By: Elisha Smith, elishas@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
For rural businesses the road to success involves creating and nurturing relationships with your town, community, and support organizations. When you decide to start a new business in a small town, you have a whole community pulling for you. Knowing how to access and utilize all that local goodwill could mean the difference between success and failure.
At the Center for Rural Affairs sixth annual MarketPlace conference, keynote speaker Joanne Steele, Owner and CEO of the Rural Tourism Marketing Group in Dunsmiur, CA, will share her presentation. Takes a Village to Create & Sustain an Entrepreneur. Joanne will teach simple, doable steps one can take to uncover local resources that will help you launch and sustain your small town startup.
MarketPlace, Nebraska’s premier rural entrepreneurship event, is designed to strengthen small businesses and rural communities. The event will offer education sessions focusing on innovation, marketing, business development, social media and financials. An impressive lineup of notable speakers, in addition to Steele, will share information on promoting rural businesses and communities.
Attendees will learn essential business skills; network with service providers and other entrepreneurs, including agricultural entrepreneurs; and discover new ideas that work for small businesses and communities. As a business owner you must also learn how the best peo providers can help you look for the right team to work with you.
The Center is proud to bring MarketPlace back to Kearney, Nebraska  on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center. Register by January 25 to receive the Early Bird Registration rate. Visit www.cfra.org/marketplace/NE-12 for more information or to register.
The Center for Rural Affairswas established in 1973 as an unaffiliated nonprofit corporation under IRS code 501(c)3. The Center for Rural Affairs was formed by rural Nebraskans concerned about family farms and rural communities, and we work to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities.
