Green Acres
Why some entrepreneurs are saying Goodbye, city life.
As entrepreneurship grows in America, finding the cities that
offer the best opportunities for small business can give you a
great head start. But many entrepreneurs are escaping city life in
search of greener pastures--literally. They've done the city
scene, either growing a business there or living there long enough
to know they want to start their own business in a smaller town.
And now that technology, such as the Internet, e-mail and fax
machines, allows businesspeople to operate from their cars, hotel
rooms and even campsites, many Americans are seizing the chance to
indulge in a better way of life while still fulfilling their dreams
of owning a business. Before you head for the hills, however, ask yourself: Are you
ready for the country? If you're nodding your head
enthusiastically--and you've put in many hours of
research--then sell the house, pack the bags, gather the spouse and
kids, and head for someplace like Fairfield, Iowa. Dubbed
"Silicorn Valley," this town of approximately 10,000
boasts several software firms, an oil brokerage, a tofu maker, a
telecommunications business and a chimney supplies wholesaler--all
founded by entrepreneurs seeking a simpler way of life. One of those entrepreneurs is Ed Malloy, a member of the
Fairfield City Council and president of Danaher Oil Co., an oil
brokerage with $1.5 million in revenues last year. Like many other
Fairfield newcomers, Malloy was attracted to the town because of
its Maharishi University of Management, which focuses on the study
of transcendental meditation. Content Continues Below
"[This is] a very charming town with a manufacturing and
agricultural base but virtually no jobs available for the kinds of
people who were moving here," Malloy says. He believes the
primary reason so many people relocated to Fairfield--the pursuit
of a more spiritual life--engendered creativity and drive. Thus was
born a successful base of self-starters. Small-business owners who switch to a more rural existence often
have something more secular in mind than Maharishi devotees do,
such as financial well-being. For these entrepreneurs, hurdles
litter the track. They must absorb the shock of adjusting to rural
culture, navigate the difficulties of keeping family together, and
discover new business practices necessitated by an out-of-the-way
location. For many businesspeople relocating to an area that offers
a less hurried way of life, finding the "om" that those
Fairfield residents value may prove less helpful than putting a
little "oomph" into their businesses.
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