South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE)
Prepared by: Dr. Bridget Jones, SCOPE Lead Project Consultant
June 2, 2020
South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE) Network – 2019 – 2020 Results
The real focus and success of the SCOPE project has been to build the capacity of local economic development and chamber leaders to identify, craft, and implement successful entrepreneur and small business services to meet their unique needs and opportunities. The second intention to increase local knowledge of available regional, state and federal resources and to create new working relationships with these providers has been well received and applied. Finally technical assistance provided by the Project Consultant and SCTDD staff has allowed 7 SCOPE Points of Contact and their teams to develop local pilot project plans and match these local leaders with resources to launch and sustain targeted entrepreneurial and small business programming in the first year of the project.
The South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE) Network is in place to develop strategies and plans for programming to implement 7 local pilot projects through SCOPE Points of Contacts and Partners. In the Summer of 2020, these 7 new pilot projects that leverage TNECD and USDA Rural Development investments to address these current priorities and needs in this region of rural Tennessee are scheduled to begin.
Based upon positive feedback from all project partners and the number of locally tailored pilot project that will be launched, this collaborative leadership approach and program design has proven quite successful.
Program Summary
Why Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses are important to South Central Tennessee….
Small businesses and their owners provide necessary local goods and services, support existing employees and families, stimulate new job creation and develop crucial innovations in both products and services for rural people and communities.
States, regions and communities that embrace and support entrepreneurs and small business development know that these types of businesses are a significant source of wealth generation and employment in rural economies.
Entrepreneurs are often described as a person who has sold or is planning to sell a product or service for income as a business activity. Entrepreneurs and small businesses range in size and type from microenterprises that employ from 1 to 5 people, to small businesses that employ 5 to 25 people to larger scale operations that employ up to 500 people.
The South Central Tennessee Region has many successful small business owners who began as entrepreneurs. In fact, 2018 data shows that 99.23% of total businesses in the 13 county South Central Tennessee Region employed between 1 to 499 persons. In Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Moore, Perry and Wayne 100% of all businesses operating in these six counties employed between 1 and 499 persons that year. In 2018, small businesses employing between 1 and 499 persons provided jobs for a total of 186,941 people in the 13 counties and produced annual sales volumes as follows:
2018 SALES VOLUME BY BUSINESSES SIZE*
*Contains Totals for Self Employed Individuals (1) to Small Business Employment (499)
County Volume of Sales Percentage of Total Sales
BEDFORD $2.15 Billion 79%
COFFEE $4.6 Billion 100%
FRANKLIN $1.67 Billion 71%
GILES $1.87 Billion 78.2%
HICKMAN $762.7 Million 100%
LAWRENCE $2.2 Billion 100%
LEWIS $1.4 Billion 100%
LINCOLN $2.27 Billion 87.7%
MARSHALL $2.26 Billion 89.9%
MAURY $6.81 Billion 93.1%
MOORE $6.8 Billion 93.2%
PERRY $301.4 Million 100%
WAYNE $567.2 Million 100%
Source: www.youreconomy.org 2018
Promoting South Central Entrepreneurs and Rural Economic Opportunities……….
In South Central Tennessee and rural regions across the country, it is critical that communities and economic developers dedicate resources to develop and promote new business startups and establish effective support systems for existing small businesses of all sizes and types. A community that meets the needs of its entrepreneurs increases its chances of job growth by small businesses, which translates into a more vibrant community. It also positions itself to create more jobs and compete for local spending to keep more money in the local economy.
In the South Central Region of Tennessee, Economic Development leaders and Local Officials have realized the need and opportunity to retain and grow small businesses as vital parts of their economies for the last several years. In 2018, much interest was expressed to focus on entrepreneurship and small business development in TNECD Rural Development Listening Tours, Asset-Based Planning and Main Street Strategic Planning activities across the South Central Region. More than half of the 13 counties identified Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development as a top rural development priority and requested assistance to address these needs during TNECD sponsored forums. As a result, several TNECD ThreeStar grants were awarded in 2019 to spur new programs and centers in South Central counties. Local leaders also began to express interest in TNECD’s new Placemakers Fund to support local small business development efforts and applied for funding in the opening round of applications during the same time.
Now these same South Central Tennessee communities face critical challenges with COVID-19 economic impacts. Economic Development and Local Officials have elevated the need to retain existing small businesses as a number one priority to preserve their rural economies and meet local needs. A strategic, continuing focus on recovery and resiliency of local small businesses across these rural communities and regions will be needed for several years.
