense resources and talent at its fingertips, whether its Kauffman & ESHIP, Co.Starters, Startup Champions, Techstars, RuralRise, Don Macke/Steve Radley/NetworkKansas[vi], Sourcelink, the world’s best at tech commercialization (like Chalmers & Venturewell), and the world’s best at entrep education, and so many more who’d help us in a heartbeat. Who’d help you!

As a start here, Diane Bevan has scammed grabbed Idaho’s only licenses for both Palo Alto Software’s LivePlan and Kauffman’s FastTrac. Add those to Dreambuilder (thank you, UI/Coop Extension!!!!) and we are rolling. More on what we are looking at here. Diane has me working on a curated list of A+ resources (already drafted a “how to do biz with the government” cribbed from SBA, INL, etc.) Here is what else we are working on!

Oh, yeah… keep your eyes peeled for the forthcoming Idaho WBC Rural Growth Initiative!

LISTENING!

Finally, we are back to the crucial element of listening… and hearing what the entrepreneurs, past, present & future are wanting. Not what we expect to hear, want to hear, etc. 

IWBC has pledged to keep listening and ensuring that we hear what matters. That incredible recent listening session that Senator Risch & the National Women’s Business Council had for rural women entrepreneurs left me gobsmacked… the power of unfiltered stories (some that combined awful, hilarious & inspiring in one paragraph!)

IWBC and all our friends pledge to listen – every community should regularly hold listening sessions. Not gripe sessions but real info gathering and then move to tangible action items! [one example]

Let's do this! /NK www.norriskrueger.com

So many resources – regionally, nationally, globally – at our fingertips. YOUR community has the same or more. Let’s all start listening – to all the voices. Let’s get the right people on the bus. And as Beth & her friends have shown, let’s change the dominant narrative NOW!

p.s. And read this AGAIN: https://ecosystembuilderhub.com/case-study-the-erie-pennsylvania-ecosystem-building-pr-campaign/ 

We can do this. YOU can do this.

[i] One lesson I need to take away from Beth Zimmer and her Erie team is to stay positive – don’t act like the bad actors. Head down, plug away, stay positive. PLEASE call me on it if I slip up here, ok?

[ii] If diversity is asking people to the dance and inclusion is asking them to dance, then belonging is letting them help pick out the music! [HT to the awesome Celia Wessinger of ESHIP for the great word “belonging”]

[iii] Fortunately, we’d applied for the Kauffman Inclusion Grant so we had well-vetted copy read to go ;)

[iv] And BSU just landed a new president, Marlene Tromp, who was vice-provost when Michael Crow reinvented Arizona State into America’s most innovative university. I am dying for a sit-down with her – so, SO much that we could get done in short order with all the national & global allies there for the asking.

[v] Unless, of course, they support OUR ideas (especially if we skew the info the expert gets… ) Gotta go along to get along, right? :)

[vi] Idaho has dibs on stealing the NK process! ;)  <-it’s ok to laugh…