In Boomtown USA: The 7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Towns, author Jack Schultz synthesized three years of intensive research on small towns. His book has been called a “must read” for economic development and community leaders.

Schultz’s pioneering work on building up local economies and revitalizing towns has been featured in publications such as USA Today, Forbes and BusinessWeek. Schultz, a Harvard MBA, established Boomtown Institute to better share his continuous research and knowledge. The Institute’s mission is, “To provoke innovative thinking, encourage leadership and foster investment in communities across the U.S.A.”

Schultz has spent much of his time over the past fi ve years on a speaking tour visiting 44 states and more than 400 communities, including about a dozen in North Dakota. A prolific writer, Schultz has written more than 1,800 blog entries (http://boomtownusa.blogspot. com) citing examples of rural communities that have excited and inspired him with their innovation and vision.

Improving a town’s entrepreneurial climate is paramount to its long-term viability. According to Schultz, status quo is not acceptable – small towns need to change or die. Unfortunately, too many will remain passive and age in place. He said, “Eventually a community will hit a tipping point where it is impossible to come back. That is the challenge for small towns. They need to reinvent themselves and that takes a signifi cant amount of effort and vision.”

Business Watch recently spent a morning with Jack Schultz talking about his newly released list, “Ten Things I’d Do in Every Town.”

BW: You are a list maker. In the past you have published an annual “Top 10 Trends List.” What led to this new list, “Ten Things I’d Do in Every Town?”

JS: I’ve been traveling and speaking for more than five years now and I felt it was time for some reflection. This list summarizes what I would do in small communities if I had a magic wand.

BW: What size of town are you speaking to?

JS: I work with communities under 52,000 in population, but I would say the sweet spot for me is fewer than 20,000. Each of the 10 concepts on my list could be accomplished by communities as small as a couple of thousand people. I admit, not all of the things on my list can be done in a town of 200 people, but they could be accomplished by a county, or by several small communities working together.

BW: You highlight community foundations. Tell us about how that might work in North Dakota?

JS: When I was in North Dakota, I talked to a banker who said that almost invariably when an older community member dies, the family comes home and after the funeral the heirs go down to the bank to cash out the CDs, they quickly sell the farm and all that money goes out of state. If community members would establish legacy funds that would donate 5 to 10 percent of their estates to their communities, think of how those communities could be bettered; if you get 20 people to give back even that small amount, suddenly you have $2 million dollars.

BW: Brain drain is a signifi – cant problem in the upper Midwest. You note that the North Dakota Ambassadors program is one of the best that you have seen in your travels.

JS: Communities need to stay in touch with their high school and college graduates who have moved away. The North Dakota Ambassadors program understands that. I recommend that communities stay in touch with former residents by e-mail or letter. There is a homing instinct that will take place when members of Generation Y, currently ages 12-27, get married and have children – they want to come back. Let them know what the opportunities are in their hometowns.

BW: North Dakota has many new young professional (YP) groups. Why are these important?

JS: I am seeing YP groups popping up all over. They are a way for young people to connect with each other. This is especially important when a community’s demographics are skewed to senior citizens. YPs don’t read the newspaper, for example; they are often not linked to their communities in a meaningful way. YP groups are one way to make that link.

BW: You write a lot about entrepreneurial education at a young age. Why is that important to a community?

JS: Entrepreneurial lessons and ideas should be taken into high schools as well as the lower grades. Research is showing that often kids are making decisions regarding their careers as young as third grade. We like to talk about the BYOB lesson: Be Your Own Boss. The good news is that this is the most entrepreneurial generation ever.

Story by DEB DRAGSETH