The Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) and its services are available to rural communities across Nebraska.  REAP offers technical assistance, educational and networking opportunities, and a loan program for small businesses.  REAP is designed to assist all types of small businesses, including businesses with 10 or fewer employees, self-employed full-time, part-time, home-based, farm-based, start-up, and store-front businesses. REAP has six regionally based Business Specialists, including 2 bilingual Specialists that also work with our Hispanic Business Center and the state’s only Women’s Business Center. These Business Specialists can get involved in assisting entrepreneurs at various stages of their business progress.

MEDC is pleased to partner with REAP in order to offer an expanded list of services to businesses of all sizes.

“Never in a million years did I think I would be where I’m at today,” said Megan Kirkpatrick, who is originally of North Platte, Nebraska and now lives in McCook, where she works at Valmont Industries. < more>

Since 2005, NBDC’s North Platte office has provided assistance to more than 650 clients.  These clients were assisted with business plans, financial projections, general business consulting, and loan packaging.  They were approved for more than $31 million in total investment, which created more than 378 jobs.

NBDC’s general services are provided at no cost.  NBDC is a cooperative program of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the College of Business Administration of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  Through the Small Business Development Center program, NBDC provides direct management and technical assistance to more than 2,000 businesses in Nebraska each year.  NBDC operates centers throughout the state inOmaha,Lincoln,Wayne,Norfolk,Kearney,North Platte, Chadron, and Scottsbluff.

Please feel free to contact the North Platte NBDC, Phone # 308-534-5115, Email jtuller@mail.unomaha.edu, Address:  300 East 3^rd, Rm 275, North Platte, NE 69101, or visit our website at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu

Contact: Joy Marshall, joym@performanceplanners.com Phone:  (402) 614-5558

Holbrook NE- Technology can help you win business clients, is here to stay and continues to change.  Are you changing with the times?

 GROW Nebraska is ready to help you learn and grow your business exponentially at the 2012 MarkeTECH Conference in North Platte, NE on April 18th at Mid Plains Community College and April 19th at the Holiday Inn Express. 

GROW Nebraska is a 501(c) 3 non-profit which helps grow Nebraska businesses one at a time through promotion, marketing and education. GROW believes there is nothing more important in sustaining a business than marketing, promotion and awareness.

GROW Nebraska is offering this educational event to grow both member and non-member businesses as well as the opportunity for you to have your product or service information to be evaluated by top business professionals.  MarkeTECH is an event focused on energizing small business owners with new fun technology-based opportunities.   Event organizer Joy Marshall said, “This is an outstanding venue to learn new technology techniques that will help small business owners expand their business without being an expert themselves.  Attendees at this event will learn ways to increase their income potential with easy and fun technology tools.” Keynote speaker Paige Cahill, Kansas City, MO of Constant Contact is fun, entertaining yet educational, empowering and engaging ways to move everyone to the next steps to increase your bottom line.

The event offers high-quality educational sessions and exhibitor booths with ample networking opportunities for attendees. The dynamic combination of expert presenters and essential service providers will prove to be an outstanding way to innovate, develop and grow small business owners.

Don’t miss out on the Early Bird registration as it ends on April 12th.  Contact Joy Marshall, joym@performanceplanners.org or 402-614-5558 with any questions or go to http://www.grownebraska.org/marketech/ to learn more and register for the opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Tax Foundation Ranks Nebraska No. 1

The Tax Foundation released its latest study of bottom-line tax liability for businesses in each of the 50 states titled “Location Matters: A Comparative Analysis of State Tax Costs on Business”. The study found that Nebraska was No. 1 overall for newly established operations, and for both new corporate headquarters and new call centers. Nebraska also ranked No. 2 for mature R&D operations, with a total tax burden nearly 50 percent less than the national average, and for both new capital-intensive and new labor-intensive manufacturing.Nebraska again topped several other rankings:

Top 5 for Accountability and Transparency (Best Corruption Fighters), Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International

5^th America’s Healthiest Housing Market, The Lending Tree Healthiest Housing Index

6^th Best State for Economic Competitiveness, Beacon Hill Institute’s State Competitiveness Report

8^th in America’s Highest Well-being/Happiest States, Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index 2011

5^th in Top 10 Cities to Raise a Family – Lincoln, 24/7 Wall St.

8^th in Top 10 Cities to Raise a Family – Omaha, 24/7 Wall St.

Following one of the best years ever for McCook’s economy, the members of the McCook Economic Development Corp. gathered at the Keystone Business Center Monday afternoon to review the past year’s achievements and make plans for further growth in 2012.

