Afterword: Common Threads
Afterword: Common Threads
hat the entrepreneurs in this issue of Community Reinvestment
have in common is vision, practicality and persistence. Some are natives of their
community and others are transplants, but in common they have a sense of connection and
commitment to their local community, and a sense of opportunity and connection to a global
community.
They're scavengers, taking what's available and making something useful of it.
They are proud of what they can contribute to the local economy, but they operate within a context that is sometimes close to home and sometimes international. They will go where it's necessary to learn from others' experience, to purchase supplies, or to market their products and services.
What the entrepreneurs have in common is vision, practicality and persistence . . . they have a sense of connection and commitment to their local community, and a sense of opportunity and connection to a global community.
These entrepreneurs--both those in private business and in the nonprofit sector--like challenges and finding new ways to solve problems. They tinker, trying a new idea here, a different approach there, making adjustments as needed. They're scavengers, taking what's available and making something useful of it. When the experiment doesn't work, it's all right--they're flexible, and they know that occasional failures are the dues of success.
. . . occasional failures are the dues of success.
Their success is reflected in enthusiasm, in faces that light up as
they talk about what they do. It's measured in volume and sales and dollars and growth of
businesses and growth in the community, and it's also measured in ready smiles. It's both
high- and low-tech, and it's often measured in small steps rather that in great leaps and
bounds. For these entrepreneurs, success includes personal satisfaction in creating work
they love and making choices in how they spend their time. 
(photo) Guarding construction materials on the third floor of the Western Colorado Business Development Center.
The entrepreneurial spirit is not limited to private business. It shows through in nonprofit and public sector leaders who are determined to find creative ways to leverage contributions and public dollars to make a sustainable difference.
The entrepreneurial spirit is not limited to private business.
We wish Dilbert and Geech and Cathy could visit the Western Colorado Business Development Corporation and Grand Junction and Kansas City and other lively and successful businesses and business support organizations. Perhaps they'd find inspiration for getting themselves out of those little boxes in which they've become trapped in their work and their lives.