Strangers to the blog might be amazed by the activity as of late, but regular readers won’t.  We’re seeing some serious economic growth in our community and have the details behind it in this month’s newsletter.  You’ll also find photo contest news, sales tax figures and more.

Have a great Labor Day all, be safe and be well!

Let’s also not forget that some of this traffic is due to our building projects seen across town in the past ten years: first with the ethanol plant, then the truck plaza, the downtown improvement project, and then on to the new hospital, school building project and the new fire hall.  These building projects have been a great injection into the local retail community, and I believe it has created a stronger environment for local retailers not just to survive, but thrive.  Many are doing just that.

The great hope is that these improvements create a sustainable and viable economic future for the residents of Valley County.  After ten years, it appears that is the case.
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We also have some updates on the proposed housing development, the photo contest, 0% business loans, the Microenterprise Tax Credit and housing rehabilitation funds.  It’s been a busy month!

1st Place: Susan Schauer with her photo, “Checking Pastures North of North Loup”, winner of $200 in Ord Chamber Bucks
2nd Place: Jennifer Schauer with her photo, “Mira Valley Farm”, winner of $100 in Ord Chamber Bucks

You can find more information on next month’s contest, Community Event Memories, here.

Checking Pastures North of North Loup

 

Mira Valley Farm

- New Neighborhoods
- Congressman Smith’s staffer report on the Health Care Reform Act
- Rural Entrepreneurship Academy Discussion
- VCED Board Retreat
- Business Development News

You can download the August agenda here and the July meeting minutes here.  You’re welcome to join us!

Have a look at the release published by REAP below:
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REAP Staff (Jeff Reynolds, Dena Beck and Gene Rahn) with Congressman Smith (2nd from left)

Survey: Need for financing, training in business knowledge and planning chief concerns for Nebraska’s rural small business

A new survey suggests lack of sufficient capital and taking on more debt remains a concern for Nebraska’s rural small businesses.

That was one of many findings from the 2010 Small Business Needs Assessment, a biennial survey administered from February to April by the Center for Rural Affairs, sampling opinions of nearly 250 small business owners, 100 lenders and 36 business technical service providers in rural Nebraska. The results were released during a business roundtable discussion hosted by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) in Grand Island Aug. 25.

The purpose of the survey was to gather information from both business owners and the people that serve them. The data and the survey findings also will assist the Center for Rural Affairs, and its Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP), as well as partners such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, to help better tailor programs to fit the needs of Nebraska’s rural small business climate.

“The ultimate goal of any business development initiative or program should be to help build sustainable businesses in communities and neighborhoods,” said Jon M. Bailey, Rural Research and Analysis Director for the Center for Rural Affairs. “The survey results show significant challenges to meet this goal, but we know better where to target our resources to do the most good.”

While access to capital for rural small businesses may reflect the current economic climate, it also represents a critical and seemingly ongoing challenge for rural small businesses and the overall economy. According to a March survey by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, over a recent 15-year period, small businesses created a conservative estimate of 65 percent of net new private sector jobs.

Most rural small businesses in Nebraska lack large revenue streams. Nearly 60 percent of business owner respondents reported their business made less than $100,000 in gross sales in the most recent business year, and the largest number reported sales of less than $25,000.

Financial challenges found by respondents in the gross sales categories below $100,000 raise warning signs for these businesses and their rural communities.

“The need for working capital is a natural response for start-up or less experienced businesses, but for capital issues to remain after a business is established is both a reflection of the current economy and the nature of operating a small business in a rural place,” Bailey said. “How businesses respond to these financial challenges, with the assistance of business development programs and public policy, is critical for the rural economy. If established businesses are facing these challenges, we have to find solutions to keep them in business in their communities, and find incentives for start-up businesses in similar communities that may face identical challenges.”

Business knowledge and planning and financial issues are the primary difficulties faced by start-up businesses; nearly 70 percent of survey respondents claimed a lack of start-up cash as a chief difficulty faced in starting a business. Financial issues were the top-ranked difficulties for agriculture, online and construction small businesses. Business knowledge and planning issues were the top-ranked difficulties for service, retail and manufacturing small businesses in rural Nebraska.

Marketing and advertising were by far the most popular choice for training and assistance that would improve small businesses. Business plan development, legal issues, succession planning, and intermediate bookkeeping followed in popularity.

