By Rick Swart of the Wallowa  County Chieftain

2/21/01 - Underneath the despair and disappointment of a depressed economy is a firm foundation of people with new ideas and business savvy who are bullish on the future of Wallowa County.

That is the conclusion of Myron Kirkpatrick after one year on the job as Wallowa County's full-time "business coach."

   Kirkpatrick's proteges got together Sunday to recount the progress they have made since availing themselves of his services.
   Greg Wieck, a farmer-turned-entrepreneur, is one of them. He and his wife Claudette are bullish on Wallowa County and its future as they try to make a business out of mining Bowby stone by turning it into custom masonry for high-end homes.

   Bob Fergison is another one. He is an artist who sold 55 paintings last year and who has designs on selling a lot more through his new Web site, www.bobfergison.com. Fergison is selling more art that he ever thought possible, thanks, in part, to his decision to follow Kirkpatrick's advice and enlist someone else to help him do the marketing. That is one aspect of the business that he'd just as soon not have to worry about. (OMED:  The irony here is that Fergison is an ex-marketing man!  An expert at selling other people's work, he hates the process of selling his own. The painting here is also a hotlink to his website.  If you love art, do not miss this one. )
 
   David Weaver is another up-and-coming entrepreneur who feels that he is on the verge of a business breakthrough, thanks to some sage advice he got from Myron Kirkpatrick. Weaver is betting on Timber Bronze castings – door nobs, towel rods, and other home accessories made out of bronze from molds created from pine cones, bark, and other forest products. Weaver has discovered, with Kirkpatrick's help, that if he can get his products into people's hands, they will buy them ... that pictures alone don't fully convey what he is making. So he and wife Carol are planning to attend their first trade show next May in Boise in an attempt to do just that – put their products in the hands of people who build log homes.

   Janelle Stewart, owner of a new drafting company based in Joseph, is another Kirkpatrick protege who sings the praises of her business coach. She is thinking big by focusing on projects like the National World War II Monument in Washington, D.C. She sought out Kirkpatrick's help to make sure her ideas are sound.

   In addition to a strong desire to succeed, these four business start-ups have one thing in common – they are sold on the assistance that they have received from Myron Kirkpatrick and Wallowa County Business Facilitation (WCBF). WCBF is a business incubator launched a year ago according to economic development guidelines pioneered by Ernesto Sirolli and his Sirolli Institute.
   The Sirolli Institute is working on grassroots style economic development all over the world by bringing one-on-one business coaching to anyone who is passionate and self-motivated about starting or expanding a business. WCBF is a group of local community leaders who got together during the summer of 2000 and enlisted the help of Sirolli. Five months later, in January of 2001, this group had organized a non-profit organization and hired Kirkpatrick as Wallowa County's first full-time business coach.

   WCBF board members hosted an open house Sunday to review their progress after year one.  About 75 people attended the event, including government officials, business owners, new entrepreneurs, the media, and others interested in economic development.  The centerpiece of the afternoon session was a presentation by Kirkpatrick, who reported that over the past year he attended 642 meetings, made contact with 325 people, and provided assistance to 152 clients representing 84 new business concepts. Kirkpatrick said he was involved with the opening of three new businesses – Exotic Customizing, Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast, and Executive Tree Care. He also worked in a "tuneup capacity" with 68 existing businesses that currently employ 238 people.

   "Job retention is just as important as job creation," he said referring to his work with existing businesses.  In addition, he noted that several persons decided not to go forward with new business ideas after seeking his counsel.
   Ed Powers of Enterprise was one of them.
   "Thanks for steering me out of that elk business," said Powers, who had considered raising domestic elk but decided that an elk ranching operation would make him "a slave to another business."
   "Sometimes that is as valid an outcome as starting a business," Kirkpatrick explained.
    Others are moving ahead with their business plans.

   Wieck, Fergison, Weaver, and Stewart say Kirkpatrick and the Sirolli approach to starting a business have been invaluable in their own business start-ups.
   "We had been in business a year and a half and were just stumbling along," said Timber Bronze partner Carol Weaver. "Myron put us on the right track. He let us know we were in the ballpark and helped us with some ideas on our marketing."
   Wieck added that Kirkpatrick encouraged him and his wife to put together a business plan to serve as a road map for operating their Bowlby stone business, which Claudette Wieck named "Tuff Stone."
   "We feel we are going about trying to establish a new business in a methodical way, which will greatly enhance our chances of being successful," said Wieck.

   Kirkpatrick explained that the Sirolli approach focuses on team building, primarily in three areas of business operation – marketing, financial management, and production of the good or service itself.
   "I have never met anyone who is equally good at and passionate about all three of these things," he said. Therefore it is critical that business owners identify which of those areas they are strong in and find someone else to help them in the other areas, and Kirkpatrick and the WCBF directors help them meet that challenge through networking.

   For example, Kirkpatrick helped Bob Fergison get hooked up with Tim Perales, who built Fergison's Web site.
   "It's not that I don't know how to do marketing," Fergison said. "I just don't want to do it. I want to do artwork." That is the classic scenario that new businesses face, according to Kirkpatrick – passion and expertise in one area of the business, but little or no interest in another.
   "That equation is so simple," said Fergison. "But I'd never heard it before."

   WCBF board chairman Gail Hammack said she and her board members are excited about the magnitude of the project after its first year.
   "I like the power that his program gives the community," said Hammack. "We believe this kind of help is going to strengthen our future."

(C) 2002  Wallowa  County Chieftain  Reprinted by permission