An economy gets built not just by the private businessperson but also by elected officials, civic leaders, and other facets of the community. Entrepreneurship can be stymied by conditions that make it difficult to start or grow a business, and entrepreneurship can be supported when places have policies and approaches that are welcoming and helpful to the entrepreneur. Brian Dabson with the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship offers the following principles of a successful public-private entrepreneurship development strategy: (1) community-centered and regionally oriented, (2) entrepreneur-focused, (3) systems-based, and (4) connected to the policy-making process (Entrepreneurship as a Core Economic Development Strategy for Rural America, June 2, 2005).

Other models call for a blending of strategies that improve the skills and knowledge of entrepreneurs, conduct research on entrepreneurship (needs and impacts), and foster a community environment supportive of entrepreneurs. An amalgamation of these ideas follows:
1. Build on community assets,
2. Develop a culture of entrepreneurship,
3. Collaborate with others regionally and via clusters,
4. Invest in entrepreneurship education and training,
5. Invest in entrepreneur-helpful community infrastructure,
6. Learn from the best practices of others,
7. Understand comparative competitive advantages,
8. Identify and coordinate assistance to entrepreneurs,
9. Support entrepreneurs via networks,
10. Support access to capital, and
11. Nurture new market opportunities.

To learn more about this topic we recommend the following articles:
10 Community Strategies for Leveraging Regional Assets to Support Local Entrepreneurs
Resources for Supporting Entrepreneurs at the Community Level