On site, entreprenurial services provided throughout Southwest Iowa's 22-Counties.

The Rural Development Resource Center offers individual consultations, group workshops, and product-to-market opportunities to southwest Iowa entrepreneurs as they start, expand or operate a business.

The Rural Development Resource Center is a program of Grow Iowa Foundation which is an Iowa nonprofit corporation with 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status.

Partners providing primary support for the program's implementation include the:

Southwest Iowa Coalition,
Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development and Iowa State University Extension.

Coming to your town soon.
Don't miss the opportunity to get the data you need to start, operate and expand your business venture

Pricing strategies, your trade area and customers, industry trends and much more.
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Times are challenging for business operations and employment so the Rural Development Center is offering a series of free sessions to present retail and economic data for business and self-employment analysis. The Retail Trade Data Analysis Sessions will focus on data for decision-making and viable to move into self-employment or heighten a business owner’s success.

Attendees of the Retail Trade Data Analysis Sessions will benefit from topics such as Understanding Your Trade Area – how far will customers drive?, What’s my Population Threshold Locally to Support my Business Venture?, Retail Trade Trends – how will my business fair through time? and Marketing and Pricing Strategies. These data are what companies use in their companies use as they make decisions about where to locate, whether to adopt a growth or maintenance strategy and how to compete within an industry.

There will be 10 sessions disbursed throughout the 22-county Rural Development Center service area. Sessions will begin in late May and run through June. Pre-registration is suggested as seating is limited. To register, contact the RDC at 712-623-5521 or email info@enterprisingiowans.com.

Data used for the analysis is the most current supplied to Iowa State University’s Center for Regional Economics & Community Analysis Program (ReCAP) by the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance. ReCAP explores issues and compiles relevant data related to regional economic and demographic change to assist communities and is administered by the Departments of Economics and Sociology and Extension Community and Economic Development at Iowa State University.

Anyone is welcome to attend at any site, but data presented at each session will be specific to that county and neighboring counties. However, reports for all the sessions will be available and, if someone is unable to attend a local session, there is still value in attending one outside of the local area to understand how to interpret the data and apply it.