Let’s get excited

guest commentary by David Potts

Nick Remy provided me a few minutes of his time this past Thursday. Nick is the new executive director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of Fort Smith. The IEC began as a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Smith to be a resource to those starting or growing a business. Nick describes the purpose of the IEC as “to identify any spark of entrepreneurship in the greater Fort Smith region and to fan the flame.” Restated, the ultimate goal is to contribute to the economic prosperity of our region.

I was truly excited when the creation of the IEC was announced in 2006. Having been born in Fort Smith and lived here all my life, the idea almost seemed too progressive. After the IEC opened I began to hear good things about the IEC’s programs from people who participated. I became interested in directly participating in the IEC’s programs but before I could get involved the doors were closed … probably because I quit paying my Chamber of Commerce dues.

Nick explained at our Thursday meeting that UAFS, led by Chancellor Paul Beran, is rescuing the IEC. Beginning July 1 the IEC will again open its doors, this time in the College of Business on the UAFS campus. The city of Fort Smith and the chamber are still involved but with new leadership — the city has a new administrator, Dennis Kelly, and the chamber has a new president, Paul Harvel. Beran, Kelly and Harvel make up the board of the IEC. All are immigrants to Fort Smith. I hope they brought with them the work ethic (and soberness) usually associated with new immigrants.

It is important that we support the IEC. I believe Fort Smith’s path to prosperity is through innovation and entrepreneurship. Unless I am deaf, dumb, and blind, I don’t see a steady supply of large businesses rushing to establish locations in the Fort Smith area. Fort Smith has had some success in attracting new businesses such as the Mars Petcare plant at Chaffee Crossing, and we have some great existing businesses such as Baldor. But at times it seems Fort Smith is competing to be more like Pine Bluff than Bentonville. I believe Fort Smith’s prosperity will come from starting new businesses and growing existing ones. If my client list is an indicator, Fort Smith has a lot of great small businesses and we need more great small businesses. Fort Smith’s future prosperity will depend on how we support our own.

About 30 years ago I heard people say that for Fort Smith to grow some people needed to die. They were implying that the leadership then wasn’t interested in growth. Haven’t these people died? We need a change in mindset. Fort Smith needs to get excited about Fort Smith. I know that business news and literature has touted globalization for the last decade or so, but isn’t our community important? I realize this is a tired message, but it is still true. You need to shop in Fort Smith if you want Fort Smith to have great retail stores. If you own a business in Fort Smith, you should buy from another Fort Smith business when possible. You need to advertise with The City Wire (shameless plug). So what if Whirlpool has moved most of their production to Mexico. That’s Whirlpool’s loss. We need to depend on ourselves. Maybe the IEC’s resuscitation will be the spark to generate an entrepreneurial revival in Fort Smith and the surrounding area.

How can you support the IEC? Use them. The IEC is a not-for-profit organization. Their success is in helping you. If you want to start a new business call them for assistance. Ask them to help you with your market analysis. Ask them to help you develop a loan package. Ask them to help you determine you break-even point. This could increase your odds for success. Nick’s background is in finance but he has also worked in a family business, worked as a commercial loan officer, and has owned his own small business. Since Nick didn’t have a background in sales and marketing, he hired Sarah Martin. Sarah’s background is all sales and marketing. If you don’t need to use the IEC, help them. Offer some free time to show off your expertise and to help a new startup company.

Bottomline. Let’s get excited about Fort Smith and its potential to nurture and grow home grown businesses. It has been said that Fort Smith never experiences a bust because we never experience a boom. Let’s change this saying. Let’s change what we believe about ourselves. We are worthy. Let’s start the next boom. If you would like more information on the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of Fort Smith e-mail Nick Remy at [email protected]

David Potts is a certified public accountant also accredited in business valuation. Owner of Potts & Company, Certified Public Accountants for more than 25 years, his practice focuses on small and medium size businesses and their owners in the areas of taxation, accounting and bookkeeping, business valuation and business advisory services. He is a Fort Smith native and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. You can follow his blog at ThePottsReport.com.