Tomorrow's success can take cues from the past

It's time to go back to the future, according to a speaker at Chadron State College last week.

Back to a time when nine out of 10 people in the High Plains were in business for themselves, Milan Wall, co-director of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development told participants in the HomeTown Competitiveness Academy.

Attended by about 50 people, representing McCook, Rawlins County and other towns in Nebraska and Colorado, the event was described as like a "church revival meeting," where participants do some soul-searching about their hometowns and what can be done to improve them, according to Dr. Tim Donahue, associate professor of business at Chadron State.

"The pioneers were able to build communities out of nothing," Wall said. "We should be able to sustain them from something.

Wall and Donahue made some good points, directly applicable to McCook. It's a shame more people from Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas couldn't have heard them directly.

While most workers think being employed by a large corporation, most new jobs instead come from small entrepreneurs.

Numerous state and federal agencies can help startup businesses draw up business plans and make financial arrangements, but there's no substitution for old-fashioned spunk.

"In order to be successful in business, you have to be excited about it, and have a passion for it to make it work," Donahue said. Effective marketing is an important key to persuading others to buy the products and services you are going to offer, he said.

And it's important for successful business owners to think ahead, find ways to transfer existing businesses to new owners rather than just hanging a "Going Out of Business" sign in the door before letting anyone know they are going to quit.

But communities have to have basic services in place if they hope to encourage new businesses. High-speed Internet and overnight delivery make it possible to operate nearly any business anywhere, but the less-hectic quality of life can attract new or returning residents only if basic services such as education, health care are up to snuff.

Opportunities are there, the Chadron speakers said. They cited the Sandhills town of Mullen, population 550, which recently created 18 jobs with seven new businesses and two business transfers.

In McCook, that would be the equivalent of 261 jobs -- another big business like Parker Hannifin or a number of smaller ones.

As McCook looks forward to its 125th anniversary this year, it's time to look back and take inspiration from those who seized the opportunities that made our community the success it is.