As I travel across the United States for work and pleasure, I often have opportunities to speak with local entrepreneurs who have lived in their cities for most of or all their lives and have become wealthy by providing solutions for needs in their communities.
The stories of their success range from a retired schoolteacher who started a garbage business that generates millions per year to a cook who started with one coffee shop and grew it to four over the past ten years.
What is consistent in all their stories is they were not graduates of the nation’s top business school or retired corporate executives, but people who had a passion for their hometowns and wanted to make them better.
Another consistency is they all have been big supporters of other efforts to improve their communities through donations. Whether it was fighting homelessness and drug addiction to building schools and affordable housing, they gave a significant amount of their wealth to those who simply need help achieving the things you and I may take for granted.
This is a trend I would like to see explode across the nation but in a couple of variations. The first is investing groups. In every community, there are those who have discretionary income but may not have enough capital to take on some of the projects needed in their communities. By pooling resources, they can discuss needs in their markets, develop business plans, and secure funding through their collective worth.
The second variation would be partnering with local municipalities to issue bonds for larger projects. This strategy allows smaller investors to take part in the success of the growth of their communities from individuals who are looking to diversify their portfolios to parents who want to build savings to send their children to college.
To be clear there are many organizations that specialize in urban renewal, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development, but most focus on major metropolitan areas. Small market investors can use their success as a template to build their strategies and even seek advice.
The purpose of my writing this article is to point out the opportunities that may be in your backyards. Take the time to look around and see what is missing, pool resources with other like-minded individuals, and make a difference. The resulting wealth is a byproduct, but a nice incentive for improving the economic stability in your hometowns.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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