Economic Outlook speakers call for new approaches

The business climate is always evolving, and those who can adapt by taking new approaches to old problems stand to realize the best results. That was the message of three national speakers who participated in the Springfield Business Development Corp.’s 11th annual Economic Outlook Conference at University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

Roughly 250 area professionals and community leaders attended the Aug. 26 conference.

Calling entrepreneurism the engine of the nation’s economy, speaker Yasuyuki Motoyama said many institutions and communities are operating under false assumptions that business incubators, university research facilities and venture capitalists are effective generators of successful entrepreneurs. Through his work at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, the senior scholar in research and policy has identified networking and mentorship, as well as access to skilled, local labor, as the most important ingredients for startups.

Motoyama said organizers of business incubators and accelerators often focus on helping new business owners and would-be entrepreneurs write quality business plans. He said the Kauffman Foundation itself has developed ways to write a successful plan, but entrepreneurs don’t need textbook instruction as much as they need real-world guidance.

“Business plan writing is like a beautiful rice cake picture, which is something I might say in Japanese. It looks beautiful, but you can’t eat it,” Motoyama said.

Noting half of all startups fail in the first five years, he said few of the successes have leaned on venture capital. Of some 500 fast-growth companies the Kauffman Foundation interviewed that were recognized by Inc. magazine, Motoyama said only 6.5 percent funded their growth with venture capital, while 67.2 percent used personal savings and 51.8 percent utilized bank financing. He said entrepreneurs should find mentors, such as other business owners willing to take a closer look at a startup’s operations, in order to produce staying power.

“You’re trying to do something new … so, it has to be tailored to your business,” Motoyama said. “And these connections have to be local. If it is a Web-based thing, and you are thousands of miles away, I don’t think you could establish an effective connection.”   

Sarah White, founder and principal adviser at Accelir, a Milwaukee-based strategic advisory specializing in human capital, has worked with more than 100 companies since 2005 to accelerate growth through talent attraction. During the SBDC conference, she said identifying ways to find the right employees should be part of every company’s strategic plans.

“Recruiting and hiring should not be administrative functions. They should be marketing functions,” White said, adding job descriptions are often uninspiring and could discourage the most- talented employees. “It’s attracting people. It’s an introduction. Think of it like a Match.com profile for your company. It’s inviting them to come work for you. People spend more time at their jobs than they do with their families, so who in the world wants to go work for a boring company that lists 47 job requirements including interpersonal skills?”

She advised business owners and human resources professionals work together to attract talent that fits within their culture. She diminished a potential hire’s skills and experience, saying the right person can gain experience on the job.

“Every human on Earth wants to be part of something. And they want to feel proud of what they’re included in,” White said, noting a person with experience who isn’t driven or passionate isn’t likely to help a business grow. “Keep your job descriptions. Just don’t show them to anybody until they get further in the process. It’s like bringing out all the crazy on a first date. You don’t need to do that.”

In an increasingly global and technology-based economy, keynote speaker John Doggett said one of the keys to developing a competitive skilled labor force is to make teaching a more attractive profession among the highest-achieving students.

“I ask questions of my MBA students, who are some of the best in the country, ‘How many of you would want a job teaching to children?’ Occasionally, one will raise their hand,” said Doggett, a senior research fellow with the University of Texas’ IC2 Institute and co-founder of the school’s Idea to Product international technology commercialization competition.

He said Google Inc. and other large American tech companies routinely recruit foreign students.

“We’ve got to do two things: We’ve got to get our kids excited about the technologies of the future, and we have to do everything we can to embrace foreign students who come over here and want to stay and become Americans,” he said.

For its part, conference host SBDC – a subsidiary of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce – has helped 19 companies since 2012 create 1,022 local jobs representing $35.2 million in new annual payroll.

Motoyama said programs that encourage one-on-one mentorship among entrepreneurs, such as 1 Million Cups, have proven to be effective. The weekly program – which was launched by Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation in Kansas City in April 2012 and is now in more than 50 cities – got its start in Springfield in February.

Designed to connect and educate entrepreneurs over conversation and coffee, 1MC organizers invite two entrepreneurs each week to present for 6 minutes and answer audience questions for 20 minutes apiece. Hosted at Missouri State University’s downtown eFactory, 1MC gave the floor Aug. 27 to the owners of multichannel marketing startup Reachmodo LLC and Krista Morgan, co-founder of Denver-based peer-to-business lender P2BInvestor.

Randy Mayes, owner of Springfield-based People Centric Consulting Group LLC, said the meeting was one of roughly 10 he’s attended.

“I’ve made some good connections,” Mayes said, adding he typically doesn’t work with startups but consults for clients such as Incredible Pizza Co. and 417 Magazine. “Networking is a secondary part of why I’m here. The primary reason is idea generation and to support a progressive community. It’s good for all of us.”

He said learning about Reachmodo also gives him another tool in his toolbox to let clients know about possible avenues for marketing.

While Morgan was new to Springfield’s 1MC program, she said it was encouraging to see that roughly 155 people attended the meeting.

“Just the fact that there are so many people in this room is pretty amazing,” she said, adding her presentation in town was the sixth she’s given at 1MC events. “I wouldn’t be here today without the support network of the Boulder and Denver communities.”