I’m a little sad for Arkansas right now.
Three of the largest companies in the world were started here.
Wal Mart. JB Hunt. Tyson.
All started by Arkansans and expanded to dominate in their respective industries.
They are also interconnected.
As Wal Mart grew, they used JB Hunt to transport goods while they build their own fleet, and carried Tyson products in their stores.
It was a synergistic relationship.
Going through a list of companies at a VENTURE CENTER business incubator in downtown Little Rock, I see a lot of companies from other states.
They get investment money. Office space. Mentorship.
They start up here, keep an office here and grow out of state.
Since they are concentrated on Financial Technology, it only makes sense to move to more concentrated centers for that industry.
Arkansas is not one of them.
Even when they grow these companies imported from other states, they don’t stay.
Which is sad.
In an effort to do “something” the powers that be ignore the people in the state with good ideas.
And those same powers that be won’t invest in student education to empower the next generation of start up businesses, which perpetuates a cycle of importing, growing, and exporting business in the name of innovation.
Sad.
What do we teach?
Sam Walton had a good idea. Give poor people low prices and a choice.
His idea perpetuated the big box store and decimated the mom and pop industry.
By putting thousands of competing smaller businesses out of business, he built the world’s largest retailer.
Or his business associates did.
Sam’s been dead for twenty years. Wal Mart has grown since then.
But it started in AR and grew up in AR.
What big business has followed in the retail giant’s footsteps since?
His children live off their trust funds and invest in art and education.
Their idea of good education is charter schools and pulling money from public education.
Which keeps the cycle going.
No money for schools, means lower education standards, less resources and more potential home grown business ideas unable to be realized.
It’s hard to put the blame all in one spot because there is so much to go around.
But how do you start to make a difference again?
How do you grow small business success from infertile soil?
My Small Business is publishing a daily newsletter, books and more.
I’ve put together a few boxsets just for you: and today you get a discount. Just click straight through and pick the one you want.
I also wrote this for you to check out:
AND Don’t Forget:
You are subscribed to the free version of 9AM.
I hope you find some inspiration out there.
If you’d like to upgrade to the paid version, you’ll get access to exclusive content, including even more free books, excerpts and snippets. Your support is awesome.
Hopefully you’ve been enjoying the newsletter and seeing the hard work we put into curating the best content we can. Maybe you’ve learned about a fun event, met new friends, found a new favorite business, or discovered a nonprofit you can rally behind.
If we’ve added value to your life, we wondered if you might return the favor by joining our Fan Club for $10.
Why should you?
Glad you asked! Fan contributions help us improve and add new features to the newsletter. There are a couple items that are on our roadmap that we’d love your help with, like more free daily stories and more.
Help us take It’s 9AM to the next level by pledging your support.
Thanks for your readership! It really means the world to us.