Jesup Group

08/06/2022

New Podcast Episode Alert! This past week I attended my second year of CDI Central at the University of Central Arkansas. While there, I borrowed about 45 minutes of Shelby Fiegel's 14-hour day to record a podcast.

Through Crowder College, the Jesup Group exists to serve our rural nine-county service area in SW Missouri. We will bring Shelby and a few others who are connected to CDI ,up to Crowder later this year. My hope is, in the coming years Shelby sees MANY faces from SW Missouri in Conway- learning how to serve our communities better and make them even better places to live, work, and play.
http://jesupgroup.com/podcast/the-community-development-institute-cdi-with-shelby-fiegel-episode-21/?preview=true

07/23/2022

This podcast episode features Megan Escalante. Megan owns PINEAPPLE BLISS, a growing specialty desert shop in Joplin, Missouri and a new location in Springdale, Arkansas Pineapple Bliss NWA.

On this podcast episode, Megan discusses her journey as a serial entrepreneur. She discusses how she learned and became more resilient business owner at each juncture and setback. The journey began with a degree in bio chemistry and transformed to two successful businesses in cosmetology and a growing restaurant chain.

Listen as Megan discusses the mindset she developed to move past adversity, grow, and continually learn. If you are looking for a local contact who lives a growth mindset, this is your episode.

  This podcast episode features Megan Escalante. Megan owns Pineapple Bliss, a growing specialty desert shop in Joplin, Missouri and a new location in Springdale, Arkansas. On this podcast episode, Megan discusses her journey as a serial entrepreneur. She discusses how she learned and became more r...

05/01/2022

This month’s podcast features Chris Forsythe from Precision Coffee Company in Nevada, Missouri.

Chris could be described as a serial entrepreneur. In 2017 he left his steady, hourly wage job (that he worked at for 17 years) and since that time he has begun three businesses. We’re going to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur, the challenges of limiting beliefs for aspiring entrepreneurs, and the opportunities he feels are available for people who recognize they already have the skills it takes to start their own business.

http://jesupgroup.com/podcast/overcoming-limiting-beliefs-with-unlimited-potential-with-chris-forsythe-episode-18/

04/12/2022

The Jesup Group is focused on three areas:

1)Entrepreneurship as a concurrent, grassroots method of economic development.

2) Community development to attract and retain talent in the rural communities that Crowder College serves.

3) Expand access to digital skills- to increasingly participate in the growing digital economy.

A recent effort, Innovate Southern Missouri, allows us check all three boxes in one initiative! Stakeholders throughout our region, led by Codefi and The eFactory, have partnered to build capacity and serve residents throughout the southern region of Missouri. We are excited about this effort and your community should be too!

The largest regional workforce and business development network in the state’s history

03/30/2022

Even after the peak of the pandemic, small towns continue to pull residents from more populated areas.

If you can impact the factors listed below and discussed in this article in some way, you can help make your rural community more vibrant and resilient by attracting residents and creating small businesses.

"Remote work has given people the freedom to tailor their lifestyles to their personal preferences, not the locations of their employers. As a result, he said many remote workers are choosing to relocate to small towns because of affordability and opportunities to connect with the local community."

Towns like Quincy, Ill., can be appealing to remote workers for the cheaper cost of living and community aspects of a small town. About 17 percent of workers reported moving away from their workplace since the pandemic’s start.

03/30/2022

Are you thinking about starting a new business? Or have you recently started a business and want to make sure you’re set up for success?

One of our regional partners, the The efactory is offering free resources! Supercharge Southwest Missouri offers an on-demand training platform designed for new and emerging businesses in southwest Missouri.

This expert-led, easy-to-understand content can be accessed anywhere, at any time. And through grant funding from the Missouri Technology Corporation the online curriculum is available to anyone in southwest Missouri at no cost!

Access on-demand business training led by our team of experts. Get help starting and growing in Southwest Missouri.

02/18/2022

Wisconsin's housing industry and local government associations offered ways communities can address their need for affordable housing units.

02/05/2022

This month's podcast episode features John Newby, who writes a weekly syndicated column titled "Building Main Street, Not Wall Street" and community development approach he calls "Truly Local," as well as Sarah James, a repeat guest who is a local entrepreneur and community activist in Granby, Missouri.

These two guests are passionate about the possibilities in rural areas and have some great advice for rural areas, no matter your size. Check out this episode and the resources below mentioned on this podcast.

  This month’s episode features John Newby, who writes a weekly syndicated column titled “Building Main Street, Not Wall Street” and community development approach he calls “Truly Local,” as well as Sarah James, a repeat guest who is a local entrepreneur and community activist in Granby, ...

01/27/2022

If you don't follow the Congress for New Urbanism, you really should.

Human-scale cities and towns: What’s their worth?
Generating taxes, saving the Earth
Social, health, safety, economy, too
Walkable places do so much for you

There are many benefits of building walkable places, including economic benefits. https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2021/08/18/ten-economic-benefits-walkable-places

12/27/2021

The presence of reliable, high-speed internet, affordable cost-of-living, vibrant, walkable downtown areas, and amenities are growth factors in all of these states.

The rural Midwestern states that have embraced these realities are leveraging the talent that will grow rural economies in the next several decades.

North Dakota is ranked number 1 for states that remote professionals would consider moving to.