This month's podcast explores the importance of farmers' markets as a platform for entrepreneurs in food and artisan related products/ services. 

Scott Hall, Director of the Neosho Farmers' Market, joins the May podcast to discuss the role of farmers' markets as a community development tool, how local markets help create affinity for "place," and the low-cost/ low-barriers of to validate products and services  for aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs.

Links

The Brooklyn "Flea"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQFiTQoZOQk 

https://vimeo.com/12973867 

A "How To" guide for farmers' markets http://placemaking.mml.org/how-to/michigan-farmers-markets/

Missouri Department of Agriculture resources for farmers' markets

This month's podcast features Kitchen Essentials owner, Traci Cliffman. Traci shares her journey from nearly two decades in the classroom to starting her own business in downtown Nevada, Missouri.

Traci shares advice and insights related to:

• Financial and logistical considerations for people thinking about starting a business
• The role small businesses can play in downtown development
• Resources needed to encourage more small business growth

You can find Kitchen Essentials online on their webpage or their Facebook page.

The New Growth Women's Business Center (Resource for entrepreneurs the following counties: Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Henry, Hickory, Morgan, Polk, St. Clair and Vernon).

This month’s podcast is going to be a little different than previous months. While we haven’t quite reached one year of podcast guests, we are approaching the one year mark of beginning the Jesup Group effort at Crowder College. It’s a perfect time to reflect and share our progress to this point. 

Over the past year the effort has evolved to focus on three key areas:

1. Assisting with the development of a rural entrepreneurial culture in SW Missouri.
2. Strategic regional and community development
3. How to connect our rural students and residents to digital skills that will be essential to participate in an increasingly digital economy.

As I reflected this past fall on how this effort began and has evolved, I ran across a video from a servant leadership conference we had  The title of the video was “Crowder College Servant Leadership Conference - Rick Webb - Grit Studios.” 

In the fall of 2019 Crowder hosted our first ever servant leadership conference and Rick Webb was one of our keynote speakers. Rick is a retired Walmart executive, a self-described agitator, and founded a startup accelerator called Grit Studios in Bentonville, Ar. The title of his talk was “Raising our Capacity to Serve Our Community.” 

As I watched the video and listened to his talk again, I realized this talk, really the entire event led to Crowder’s efforts to begin the Jesup Group effort.  A year and a half later I realized Rick was true to form and agitated us at Crowder. I hope you enjoy this podcast and become agitated to see how you can further develop your communities.

Below are links to the resources Rick mentions in his talk.

Innovation that Matters PDF

https://www.1776.vc/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Innovation-that-Matters-2017-2.pdf 

The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley

https://www.amazon.com/Rainforest-Secret-Building-Silicon-Valley/dp/0615586724

Tony Savage and his wife Emily are just dipping their toes into the entrepreneurial waters. Their business, The Melting Pot, is located in Noel, Missouri and will open late spring of 2021.

Noel is a unique community of less than 2000 people where over 30 countries of refugees and immigrants are represented and 11 languages are spoken. Tony and Emily have goals in their entrepreneurial endeavor that are far beyond creating a profitable business. They hope their business becomes a hub for community, collaborative conversation, and creative collisions. Tony shares an inspiring story that illustrates how an entrepreneur can advance communities economically and socially. Give this one a listen!

To support Tony and Emily in their efforts at the Melting Pot, please visit their Go Fund Me campaign.

To learn more about the Melting Pot and follow them on Social Media, visit their Facebook page.

Andy Thomas, a world-class artist who was raised in Jasper County and lives in Carthage, Missouri with his wife Dina Thomas.

To this point, our guests on the podcast have been people who created businesses around professional services, or commercial products for retail.

We are taking a look today at the role of the arts and the numerous intersections between art, entrepreneurship, and community development. 

You can find Andy's work at https://andythomas.com/

November 19th is Women in Entrepreneurship Day! At the Jesup Group we want to celebrate and encourage entrepreneurial women in southwest Missouri. This month's podcast features two inspiring women who pursued their passions in the businesses they created.

Alyssa Vaughn owns the Flying V Mercantile in Monett, Missouri as well as A-List Properties Premier, also in Monett. Sarah James is the co-owner of Hello Sunshine Market located in Granby, Missouri.

These women share their stories of how they became entrepreneurs, the challenges they faced along the way and how they overcame them. More importantly, they share their visions for the communities where they live. Don't miss this episode.

Our most recent podcast features John Hunter of Progressive Bike Ramps, American Ramp Company, Atlas Safe Rooms (and several more businesses). 

John shares his insights on the future of biking and a bike culture in southwest Missouri and the type of culture needed to develop communities and entrepreneurship. As a McDonald County, Missouri native, John shares how a sense of community, determination, and willingness to learn led him to becoming one of the most prolific entrepreneurs in the area. 

Our August podcast will feature Shane Smith of Mass Depot, an e-commerce powerhouse located in Neosho, Missouri. Shane shares his journey that led him from an automotive service technician to an entrepreneur and one of the owners of a multi-million dollar e-commerce business. He also discusses why SW Missouri is the perfect location to become an entrepreneur and why e-commerce could be an economic development strategy for the region.

Our first Startup Stories podcast features Stacy Hall. Stacy and her husband scratched their own itch and created the potty chair they wish was available when they began potty training their own child. Listen to this episode to learn how, grit, creative thinking, and persistence led this Barry County, Missouri couple all the way to ABCs "Shark Tank."  

Learn about why we chose the name Jesup Group for our efforts and how Crowder College plans to use the Jesup Group to develop a robust entrepreneurial culture in southwest Missouri.