Speaking to a large crowd in the Keystone’s restored dining hall, the executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp., Rex Nelson, declared, “Project activity has been the best since I have worked at the MEDC.” Nelson went on to explain, “Projects in bioenergy, agribusiness and retail are still in various stages of development.” As an example, the development executive pointed out that “one client would like to locate at the industrial park (near Valmont’s center pivot manufacturing facility).”

Because of the industrial prospects, Nelson said the economic development board is taking a close look at MEDC’s subdivision agreement with the city. As a result, he said, changes in the subdivision agreement are indicated.

While Nelson could not reveal the exact nature of the industrial negotiations, there was plenty else to talk about at the MEDC’s Annual Meeting of Members.

Among the highlights:

*Because job retention and the success of existing businesses is always the first priority, MEDC continues to press their Business Retention and Expansion program. Working with Lena Koebel with the Mid-Plains Community College Center for Enterprise, Nelson has visited over 35 key businesses in the past year. These visits are designed to identify needs that the community can address and to find opportunities for expansion. Considerable job growth has occurred in some of our existing businesses this past year.

* The Keystone Business Center, restored at a cost of $4.5 million, is now fully occupied with 19 tenant companies, including two anchor tenants and seven start-ups;

* The first loan was made from the Economic Development Sales Tax Program.

East Ward Village was the first recipient, using a $105,000 loan to leverage a $4 million investment in support of 27 new housing units in McCook.  The project is considered an important piece of the workforce housing solution, as folks moving into these new unites release single family homes to the market;

* A Facade Renovation Program is being put in place for commercial areas of the community, with all but $34,000 of the $313,767 program committed for pending loan applications and the $90,000 Facade Renovation Program reserve;

* MEDC helped launch a community consortium called Vision McCook which funded development of the new promotion: “McCook: The Go-To Place of Southwest Nebraska!”

* Utilizing funds from a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, the McCook Economic Development team created a new, professional website “that is easy to work with and keep up to date.” Among the features of the website is a blog component that lets the MEDC post lots of news and events that can then be promoted with links from Facebook and other traffic-driving techniques. Nelson commented that: “We know that both potential residents and business prospects do their research online, so a strong web presence is essential.”

The McCook Economic Development Corporation’s members also heard reports from the MEDC Housing Director, Mary Kircher, and the MEDC Business Incubation Specialist, Sue Shaner.

Kircher’s report featured news that a Purchase-Rehab-Resale agreement is in the works for a house at 511 East Sixth Street. This is in addition to the house at 804 West Fourth, which has been fixed up and sold, and the house at 802 East Second, for which a buyer has been identified.

With the help of Nelson and McCook’s new city manager, Jeff Hancock, Kircher is at work on a list of housing priorities for McCook’s Strategic Plan. “We are very aware of the workforce housing needs in the community” said Kircher “so we are looking at several efforts to address them.” While the entire list was not revealed, Kircher did say that grant applications for the Purchase-Rehab-Resale program will remain a top priority.

In her report, Shaner said the McCook Economic Development Corp. works on behalf of businesses throughout Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. As an example, she pointed to the Wauneta Roller Mills where Shaner’s networking efforts helped bring the buyers and sellers together. “The transition has resulted in a young family being able to remain in the area and work together, not only to preserve a landmark company, but to expand marketing efforts to increase revenues for Southwest Nebraska and bring more notoriety to area ag endeavors.”

The business transition transferred mill ownership from a family in their 90s to a couple in their late 20s and early 30s. This not only helped the Wauneta area, it helped McCook because Wauneta Roller Mills’ products are marketed and used by several firms here, including Sehnert’s Bakery, Schmick’s Market and Homespun.

Homespun, the winner of the 2011 Hormel Business Plan Competition, is another of the incubation success stories for the MEDC. Shaner revealed, that as the result of the Hormel award and MEDC mentoring, Homespun will move to a new, larger location on May 1. At that time, Homespun’s hours will be expanded to include breakfast; more seating will be available in a new space; and a meeting room will be added.

During the annual meeting, MEDC members voted without dissent to select Dale Dueland, the owner-manager of Dueland Farms, Inc., and Russell DeLong, the McCook plant manager of Valmont Irrigation, for three-year terms on the McCook Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors.

Dueland serves as director and vice president of the Frenchman Valley Farmers Cooperative and is a member and past chairman of the McCook Planning Commission. His community service also includes being an advisory member and vice chairman of the McCook Community Foundation Fund and being the secretary and founding member of the McCook Arts Council.

