WREN is Moving into Coos County

SOUND OF CHILDREN GETTING INSTRUCTION IN ART CLASS.

Last fall Elaine Gabriel of Bethlehem was thinking seriously about getting into business for herself.

She wanted to teach art to children and adults.

“I am trained as an art teacher and not as a businessperson. So, I knew I wanted to start this business but I also knew I did not have all the tools I needed to start this business.”

So, Gabriel turned to the Women’s Rural Entrepreneurial Network , or Wren.
It opened in Bethlehem in 1994.

Wren offers an overview of what to do and what to expect when starting a business.

And it was exactly what Gabriel says she needed.

Since getting Wren’s help, Gabriel has launched her business helping people of all ages have fun by expanding their artful horizons.

WREN is also expanding its horizons.

It’s now offering its business course in adjacent Coos County.

Marilinne Cooper is WREN’s executive director.

“When the word went out that the Groveton mill was closing we had a class ready that we were thinking of taking up there. We had gotten funding and we pushed it up a couple of months. We said ‘We’re ready. We’re here. We can help you.”

The idea is to help Coos build its economy one person at a time.

“We really believe that in helping people start businesses that is the way to boost the local economy. I mean, if we are going to infuse the local economy with more energy than you have to help people, you know, see their ideas come to fruition.”

Many of these hopefuls plan to work out of their homes.

And says Cooper, their entrepreneurial dreams take many forms.

Cooper: “We have accountants. We have people who start restaurants. We have health professionals, a lot of new-age health people, massage therapists.”

T. David Reese is a professor at Southern New Hampshire University’s School of Community Economic Development.

He is an expert in micro-businesses.

“These businesses are important because once people lose their traditional forms of employment because the plant is closed or the paper mill is closed people really have one of three choices. One, they can relocate.

Jensen: Two, says Reese, they can try to cobble together some income from a few part time jobs and some state assistance.

Reese: or three they can try to create enterprises of this sort which if done properly actually bring new income or new cash flow into the community.”

SOUND OF MAN ANSWERING THE PHONE AND TAKING AN ORDER. FOOD SIZZLES ON THE GRILL

That’s Carl Coulombe answering the phone.

He’s the owner of the “12 Main Street Café in Groveton.”

He took WREN’s business course in January.

He says he did a lot research before opening the café.

But he still found the course to be extremely valuable and fun.

“So, what they taught me was what to look for, they taught you all the avenues that you have to seek out to make your business operate. There are many, many different aspects right down to all the state permits and all that you have to learn about and get. And they teach you the mind frame to be a business owner, because it is not all easy. ”

In Berlin on a recent afternoon another group is taking that first step.

Gathered at the St. Barnabus Church they are working with Wren instructors Nora Clark and Jeanne Boisseau.

Clark says the goal is to teach the ins and outs, the steps they need to follow to be successful.

The subjects include marketing and accounting and there is a kind of ongoing, informal group exploration.

For a while Jeanne Boisseau leads a spirited and sometimes mirthful discussion.

It is about balancing a fledgling business with other demands and distractions.

“One of my favorite questions of all time to ask people is what is your favorite way of sabotaging yourself and your goals. Everyone of us has within us something called the inner saboteur. And, the inner saboteur rears its ugly head all the time. All the time.”

One of the “students” ,Linda Vaillancourt of Berlin, says the class is helping her move in a new direction.

“I was a stay-at-home mom and I’m at a point in my life where it is time for a change and I have always been interested in business. I have a few things running in my head about businesses and entrepreneur-type of things I would like to get started.”

WREN’s Executive director Cooper says more business classes are planned later this year in Colebrook, Berlin, Groveton and Bethlehem.

That’s a good thing, says professor Reese.

“These programs provide three, really important things that are helpful to small business people or would-be small business people. One it provides a chance for them to learn some of the hard, business skills and business planning skills necessary to succeed in business. Two, these programs provide the opportunity frequently for people to create a network of like-minded people in their community so that they don’t feel isolated and they have support as they try to develop their venture. And, three it gives people a chance typically to learn about resources that are available in the community.”

She says they seem to be a good fit with the North Country and its traditional New England culture.

“I think everyone wants to be successful. It is that kind of Yankee independence of being able to fend for yourself.”

For NHPR News this is Chris Jensen in Bethlehem.