Overview:	In April 2005, Governor Haley Barbour announced formation of the Mississippi Entrepreneur Alliance (MEA).  The MEA was a partnership among agencies promoting entrepreneur development in the state, including:  the State Rural Development Council, Mississippi community and junior colleges (CCJCs), the Mississippi Development Authority, the Small Business Administration, and The Montgomery Institute. Its mission was to energize and grow Mississippi’s entrepreneurial potential, especially in rural areas, by pulling together service providers and resources into a readily accessible support system for entrepreneurs. Creation of the MEA set the stage for entrepreneur support activities throughout Mississippi and West Alabama.
Initiative:	MyBiz – MISSISSIPPI ENTREPRENEUR ALLIANCE
Period:	Ongoing
Funding:	Sen. Thad Cochran provided a $198,000 earmark to the Mississippi Community College Foundation in 2006 to support development of the Mississippi Entrepreneur Alliance. The foundation partners with TMI to operate the program. In 2006, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley jointly applied for and won a $15 million U.S. Department of Labor WIRED grant that incorporated the entrepreneur support concepts developed by MEA. In 2008, Gov. Barbour, MDA Executive Director Gray Swoope, and MDES Director Tommye Dale Favre provided $1,127,000 to take the MEA program beyond the WIRED region to the rest of Mississippi. Also in 2008, the University of Alabama and ADECA won a $1 million U.S. Department of Labor Project GATE grant the provided program access throughout Alabama. In January 2010, TMI won a competitive ARRA grant through MDES to establish the Mississippi Entrepreneur Training Program at all 15 Mississippi community and junior colleges.
Purpose:	The MyBiz-Mississippi Entrepreneur Alliance is a network of agencies, non-profits, and resource providers committed to improving opportunities for citizens in Mississippi and West Alabama to start, own, and expand businesses. The network operates the MyBiz.MS website and coordinates various entrepreneur support activities.
Results:	Through the WIRED grant, eight community colleges, four in Mississippi and four in Alabama, used the MEA concepts to develop and implement a comprehensive program of entrepreneur development and support entitled “MyBiz.” The MyBiz program provided technical assistance to communities to help them become “enterprise-ready” and utilize grow-your-own business strategies, developed entrepreneur training programs for use in community colleges and high schools, developed “Start It! Cards” for all communities in East Mississippi and West Alabama, and developed the MyBiz website that helps entrepreneurs more easily connect to resource providers.Mississippi funding allowed the MyBiz program to expand throughout the state, including the development of Start It! Cards for all communities. Alabama funding allowed parts of the MyBiz program to expand through the state.ARRA funds currently support the Mississippi Entrepreneur Training Program at all 15 community colleges in Mississippi.

 

MYBIZ.MS

 

MyBiz.MS is a gateway website that links local, regional, and national resources to entrepreneurs and communities.

• The Resource Navigator, a unique search tool development by KC SourceLink at the University of Missouri, allows registered users to identify needed resource providers closest to them.
• The Community Connections section shows “Start It! Cards” that display community points-of-contact for utilities, licensing, permitting, tax information and local regulations.
• The Finance Flyby shows potential sources of funding for start-up businesses.
• The Marketing Opportunities section provides links to organizations that can help businesses expand their markets.
• The Niche Enterprises section provides information and links to unique types of entrepreneurship.
• Have An Idea, Ready to Start, and Want to Grow links provide ready access to “how to” advice for entrepreneurs.
• Links are provided in Resource Directory or Library Resources sections for more information on support available to entrepreneurs.

 

 

NEXUS HERO

 

The Nexus Hero program provides technical assistance to communities in East Mississippi to help them expand broadband usage, increase e-commerce activities, and provide outreach workshops to entrepreneurs to show them how to use the Internet to expand their markets.

 

Through October 20, 2011 a total of 14 communities had held Nexus Hero workshops.

 

Noah Everett, creator of highly successful Twitpic, joined Grace Bateman, founder of PeruPaper.com, to keynote the Nexus Hero – Internet Business Workshop for Tomorrow’s Game Changers workshop held in Meridian, MS, in June 2010. A $10,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation provides funds for TMI to offer these workshops to other communities in East Mississippi.

 

TMI has contracted with iBusiness2.0 operated by Clay Hamilton to provide these services. Hamilton will visit interested communities to conduct a survey of existing broadband services and activities and current e-commerce usage. Technical assistance will be provided to help each community identify opportunities for improvement.

 

TMI will publicize and offer a Nexus Hero Workshop in each community.  These workshops target small businesses and entrepreneurs and provide them a basic course in Internet marketing, bring in successful e-commerce businessmen to tell their stories, and provide resources for one-on-one market counseling. The Institute plans to work with at least 12 to and up to 19 communities. Information about the program and success stories will be published on the Institute’s website.

 

To see a summary of the grant proposal click here. You can also visit nexushero.com to view video of past workshops as well as find resources here.

 

ENTREPRENEUR POLICY RECOMENDATIONS

 

A multi-agency workgroup, encouraged by Governor Haley Barbour, has formulated a set of policy recommendations to enhance entrepreneurship and small business development in Mississippi. A survey of entrepreneurs, service providers, and elected officials found overwhelming support for entrepreneur support and the policy recommendations.

 

The workgroup was gathered under the auspices of the Mississippi Entrepreneur Alliance. To see the policy recommendations, the workgroup participants, and the survey results, click here.