It’s that time of year. Pop-up lemonade stands hosted by enthusiastic children dwindle with the start of school. Cottage Foods producers, artists and farmers continue to fill booths at summer markets but only until frost lays gardens and venues to rest.
Despite seasonal shifts, plenty of opportunities remain to support entrepreneurs in our community.
If you hadn’t noticed, our community is full of locally owned businesses. From restaurants and food trucks to health and wellness and professional services, hospitality, shopping and more.
In a society full of mass-produced items, it’s refreshing to see the unique and artistic touch of a homemade product or a locally owned business.
This weekend, our county’s youngest entrepreneurs in training are showcasing the results of their hard work, dedication and passion for a craft at the La Plata County Fair.
While their efforts may not be paid in cold hard cash, they will be paid in experience. Over the last nine-plus months, these youths have learned valuable skills that will serve them well in life and business.
Becoming an entrepreneur is complicated. You need a skill or product, plus another skill set in marketing, finance and human relations to excel.
Given the diversity of skills required to operate a successful business, it’s helpful to have a team. At the very least, a mentor and support services.
This is one of the ways 4-H supports budding entrepreneurs. They learn leadership, problem-solving and communication skills with the guidance of a mentor.
For adult entrepreneurs who missed the 4-H experience, no worries. There are resources to support you. One example is SCORE. In addition to providing a volunteer mentor, who has walked in your (business) shoes, it offers workshops, trainings and templates to help you succeed.
Locally, you have the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center, SCAPE, Region 9, Durango Business Improvement District, the Chamber of Commerce, Local First and the La Plata Food Equity Coalition Food Business Workgroup, to name a few.
The topic of entrepreneurship was inspired by a weekend music festival. For most, it was time away and a chance to have fun and relax. My kids saw a need and an opportunity to make money.
Surely, there were a few festivalgoers who forgot a can cooler or a trucker hat. Especially one that was adorned with the creative artistry of a child.
A little beginner’s luck, in the form of an immediate sale, helped instill two essential skills for running a business – persistence and risk tolerance.
For the next three days, they spent hours at the entrance to the festival. Here, they practiced marketing and salesmanship. Engagement is a fine line. You need enough to draw people in, but too much can push your customers away.
When sales slowed, frustration prompted creative problem-solving. Time to diversify the product line. Soon, there were new designs and the addition of bracelets. Based on customer feedback, some products were retired. Critique is difficult to swallow, but failure to listen may result in a stockpile of antiquated goods.
Initiating a ledger helped document who sold what and for how much. While it seems a simple task, they quickly learned how easy it is to make booking-keeping errors. An explanation for three missing dollars remains an enigma. Fortunately, the mistake did not put them in the red, as it can often do.
For any entrepreneur, a learning curve is inevitable. But so too is the reward of following your passion and persisting through challenges.
Nicole Clark is director of La Plata County Extension Office. Reach her at nclark@lpcgov.org.
