Libraries and Entrepreneurship: A Natural Fit
July 12, 2022
Workforce and economic development are hot topics at libraries across the country—and many are tapping into ELI’s Entrepreneurial Mindset Training as a key resource. All public libraries in Georgia, Virginia, and Delaware offer free ELI training to staff and patrons. Many regional and local institutions do, too. For example, from the Mid-Continent Public Library in the metro Kansas City area to Spokane Public Library in Washington. Nashville Public Library joined these ranks in the…
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Kindling a ‘Go Before You Know’ Mentality Across Northeast Iowa
April 28, 2022
When Northeast Iowa Community College offered its first Ice House courses in 2020, it ignited what one faculty member described as a “virtuous brush fire.” People would hear about the Ice House program and want to get involved, explained Seth Gilbert, NICC Director of Organizational Development. That’s especially impressive considering that the college has 12 campuses and centers across eight counties covering 5,000 square miles of rural northeastern Iowa. The college implemented the Ice…
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How the City of Albuquerque Grows Entrepreneurial Thinking From the Inside Out
January 25, 2022
Many cities have worked to attract entrepreneurs over the past decade. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is among them—but in an innovative twist, the fast-growing Southwestern city also worked to foster an entrepreneurial mindset from the inside out. City leaders aren’t looking for municipal employees to start their own businesses. Instead, they’re following the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative’s definition of entrepreneurship as the self-director pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. Here’s the story of how…
Read moreContagious Enthusiasm for Entrepreneurial Thinking in Bermuda
September 28, 2021
Having a second job—or even a third or fourth—is typical for the staff who work with small and medium-sized businesses at the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC). These entrepreneurial thinkers are passionate about the self-directed pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. Donte Hunt, Ondreyah Rochester, and Dennis Carter all work within the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSME) unit. Hunt does graphic design and creates websites. Additionally, he is in the last phase…
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Lessons in Economic Recovery from Small-Town America
May 27, 2021
Around 100,000 businesses shut their doors in 2020. Two-thirds of small business owners say it was their most difficult year in business. Now that the worst of the COVID pandemic is behind us, organizations like the bipartisan Economic Innovation Group are watching closely for signs of how the recovery will play out. In their recent analysis of U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey data, EIG found that more than a third of businesses anticipate…
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