Another current trend in rural economic development is support for the successful employment of remote workers. Through technology, these owners and employees of companies located in other places are able to perform their work away from central offices and live in rural areas that offer the lifestyle and amenities that provide a higher quality of life. The South Central Tennessee Region has seen a steady increase in the number of remote workers for the past several years. In 2019, Perry County at 9.5%, Lewis County at 4.5% and Hickman County at 4.4% have the highest percentage remote workers who are 16 years and older who reside in each county in the region. Bedford, Coffee, Maury and Moore counties have the next largest percentage with a 3.43% average. In 2019, remote work provided jobs for 5,653 people in the 13 county South Central counties as follows:
Esri Remote Worker Data for SCOPE Counties*
* The percent is based on workers 16 years and older who reside in the county.
County Number of Remote Workers % of Remote Workers
Bedford 726 3.5%
Coffee 816 3.6%
Franklin 412 2.4%
Giles 322 2.7%
Hickman 417 4.4%
Lawrence 310 2.0%
Lewis 212 4.5%
Lincoln 306 2.2%
Marshall 301 2.2%
Maury 1,364 3.4%
Moore 89 3.2%
Perry 249 9.5%
Wayne 129 2.2%
Source: Emsi Q1 Data Set from the American Community Survey Totals, February 2019.
Remote workers bring talent and spending to rural communities that support vibrant places and economies. With COVID-19, leaders in the South Central region expect to see population gains from people choosing to move to less populated areas with access to larger metropolitan areas. Providing CoWorking, Entrepreneur and Small Business Development facilities and services is a smart community investment to welcome support job and business creation from these newcomers. These new types of workplaces and amenities can be created in downtowns and central business districts to meet new demand for these types of workplace facilities and services. Density of users and functions can make community broadband and WiFi access systems more feasible for necessary infrastructure investments to support entrepreneurs, small business owners and remote workers and their economic activities.
These current economic and cultural realities offer new opportunities to create regional and local support for entrepreneurs and existing small businesses through critical entrepreneurial ecosystem services. These actions can retain jobs and create new types of employment opportunities in rural communities. This time in our country and state also offers an immediate opportunity to encourage people to buy locally and support small businesses in their rural communities.
Bridget Jones White Paper/Project Summary Statement:
South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE) Project – Advancing regional and local economic development opportunities….
Fortunately, the South Central Region is well prepared to meet these new opportunities. Through the South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE) Network, regional leaders are working to promote more economic growth through services for local entrepreneurs, small businesses and remote workers as part of a new, regional diversified regional economic development strategy. In light of current challenges with COVID-19, local leaders involved in the South Central SCOPE Network will be better positioned to meet their local needs and challenges in this area as well.
The SCOPE program is possible thorough a network of local, regional, state and federal leaders and agencies. In its first year, the SCOPE Project has been led by a South Central Project Team, Project Management Consultant and Project Partners from key state and regional agencies. The SCOPE Network is comprised of local economic, community and workforce development leaders and SCOPE project leaders that have worked together to accomplish the following objectives/complete the following activities between July of 2019 and June of 2020:
- Created a recognized regional capacity building SCOPE Network of economic, community and workforce development leaders to implement local and regional programs and build relationships with peer communities and providers across the South Central Region
- Built the capacity of SCOPE Network members comprised of community Points of Contact and local team members to identify, create and deliver expanded entrepreneur and small business services that serve their unique communities and the South Central Region
- Completed county-specific assessments that positioned each SCOPE team to develop plans and strategies for local programs and services in published Assess and Plan Strategy Reports
- Hosted regional workshops to connect network members and increase their knowledge of successful approaches through the SCOPE Workshop Series
- Created new access to experts, match community need with state and federal resources, develop new best practices and share programming information through SCOPE Project Partners
- Provided technical assistance in program development and grant writing services for funding to support local and regional implementation efforts through SCOPE Points of Contact
- Supported the launch of SCOPE Pilot Projects offering entrepreneur and small business programs and services in 7 South Central counties in conjunction with SCOPE Points of Contact and Project Partners
- Created a new Clearinghouse through the SCOPE project website and e-newsletter systems
- Implemented a coordinated Communications and Information HUB for COVID-19 Resources