While business knowledge and planning issues were major challenges for rural small businesses in the start-up phase, these challenges continued even as a small business grows and matures. Throughout the survey, whether by business age, business type or amount of sales, rural small business owners expressed a need for training and assistance on business knowledge and planning issues, indicating many start a small business with little planning or business knowledge. Even rural small business owners who are successful to a degree recognize the need for such training and assistance if the business is to grow and be more financially stable.

Nearly 80 percent of rural small businesses with employees who answered the survey do not offer employee health insurance benefits; cost is the primary reason, although many did not offer such plans because employees were covered by other health plans.

Moreover, the survey found 15 percent of small business owners were not covered by health insurance. Those that do enjoy health coverage often are covered on a group plan through another member of the household, such as a spouse, or by purchasing an individual health insurance plan.

Social networking technology, including sites such as Facebook and Twitter, has a surprisingly large usage among rural small businesses. These technologies likely will continue to grow in popularity, making it wise for small business development initiatives to incorporate them into their dealings with their small business clientele.

“We have a challenge to balance the needs of most of our business owners who prefer traditional face-to-face and one-on-one assistance with new technology that enables our program to reach a greater number of people,” said Monica Braun, REAP Women’s Business Center Director.

Finally, while only 11 percent of rural small business owners said they were within 10 years of exiting their business, double that number claimed succession planning as the current greatest need of their small business, and nearly a third of respondents chose succession planning as a subject of needed training.

The 2011 Guide will also mark five years of cooperative marketing for tourism in the Loup Valley. Both the coalition and the ESCAPE Travel Guide have won state awards in tourism promotion excellence. New for this year is the inclusion of Howard County attractions and events as part of the publication.

Nebraska Life writers, photographers and sales staff will be working in the region in September.  The sales deadline for advertising is September 15, 2010.  If you are interested in advertising in the 2011 ESCAPE Travel Guide, contact Nebraska Life sales staff at (800) 777-6159.

For more information or to submit story ideas and photos to the magazine, contact either David Sawyer at the Burwell/Garfield County CVB at (308) 346-5210 or Caleb Pollard at Valley County Tourism at (308) 728-7875.  If you’re interested in ordering a current travel guide, don’t hesitate to give us a call at one of the numbers above.

FREE Ord Option shopping bags and Ord Option cards are now available at the Ord Chamber office, 1514 K Street.  By spending your dollars locally, you are supporting our local businesses as well as increasing your chances of winning $500 in Ord Chamber Bucks in the month of September.  And the prizes don’t stop there!  For more information, follow the link above, or contact the Chamber office at (308) 728-7875 and stop by the Chamber office to pick up a bag and a card!

You can download a complete listing of garage sale and sidewalk sale participants here.  You can also pick up a copy of the garage sale listings and map at Cheveux Salon, Pump & Pantry – Ord, Trotter’s Whoa & Go – Ord, Good Life Pharmacy, and Anderson Pharmacy. 

Participating businesses in this year’s Sidewalk Sales include: Anderson Pharmacy, Calamity Jane’s Steakhouse & Lounge, Creative Designs, Central Computer Services, Professional Eyecare, Misko Sports, Second Hand Rose (Parkside Storage Unit 5), Trotter’s Whoa & Go, and Arby’s.

Ord will be buzzing with activity this weekend with all of the events and activities that will be taking place.  The Loup Valley Livestock Challenge will bring many out-of-towners to the area on August 21-22 as well as the Comstock or Bust festival on August 19-22!

The forums are conducted by State Chamber staff and are held every autumn to gather input from the business community on issues of concern. Members of the State Chamber and local chambers of commerce, as well as members of the news media, are encouraged to attend.

State senators and legislative candidates in each legislative district have been invited to the forums.

This year’s forums will focus on the Legislature’s 2010 session – including developments in the areas of taxes, labor law, workers’ compensation costs, and economic development programs. The forums will also look at how Nebraska fares in several economic competitiveness rankings.

State Chamber President Barry L. Kennedy said: “The economy continues to be the most pressing issue facing lawmakers and employers. These forums provide a timely opportunity for business leaders and others in the community to learn about key concerns that will be addressed by state and federal policymakers.”

The Legislative Forum will be held in Ord on Tuesday, October 5th at the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce Office at noon. (To make reservations, or for more information, contact the Chamber office at 308.728.7875).

The State Chamber is Nebraska’s largest business association, representing individuals, large and small companies, other associations, and local chambers of commerce. The State Chamber has served as the voice of Nebraska’s business community for more than 98 years.