Developing Appalachian Entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurial event and its effect on regional development is studied. A program to encourage small-scale enterprises in the Appalachian region of southeastern Kentucky is described. The system can predict the success of an entrepreneur and encourage the community contributions the venture makes. The program, named Building Businesses in Southeastern Kentucky (BBSK), has 3 parts: 1. identifying potential entrepreneurs, 2. assessing them through workshops, and 3. providing follow-up assistance to the most promising participants. It was hypothesized that 4 groups of variables would be positively related: 1. workshop performance, 2. modernity (job changes, mobility, and travel), 3. new-business performance, and 4. attitudes. Surprisingly, few correlations did exist. Valuable information on recruiting and selecting entrepreneurs, screening, evaluating, and investing in entrepreneurs, and technical assistance and training emerged from the study. Entrepreneurs in Appalachia do not differ significantly from those in other areas.