- Curated a new Information Clearing House and provided Research and Statistics for local program development
- Evaluated progress and developed a new South Central Regional Entrepreneur and Small Business Development Strategy to continue regional implementation in conjunction with TNECD, USDA and Key Project Partners
Local Economic Data/ South Central Local and Regional Economic Data
TOTAL NUMBER OF BUSINESSES BY SIZE*
* Contains Totals for Self Employed Individuals (1) to Small Business Employment (499)
County Total Percentage of Total County Employment
BEDFORD 1,530 98%
NOTE: 67% of Bedford County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
COFFEE 2,406 99%
NOTE: 65% of Coffee County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
FRANKLIN 1,393 99%
NOTE: 65.4% of Franklin County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
GILES 1,112 99%
NOTE: 67.9% of Giles County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
HICKMAN 588 100%
NOTE: 67% of Hickman County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
LAWRENCE 1,466 100%
NOTE: 65.2% of Lawrence County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
LEWIS 424 100%
NOTE: 66.5% of Lewis County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
LINCOLN 1,260 98%
NOTE: 70.1% of Lincoln County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
MARSHALL 1,064 98%
NOTE: 65.2% of Marshall County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
MAURY 4,407 99%
NOTE: 68.9% of Maury County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
MOORE 160 100%
NOTE: 70.6% of Moore County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
PERRY 260 100%
NOTE: 64.6% of Perry County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
WAYNE 510 100%
NOTE: 61.8% of Wayne County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
TOTAL NUMBER OF JOBS BY BUSINESSES BY SIZE*
* Contains Totals for Self Employed Individuals (1) to Small Business Employment (499)
County Total Percentage of Total County Employment
BEDFORD 28,946 81.8%
NOTE: 37.4% of Bedford County Businesses have 10-99 employees and 23.4% have 2 – 9 employees
COFFEE 50,416 78.7%
NOTE: 41.1% of Coffee County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
FRANKLIN 11,587 79.2%
NOTE: 65.4% of Franklin County Small Businesses have 2 – 9 employees
GILES 9,784 95.1%
NOTE: 47.5% of Giles County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
HICKMAN 4,811 100%
NOTE: 46.7% of Hickman County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
LAWRENCE 11,455 100%
NOTE: 47.4% of Lawrence County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
LEWIS 3,318 100%
NOTE: 42.9% of Lewis County Small Businesses have 10 –99 employees
LINCOLN 10,652 84.1%
NOTE: 37.5% of Lincoln County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
MARSHALL 9,736 87.6%
NOTE: 46.6% of Marshall County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
MAURY 37,358 86.3%
NOTE: 43.5% of Maury County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees
MOORE 1,907 100%
NOTE: 37.9% of Moore County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees and 38% have 100 – 499 employees
PERRY 2,167 100%
NOTE: 29.4% of Perry County Small Businesses have 10 –99 jobs and 31.7% have 100 – 499 employees
WAYNE 4,804 100%
NOTE: 39.4% of Wayne County Small Businesses have 10 – 99 employees and 35.2% have 100 – 499 employees
SALES VOLUME BY BUSINESSES SIZE*
*Contains Totals for Self Employed Individuals (1) to Small Business Employment (499)
County Volume of Sales Percentage of Total Sales
BEDFORD $2.15 Billion 79%
COFFEE $4.6 Billion 100%
FRANKLIN $1.67 Billion 71%
GILES $1.87 Billion 78.2%
HICKMAN $762.7 Million 100%
LAWRENCE $2.2 Billion 100%
LEWIS $1.4 Billion 100%
LINCOLN $2.27 Billion 87.7%
MARSHALL $2.26 Billion 89.9%
MAURY $6.81 Billion 93.1%
MOORE $6.8 Billion 93.2%
PERRY $301.4 Million 100%
WAYNE $567.2 Million 100
SCOPE – South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs Priorities for Programs and Services
SCOPE Local and Regional Priorities
A customized Assess and Plan Strategy Report has been prepared for each participating SCOPE county. These reports are available for review on each County Page of this website. A South Central Regional Strategy has also been developed at the end of the first year of the program. The following section provides a synopsis of all of the SCOPE counties Assess and Plan Reports identified needs and opportunities:
E-Commerce and Digital Marketing – Need to provide training and technical assistance to existing small businesses to augment their storefront sales and services. The current COVID-19 economic crisis has elevated this need significantly for small business owners to market and sell products and services online to stay in business during the current economic crisis. Recovery and long-term resiliency will also be increased through these on-line business operations. Each SCOPE team identified this as a top priority for local small businesses.
Downtown Retailers and Restaurants, General Small Businesses Assistance – Need to provide business growth and financial management training and technical assistance to existing small business operators and owners to help them stay in business and grow their profitability. These new programs would directly support and leverage Tennessee Main Street and Tennessee Downtowns program efforts and Façade Improvement Program investments. Almost every county SCOPE team identified small businesses located in downtowns and smaller communities as a top priority for new services.
