Applying for Economic Gardening Assistance
The Kansas Economic Gardening Network is a pilot program designed to provide significant sophisticated technical assistance to identified second-stage companies that have the intent and capacity to grow their business. The Kansas pilot program will provide economic gardening assistance at no charge to 35-40 Kansas businesses in rural communities statewide. These selected businesses will interact with an experienced national economic gardening team who will deliver economic gardening services tailored to each business's particular situation.
Examples of Technical Assistance Provided by the Program
- Identifying qualified sales leads by sorting contents of extensive databases.
- Mapping geographic areas to facilitate targeted marketing efforts.
- Reviewing core strategies related to commodity and/or niche markets.
- Analyzing employee temperament to build strong management teams and recruit new hires that fit the organization’s dynamic.
- Examining social media utilization to connect with customers.
- Search engine optimization to place website in front of more customers.
Eligibility Criteria*
To be considered for selection as a participant in The Kansas Economic Gardening NetWork Pilot Program, a business must meet the following criteria at the time of selection:
1.) Be a for-profit, privately-held company headquartered and operating in a rural community in Kansas**
2.) Have between $600,000 and $50,000,000 in annual revenue.
3.) Employ at least 5 but not more than 100 employees
4.) Have maintained its principal place of business in Kansas for at least the two previous years.
5.) Demonstrate growth in employment and/or revenue in two of past five years.
6.) Provide product(s) and/or services beyond current service area to regional and/or international markets (retail and restaurants do not qualify).
7.) Must be referred by a NetWork Kansas partner.
*All businesses that meet criteria are eligible
**Rural community is defined as any community whose population does not exceed 50,000 residents.
Application Process
Important Note: All unsolicited inquiries received for technical assistance should be routed directly to a local NetWork Kansas partner for follow-up with the company
STEP 1 An eligible business will submit a completed Kansas Economic Gardening Network application.
STEP 2 The applicant will be contacted within 24 hours upon receipt of a completed application and notified of the status of their request.
STEP 3 The application will be reviewed to determine the applicant meets the eligibility requirements.
STEP 4 The application will be appraised by an evaluation team to determine acceptance into the pilot program.
STEP 5 Final acceptance into The Kansas Economic Gardening Network Pilot Program will be communicated to the applicant within ten business days and an interview will be scheduled between the CEO and the national economic gardening team to begin the consultation process.
PREPARING TO APPLY:
Interested businesses will apply via an online application. The application requests specific business information and it may be helpful to gather this data before beginning the application:
-Company and CEO names and contact information
-Description of company, history, and residence information
-Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, if applicable
-Legal form, company ownership
-Company resources, including number of full-time and part-time employees
-Financial information since 2007
-Business issues needing assistance
Mark Farnsworth, Director of Sales and Marketing, HEPACART, Inc.-
The KSBDC Economic Gardening Technical Assistance program exceeded our expectations as a small business owner. It provided HEPACART useful marketing information and new business ideas that we will begin to use and implement immediately. We would recommend it as absolutely helpful to other businesses and would especially recognize the team that we worked with for this information. As we continue to grow and understand the true market potential of our product and work to leverage that potential, we will be adding new members to our team to keep pace in sales, support and manufacturing.
Thank you!
Download a PDF of the Application
Application for Kansas Economic Gardening NetWork Pilot Program