Northern Kentucky University and Vision 2015 have teamed up in an initiative to fuel the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. Dubbed the Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurial Alliance (NKYEA), this dynamic collaboration is a key component in attaining Vision 2015 goal for the region: to make entrepreneurship and innovation one of this region’s defining features.
Lining up with Vision 2015’s strategic planning for economic development, NKYEA brings together some of Northern Kentucky’s best-known innovators and business incubators in an effort to spur job growth through collaboration, communication and marketing.
John Beehler, Associate Provost for Economic Initiatives and Dean of the Haile/US Bank College of Business at NKU developed the idea behind NKYEA as the central go-to place for entrepreneurship in the region.
“One of the first things I did when I took the position was to take a look at the players involved with driving economic development for Northern Kentucky,” says Beehler who came to NKU from the Barton School of Business at Wichita State.”
Beehler found a number of different agencies working towards creating new growth but little coordination between them. “Looking at landscape I noticed a lot of activities in agencies in region who were providing services to small businesses. When you have multiple organizations doing the same thing it can turn into competition over a coordinated effort.”
With Vision 2015’s ambitious goal of creating 50,000 new jobs, Beehler determined that the only way to reach that number was through “coordination, communication and cooperation.”
In December of ’08, a core group of key organizations was convened to discuss how to increase the number of small businesses and grow development for Northern Kentucky.
“Our key goal is trying to get those who need help to get the help they need to launch their businesses. We need to understand what training these businesses need and figure out how to focus that effort. Economic development and entrepreneurship go hand in hand with the College of Business. I knew it would be important for me to get everyone in the same room and talking about this,” says Beehler.
NKYEA’s work has already started thanks to the programs that the region has already had in place. “I’m a firm believer that regions grow by growing their own and that means fostering entrepreneurship. There’s a lot of potential in our region thanks to the fact that we already are a logistical center, a manufacturing center. We don’t have to start from scratch because there’s already a lot of activity on both sides of the river,” says Beehler.
The alliance is ready to leverage those resources by identifying key targets in making Northern Kentucky a place where entrepreneurs can create and flourish. Among them include: setting up a clearinghouse for basic entrepreneurship and growth information, facilitating education, training, and mentoring for entrepreneurs and increasing the available capital to fund new and exciting projects. Another major piece of the alliance is marketing the region as a hub for entrepreneurship and leadership.
“It’s not enough to have all these tools if you don’t tell anyone about them,” says Beehler.
Among those who’ve joined the alliance are: NKU’s Haile/US Bank College of Business (including its Fifth Third Entrepreneurship Institute and International Business Center Global Connections), ezone Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC), Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center (SBDC), SCORE, Southbank Partners, Tri-ED, and the Williamstown ICC.
Bill Scheyer, President of Southbank Partners, said NKYEA is the type of targeted alliance the region needs. “We have needed a coordinated effort to spur entrepreneurship in this region for many years. NKYEA gives us the opportunity to work together to make this happen.”
Rebecca White, Director of the Fifth Third Entrepreneurship Institute at NKU, added the alliance is a way to attract and retain some of the region’s brightest students.
“As they continue their education and prepare to establish their future businesses, they can get hands-on experience with people facing many issues in establishing and growing their businesses.”
Writer: Feoshia Henderson and Jeff Syroney
Source: John Beehler, Northern Kentucky University
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