Necessity Entrepreneurs – Need to provide entrepreneurship training and technical assistance to aspiring residents and post secondary students to help them prepare to launch and operate much needed small businesses to serve their communities. Fortunately, TCAT Shelbyville leaders in Bedford and Lincoln counties were interested in adding this type of program for current students and also becoming a training provider in their service area.
Rural Economic Clusters – Need to support program development and services to rural economic clusters. Priorities for entrepreneur and small business support for value-added agriculture and outdoor recreation economies were identified for Perry, Wayne, Lewis, Hickman and Maury Counties. Both clusters have been identified emerging rural economic development opportunities in these rural counties in Asset-Based and Tourism Enhancement Plans, especially in Perry, Lewis, Hickman and Wayne Counties. Rural economic development clusters identified include:
Value-added Agriculture – Hemp Production, Local Food Systems and Incubators, Breweries and Distilleries, Value Capture from Forest Lands.
Outdoor Recreation and Tourism – Outfitters, Guides, Recreation Operators, Lodging, Catering and Food Services.
Business Succession Planning – Need to support needed transitions to keep strong existing businesses in place in downtowns, cities and towns and to provide the current owners with exit strategies and wealth management planning for their business transitions.
Entrepreneur Ready Communities – Need for Technical Assistance and Best Practices to support local governments and other economic development efforts to prepare clear information and streamline access to services, permits and resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
SCOPE Pilot Projects
Through SCOPE project activities, each county’s Economic Development and Chamber Point of Contact and team members have gained new knowledge and expertise and created new relationships with each other as well as key state and federal providers that position them to grow and diversify the local and regional economies. Many are now taking the lead to develop project strategies and request grant funding to launch local pilot projects in conjunction with technical assistance made available through the SCOPE project management consultant.
Small Businesses, Downtown Retailers, Restaurants, E-Commerce and Business Growth
Training, Technical Assistance
The need to provide training and technical assistance on E-Commerce and Digital Marketing to existing small businesses was the top priority identified in most Initial Assessment and Planning sessions. The current COVID-19 economic crisis has elevated this need significantly for small business owners to market and sell products and services online.
Additionally, several groups of entrepreneurs and small business types were identified for immediate services as top priorities for SCOPE Pilot Projects. Almost every county SCOPE team identified small businesses located in downtowns and smaller communities as a top priority for new services. These new programs are needed to directly support and be offered in conjunction with Tennessee Main Street and Tennessee Downtowns program efforts.
Pilot Projects that are underway to address these identified local needs include:
South Central Driving Innovation Roadshow – On-site training and business mentoring events in Hickman, Lewis, Wayne and Perry Counties for existing small business owners and youth entrepreneurs in each community.
Perry County Chamber of Commerce– Rural Embark Small Business Training and Technical Assistance for Downtown Retailers, Restaurants and Small Businesses
Hickman County Economic and Community Development Association – Rural Embark Small Business Training and Technical Assistance for Downtown Retailers and Restaurants
Mount Pleasant Tennessee Downtowns and Tourism – Retail Embark and E-Commerce Training and Technical Assistance for Downtown Retailers, Restaurants and Small Businesses
Motlow Community College – Motlowtrained and Community Collaborative – Small Business Accelerator Academy (SBAA) pilot program that is offering E-Commerce and Digital Marketing online training and technical assistance program through funding the Motlow College Foundation
Necessity Entrepreneurs, Youth Entrepreneurs and Young Professionals
Additionally, most all identified the need to prepare new business owners to provide Necessity Services such as licensed contractors, licensed childcare and personal services providers, artisans, and IT/graphic designers and financial service providers.
Several other counties identified the need to support young entrepreneurs and young professionals. The need to provide local youth and younger workers of all ages more career choices and opportunities to stay and work in each of the 13 counties was identified as a top priority to grow local economics and jobs, keep young talent, meet workforce demand and ensure a diversified economic future.
Pilot Projects that are underway to address these identified local needs include:
TCAT Shelbyville CO.STARTERS Entrepreneur Training – Entrepreneurship training for Necessity Entrepreneurs and Professional Services needs will be met through this innovative pilot program. In 2020 and 2021, TCAT students enrolled at Bedford, Lincoln, Franklin and Marshall County Campus locations will have the opportunity to enroll in a new Supplemental Course using the proven CO.STARTERS curriculum. Entrepreneur training for 4 Community CO.STARTERS Cohorts for interested persons in Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Franklin counties will be offered in conjunction with SCOPE Points of Contact to leverage ThreeStar, TVA Innovation Academy, Tennessee Main Street and Tennessee Downtowns local programming efforts.