DeLong has been the plant manager at the Valmont-McCook facility since 2004. He is a past McCook United Way chair and is a past president of the McCook Rotary Club.

Both Dueland and DeLong have served previous terms on the MEDC Board.

As MEDC directors, Dueland and DeLong will be replacing Jim Coady and Don Moore. The outgoing directors were praised for their service and presented engraved clocks in recognition of their efforts.

Jim Ulrich, the outgoing president of the McCook Economic Development board, presided at the meeting and Mark Graff, the MEDC treasurer, presented the financial report .

McCook Economic Development Corporation announced today that a new program has launched that will provide financial incentives for improving the facades of business in McCook Commercial areas. Funded from the Economic Development portion of the Local Option Sales Tax, this program will provide grants of up to $5000.00 with a one to one match plus additional zero interest loans up to $10,000.00 to local businesses or building owners to improve the looks and structural soundness of their building fronts.  Although the program is available to any business in areas zoned Highway Commercial, Business Commercial or Central Business District, preference will be given to the downtown area and to work being done with local contractors.

MEDC Executive Director Rex Nelson says that that “Façade renovation programs are a proven way to help keep a business district looking sharp. It helps stimulate renovations and upgrades and attracts private investment. This makes the retail districts more attractive to shoppers and tourists which in turn supports the local economy and benefits residents and taxpayers.” Of particular interest is attracting investment to the downtown areas, as these areas generally are more difficult to keep occupied and well maintained. “We have an attractive downtown, but it could still be a better.” Says Nelson “ We must continue to encourage investments that will offset the effects of age on our stately old buildings. My hope is that McCook would increasingly be considered a destination shopping location that competes favorably for those folks around the fringes of our trade area.”

Nelson noted that the launch of this now program on the heels of a downtown survey of just two weeks ago is actually coincidence as this program has been over a year in the making and was ready to launch before the survey came out. He said that “The survey results did confirm the desire for a tool such as this however, so we are glad to be able to offer it at this time.”

A maximum funding level of $90,000 has been set for this calendar year by the MEDC Board of Directors. The Program Rules and Application and Design Guidelines are available on the MEDC website on this  “News” page (below) and will reside  the “Local Financial Resources” page as soon as some repairs are made to the page.

McCook Facade Improvment Program  rules and application

Draft Mainstreet McCook Design Guidelines

The survey was done to inform the process of applying for the Downtown Revitalization Grant from Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The quality information however will give insights for many purposes for some time. Many thanks to the helpful folks who took the time to complete the survey! Our apologies if we missed anyone.

McCook Downtown Business Survey Summary 2012

Register by April 1st and save $50 on the 2012 Big Red Camp for Entrepreneurship to be held June 10-15 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Entrepreneurship camp registrants are also eligible to apply for an additional $300 scholarship when they register and complete a scholarship application.   Space is limited and will fill on a first-come basis.  Students who will be in 10-12 grades in 2012-2013 are encouraged to apply.

The Big Red Camp for Entrepreneurship is a residential camp with campers staying and eating on campus, enjoying evening group activities and attending camp sessions during the day.  Over the five days, campers will gain business skills to help drive their business ideas into action.  Camp activities include sessions with UNL faculty and business professionals, and group activities such as creating an experimental product, writing and acting in a television commercial, and visiting area businesses, just to name a few.  Campers will also focus on creating or fine-tuning their own business ideas to really make them grow!

Plan now to attend the Big Red Camp and build your entrepreneurship skills.  Early registration ends April 1st, regular registration is open until May 1.  Apply online at BIGREDCAMPS.UNL.EDU.  Remember to submit your scholarship application along with your registration.

Questions about the camp?  Contact Marilyn Schlake, Extension Educator & Camp Director, 402.472.4138 or mschlake@unl.edu

Email provided courtesy of University of Nebraska-Lincoln CARI Registration Services: 103 Miller Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0711, 1-800-328-2851.

If you wish to no longer receive emails regarding future classes/workshops in your area visit http://cariregistration.unl.edu/optout.awp.  Thank you.

• Increase the number of Internships, to keep our brightest students in the state
• Attract more Angel Investors, to stimulate new business creation. This is a very attractive tax credit program
• Stimulate construction of spec commercial buildings, to help attract new businesses to the state
• Push new technology into the market. To capture the value of our strong university system and entrepreneurial thinking across the state

Eric Zeece from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Dan Hoffman from Invest Nebraska will present.

The workshop will be held  at 10:00 AM Friday March 16th at the Keystone Business Center, 402 Norris Avenue, Room 302, McCook.