BY NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — With the constant uncertainty of agriculture today, farm families are always on the lookout for new sources of revenue.

Some families may even have thoughts of starting their own business.

“In a national survey, three out of four adults liked the idea of owning their own business, and rural family members are no different,” said Jim Roudebush, a Central Indiana entrepreneur and college lecturer.

Roudebush will be an instructor and facilitator of “Start Your Own Business,” a workshop series taking place in 11 central and southern Indiana locations from July to October. The Rural Entrepreneur Network (REN), a not-for-profit organization supported by a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and operated through the Hoosier Heartland RC&D Council, Inc., is sponsoring the workshops.

REN focuses on rural business entrepreneurs who tend to be extraordinary producers, but sometimes need assistance with marketing and finance, Roudebush said.

He has worked with rural residents for the past few years in starting the businesses. Most fall in to two categories: singles or young couples just starting out, or those in their late 40s to early 60s who are looking to change careers.

“There are hundreds of rural business opportunities and we discuss these in our workshops,” Roudebush said. “Some of the ones I have worked with are direct-to-the-consumer beef, organic vegetables not always certified but practiced, other farm market vendors, farm equipment appraisers, agritourism venues, car detailers, shrimp farmers, etc.”

The series is targeted to rural individuals or families who are interested in starting a business or are in the early stages of a business. Each workshop is designed to be simple and easy to follow to encourage the attendees, who will take home a packet of materials to make their business planning easier.

Topics covered at the workshops include: how REN helps rural business start-ups, characteristics of successful rural entrepreneurs, self assessment exercise, available rural businesses; steps in successful revenue and profit planning, support services for rural start-ups and steps to get started.

“We have had an excellent response to this workshop in other markets, and we expect a similar high interest level in the new markets,” Roudebush said.

Most of the costs of each workshop are funded by a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

Each workshop will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The dates and Indiana locations are:

•July 10, Monroe County – Hoosier Energy, 7398 N. State Road 37, Bloomington
•July 12, Putnam County Public Library (Kiwanis Room), 103 E. Poplar St., Greencastle
•July 19, Lawrence County Economic Growth Council, 1116 16th St., Bedford
•July 24, Owen County Purdue Extension Service, 180 S. Washington St., Spencer
•July 31, Parke County Purdue Extension Service, Parke County Fairgrounds, U.S. 41 N., Rockville
•Aug. 2, Jennings County – Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center, 4425 E. County Road 350 N., Butlerville
•Aug. 16, Orange County – To be determined.
•Aug. 21, Decatur County Purdue Extension Office, 545 S. County Road 200 W., Greensburg
•Aug. 23, Madison County Farm Bureau 4-H Building, 512 E. Fourth St., Alexandria
•Sept. 11, Montgomery County – Crawfordsville District Public Library, 205 S. Washington St., Crawfordsville
•Oct. 4, Greene County Community Learning Center, Highway 54, Switz City

The cost for the workshop is $10 for  registrations received seven days prior to the workshop. Registrations received after the early bird registration or at the door are $15 per attendee.
For more information, visit  www.ruralenet.org or  call 317-290-3250.