Great potential exists to explore expansion of this pilot program to other TCATs and communities across the South Central Region.
Final Grant Summary/ SCOPE Regional Assess and Strategy Recommendations
ESO (Entrepreneur Service Organization) Participants:
How We Are Working Together……Our Sponsors, Partners and SCOPE Network Members (WHO)
The South Central Tennessee Development District, USDA Rural Development and the Rural and Community Development Division of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) are sponsoring the SCOPE Network project through joint funding investments. We are also grateful for grant funding contributed by AT&T and the South Central Development Corporation to this initiative.
In 2019 and 2020 the South Central TN Development District (SCTDD) is partnering with TNECD and USDA Rural Development to provide assistance to elected officials, economic development and chamber of commerce leaders, downtown development organizations, educational leaders and other interested stakeholders that were currently providing or interested in creating entrepreneur and small business development services in their communities. The innovative project leveraged TNECD Placemakers Fund and Rural Business Development Grants that allowed SCTDD to invest and secure professional service providers to manage the first year project and create web-based clearinghouse resources.
TVA, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office for Tennessee, Driving Innovation and TNECD’s Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO) and Tennessee Main Street Program are also partnering with the Project Team to support our region’s efforts. All of these sponsors and partners are committed to advancing successful entrepreneur and small business development services across our 13 counties.
In the Summer of 2019, the project consultant and project team leaders began the process to identify local Points of Contact from Economic Development and Chamber organizations in each SCTDD county to assist in organizing local teams to participate in the first year project activities. As this process was underway, the regional initiative was named South Central Opportunities: Supporting Entrepreneurs (SCOPE) by Steering Team and Perry County leaders. Since July of 2020, over 50+ local leaders and 12+ state and federal agency staff have joined the SCOPE Network to increase local and regional expertise and leadership capacity that is producing impressive implementation results.
SCOPE Project Leadership Team
In July of 2019, a project leadership team was confirmed. Members include:
SCTDD – Lorie Fisher, Community Development
TNECD – Nancy Williams, Tennessee Main Street Program
USDA – Faye McEwen, Tennessee Rural Development
TDA – Ed Harlan, Senior Advisor
Jones-bridget consulting group – Bridget Jones, SCOPE Project Management Consultant
Amy Green and Claudia Johnson through Connected Sustainability SCLL were also selected to create a web-based information clearinghouse and communications system to support the SCOPE program.
SCOPE County Points of Contact
Local SCOPE Points of Contact identified at the start of this project have played a critical role in engaging local SCOPE team members and local officials in each county’s SCOPE efforts. These have included: Participation in local Assess and Plan sessions, Attendance in SCOPE workshops, and Assistance with community communications and outreach. These Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce leaders have proven to be very effective in identifying local plans and strategies that match the needs of their rural counties.
SCOPE Points of Contact include:
Marshall County – Greg Lowe, Lewisburg Economic Development
Hickman County – Brenda Brock, Hickman County Economic and Community Development Association
Wayne County – Rena Purdy, Wayne County JECDB
Perry County – Allyson Dickey, Perry County Chamber of Commerce
Lewis County – Debbie Landers, Lewis County Chamber of Commerce
Maury County – Will Evans, Maury Alliance and Chamber of Commerce
Lawrence County – Ryan Egly, Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce
Giles County – Jessie Parker, Giles County Chamber of Commerce
Bedford County – Allen Pitner, Shelbyville/Bedford County Chamber of Commerce
Lincoln County – Carolyn Denton, Fayetteville/Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce
Coffee County – Winston Brooks, Thom Robinson and Jennifer Moody, City of Tullahoma
Franklin County – Beth Rhoden, City of Winchester
SCOPE – South Central Opportunities: Promoting Entrepreneurs Project Partners
Each local SCOPE team’s actions are leveraging a range of state and federal resources and expertise. Project partner include:
TNECD – Wisty Pender, BERO and Tennessee Smart Start
TNECD – Brooxie Carlton, Rural and Community Development
Melissa Halsell – TVA Economic Development
LaTanya Channel and Lindsay Gilmore, SBA Tennessee District
Allison Reedy-Wolfe – Driving Innovation
Chris Swooner – Small Business Development Center – MTSU
Leslie Hayes – Pathway Lending
Shelley Smith and Kathy Parker- Motlow trained and Motlow Community Collaborativ
Collaborative work among each of these local teams and local, state and federal program partners are bringing new resources that are being strategically implemented by SCOPE Points of Contact to bring new resources to local small businesses of all sizes to help them succeed and create new jobs that meet each county’s local needs.