A group of us recently attended a meeting hosted by Horizons in Forestburg. The meeting dealt with economics (how to determine if a new business will succeed based on county income levels, demographics, multipliers, etc.), starting up a new business and entrepreneurship. By the end of the meeting, I think everyone in the room had some creative wheels turning. Dr. Larry Swain spoke on entrepreneurship, and I could have listened to him all night. His enthusiasm, zest for big thinking and encouraging words were extremely motivating. Dr. Swain is an amazing man who has helped people in 26 different countries start up businesses using the resources available to them. He emphasizes that here in South Dakota, we have many things that people all over the world desire: clean air, beautiful scenary, friendly people, safe neighborhoods, homegrown agriculture, fresh produce, bountiful hunting and fishing…the list goes on. He urged us all to capitalize on the things that make us great. Several things came to mind that could be successful here in Montrose, including a hunting lodge, a Montrose Farmer’s Market, “homegrown” Internet businesses and organic/naturally grown agricultural products–a big trend sweeping the country right now. I wish more people from Montrose could have heard Dr. Swain. He had some great principles for growing a business, including my favorite: “If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!” He meant that we often get caught up in doing things the same old way, and sometimes if we step back and go at it a different way, we find amazing growth and success. If anyone out there is thinkinig of starting a business, we have some great resources at our disposal, including insight from Dr. Swain, economic models provided by SDSU and help with writing a marketing/business plan. Think BIG Montrose!