Oklahoma: The Unexpected Axis of Opportunity

byGuRuthOK

238 followers

Updated 10 years ago

When I moved to Oklahoma to work with the Choctaw Nation, I never expected to find more opportunity in this state in one year than I found in many of the other places I've lived that are better known for entrepreneurial communities (e.g. Austin Texas, Santa Monica CA)

Rural America is sometimes referred to as the 'Fly Over Zone' by people who live on the West and East coasts of the US. And, until I moved here, I had a similar perspective on this area. What I've discovered here is that there is an unrecognized population of creative, innovative and hard-working entrepreneurs who don't fit the entrepreneurial model of the coasts. These folks don't self-identify as entrepreneurs because they're doing what's necessary to meet their needs, not their wants. They innovate to solve real problems, work to support their family and stay in their community rather than leave for the 'easy' money of the city. It's a different set of values, very real, nobody is living in the 'cloud' ;-)

Thanks to social media, I've been able to continue and strengthen my connections with friends and colleagues from my days in CA, TX and the East Coast, all of whom have developed cool products over the years. Since most have little interest in leaving the coasts to visit Oklahoma, I've become their 'trusted bridge' to this huge market. Some of the companies I'm representing and promoting in person and online with the help of WA:

• Dock-It ~ "The Pi Dock-It Pro truly is a fantastic device for transforming an iPad into a fully functioning laptop that can still be used as a tablet."
• MiND2MiND Exchange ~ Software developed by Faisal Hoque designed to evaluate & monitor social impact programs...in other words, assign a dollar value to community capital
• A 4-D interactive relationship mapping tool that will be a total game changer for both individual and institutional connectivity models....you'll actually be able to get a snapshot of the trustworthiness and integrity of someone just by adding their info to your universe of connections. #thisoneisstillsecret

This is all in addition to my core project of developing The Grassroots Marketplace, a food & craft entrepreneurship incubator to build sustainable rural economy.

So, don't let the peaceful quiet fool you...there's a lot going on in rural America and I'm extremely happy to be playing my part.