Part 1: Building Communities with Entrepreneurship in Nebraska
The Nebraska Innovation Studio in Lincoln, NE
As I embarked on the next state on this cross-country listening tour, I traded in slot canyons and the Rocky Mountain peaks in Utah for the plains of Nebraska. The Nebraskan countryside features green pastures stretching for miles across the state, interrupted briefly by small rural towns, fenced ranchland and livestock pastures along I-90, until reaching Lincoln and Omaha in the east. While the influence of agriculture is prevalent across rural communities in the state, my conversations with individuals painted a clearer picture of the burgeoning entrepreneurship in the Midwestern state, and the economic and social value entrepreneurship generates for communities. In Part 1 of the this two-part deep-dive into entrepreneurship in Nebraska, I’ll highlight themes of self-sufficiency, grit, and community resolve which entrepreneurship engenders, and how critical entrepreneurship can be to establishing strong local communities.
It’s no secret many large enterprises and startups begin and stay in urban communities – urban areas offer a host of other amenities, including convening and office spaces, reliable broadband access, capital sources and additional infrastructure (to be further discussed in Part 2). However, access to an entrepreneurial community is just as important of a criterion for entrepreneurs. Per Scott Henderson, Managing Director of gener8tor, a venture fund and accelerator in Omaha, “ultimately, people want to be surrounded by like-minded individuals, who are striving for similar goals and can grow their business and learn from the community.” Entrepreneurs benefit from the cross-pollination of skills, ideas and mentorship within an entrepreneurial community. In conversation with Julie Hockney, CEO of JH Interior Design Studio, the Omaha entrepreneurship community was critical to her success, and she benefitted from the personal relationships she was able to foster in the mid-sized city. “Everyone is here for one another, and we’re not sizing each other up as competition. I’ve been able to walk in other founders’ shoes by walking the streets of Omaha and really understand what challenges we’re all facing together.” Julie is also Communications Chair for the Nebraska chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, which offers coaching, business mentorship and networking services to entrepreneurs across the state to collaborate and learn from one another. “When a small business is just starting out, it needs to get creative and lean on relationships to accomplish a number of tasks. My business was successful from the start because the community came together to help me,” explained Julie, and she ardently recommended local communities create opportunities for businesses to collaborate and meet one another to encourage entrepreneurship.
Above the community benefits of entrepreneurship, conversations with leaders across the state emphasized the psychological and social value entrepreneurship creates for Nebraskans. Jerry Reif Jr., Studio Manager at the Nebraska Innovation Studio, cited a number of stories of local businesses, veterans, and students coming together at the makerspace in Lincoln, NE to build products. The makerspace studio offers hardware, tools ranging from 3-D printing to textile to welding machinery, and materials to allow members to build prototypes of products. “The studio is a comfort zone for many of our members – it allows people to be themselves and fulfill their creative minds,” mentioned Jerry, and he described stories such as:
Two students at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, who came from rural areas in the west, created metal signage and postings for ranches across their rural communities back home. They profit from the sale of the signage, help ranchers proudly market their property, and taught these students a tangible skill
A 70+ year-old member was creating a personal project, and then met a 13 year-old member 3-D printing in the studio. The two fostered a collaboration to integrate 3-D printing design into his personal project, and the 13-year-old learned the value of collaboration and additional hard skills from the 70+ year-old member
A father convinced his begrudging son to collaborate with him on a personal project at the studio. After a few months working in the studio, the son told Jerry “without this place, I would not have found my love for this work, nor would I have this relationship with my father.”
Jerry concluded by explaining his desire to have more individuals begin productively building anything so that they have the confidence to succeed in other areas of life. He ventured changing the common builder philosophy “Measure twice, cut once” to “No, just cut”, explaining that the cost of inaction is high and will continue to breed doubt and fear. People ultimately learn more from the life experience of attempting to build an idea, product, or business whether it succeeds or fails. Entrepreneurship therefore not only provides an economic opportunity for many people, but also radically changes people’s belief in themselves and belief in the future. Person after person in Nebraska praised the Midwestern work ethic, and admonished the belief that Nebraska was just “fly-over country” given the number of talented and hard-working individuals in the state. “The American Dream is still possible here, and is still possible for my kids. You can do anything you want in this state and this country, just go do it!” described Julie.
The level of optimism from these initial conversations was palpable, and I encourage readers to evaluate their own entrepreneurial or creative pursuits which have or have not been realized. The personal impacts of building a project can’t be understated, and the halo effect of self-actualization can be felt across the community. From the stories in Nebraska, entrepreneurs can be community connectors, supporters, and lifelines in times of need. If America hopes to restore communities in rural and urban areas alike, entrepreneurs will be vital for the economic and social health of a community – and that entrepreneur can be you!
Part 2 of this two-part deep-dive into entrepreneurship in Nebraska will discuss the various start-up success stories in the state, a discussion on capital / investor sources, and additional organizations and initiatives which have created the entrepreneurial vibrancy in Nebraska. We hear and praise the successes of entrepreneurial titans along the coasts in America, but it’s safe to say there is strong economic opportunity in the Midwest which can be a blueprint for start-up centers across the country.
Before I close, I’ll leave a TED Talk by Bill Roche on “The Power of an Entrepreneurial Mindset”. He discusses the benefits experienced by helping young adults develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and how that leads to the world-changing ideas of today. Hope you enjoy it!
What creative and entrepreneurial pursuits have you considered? Please comment below with any reactions, ideas, or recommendations for The Next Tide to improve in the future. Thanks for reading!
Blogs will be posted on a biweekly schedule on Mondays. The next blog will be posted on Monday, 5/10/2021.
