CORE
Launch Your Small Business Idea or
Refine Your Current Business Model
CO.STARTERS 10-Week CORE Program Equips Aspiring Entrepreneurs with the Insights, Relationships, and Tools to Turn Ideas into Action
Creating thriving business communities
Partner with Reinventing Rural and CO.STARTERS to jumpstart your business goals
If you are interested in an upcoming Fall 2022 Core Class or other CO.STARTERS Workshops please register your interest below and be sure to select your region.
CO.STARTERS Core Programs for Fall 2022
South Coast Region
(Reedsport, Lower Umpqua, and surrounding rural communities)
Starts early October - In Person
Mid Coast Region
Starts Sept 21th, 2022 Newport in person
Full - Register for our At Large Virtual Class
(Lincoln County and surrounding areas)
Southeast Oregon
Starts Sept 19th, 2022 in person
(Harney County and surrounding areas)
Oregon Frontier
Starts 10/18/2022 - Virtual Online
(Gilliam, Sherman, and Wheeler Counties)
Fern Ridge Region
Starts Sept 21st, 2022
(Veneta and surrounding rural communities)
Western Treasure Valley
(Ontario, Nyssa, Vale, Fruitland, Payette)
Coming in Spring of 2023
At Large
(Oregon rural communities under 25,000 in population not included the above regions)
Starts 10/18/2022 - Virtual Online
Select At Large if you don't see a region for you - More cohorts are being added!
Join a cohort of like-minded starters and look at your business from a customer-centric view
There is no fee to register your interest. Once you register here, you will be contacted by a Program Manager or Facilitator who will help you decide if Core is right for you. In most cases, the cost of Core is covered by grant funding and scholarships and your Facilitator will share with financial support options.
EXPLORE. QUESTION. ACT
CO.STARTERS CORE provides an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people.
co.starters cORE program
Turn ideas into action
CO.STARTERS Core provides an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people. Over ten sessions, you’ll identify your assumptions about why and how your businesses will work and then talk to customers in order to validate your ideas. This approach enables you to rapidly uncover flaws in your concept and find viable models more quickly. You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business, articulate your model, and repeat the process with your next great idea.
co.starters core program
co.starters
core program
Who Should Participate
Any Small business entrepreneur who is...
CO.STARTERS core PROGRAM
Develop New Skills
CORE helps participants:
10 Sessions
Working with a dedicated group of like minded peers, participants cover the following topics in a series of ten 3–hour sessions:
Session 1: Knowing Yourself
Session 2: Knowing Your Customer
Session 3: Finding the Right Solution
Session 4: Getting the Relationship Right
Session 5: Building Blocks
Session 6: Structures & Systems
Session 7: Discovering the Bottom Line
Session 8: Financial Modeling
Session 9: Planning for Growth
Session 10: Celebration
co.starters
core program
CO.STARTERS CORE
PROGRAM MANAGERS AND FACILITATORS
Misty Lambrecht - Program Manager and Facilitator
Mid Coast and South Coast
I have owned Webfoot Marketing and Design, a website development company in Oregon, for over 15 years and have worked on a variety of small business, nonprofit, college and government websites. I am a Google-certified trainer, GrowthWheel® and Profit Mastery® Certified. I teach a variety of classes ranging from social media, web design, and profitability to small businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest.
I am a CO.STARTERS graduate from the Fall 2022 Northeast Oregon cohort and I'm excited to bring this program to other rural communities.
Andrea Letham - CO.STARTERS Program Manager & Facilitator
Southeast Oregon
I am a business advisor with the Treasure Valley Community College Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a volunteer with the BizHarney Opportunity Collaborative, and a Reinventing Rural Ambassador. I love to work one-on-one with businesses to help them be successful and can assist with marketing, bookkeeping, capital access, business planning, website development, and much more.
We delivered the first Core program in Oregon in Fall 2021 and I am so exctied to have the opportunity to be a CO.STARTERS Program Manager and bring the magic of CO.STARTERS to Harney County and Southeast Oregon.
Matt Davis - Facilitator
Oregon Frontier Region
I am the Director of Community Development and Land Use Planning for Wheeler County, Oregon. I regard support and encouragement of entrepreneurism as central to a sound rural economic development strategy and love working with local entrepreneurs and small businesses to connect them with resources for success. I am excited to help bring CO.STARTERS to the people and businesses I serve and look forward to some awesome collaboration and productivity!
On a personal note, I grew up in Wheeler County and in my spare time I still operate a market garden on the family farm. I am interested in local food systems, agritourism and creative ways to bring new revenue streams to ag operations.
Heather Blake- Facilitator
Fern Ridge
Heather supports local entrepreneurs by connecting them to resources, mentors, training programs, and capital access. She promotes Community Collaboration and support for the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Heather was the Visitor Center Coordinator for the Veneta-Fern Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and served on the Board as Secretary. She helped manage the Veneta Downtown Farmer’s Market for a few years, and is now the Operations Manager. She has been coordinating the Shoppes, a Pop-Up Retail District, in Veneta Square for the past three years.
Jess Felix - Facilitator
Fern Ridge and Artisans & Makers
Central to my work is supporting regional economic development in rural communities and providing technical assistance to rural artisan businesses and their communities. From building and managing e-commerce sites to generating traffic through social media marketing, I help to connect online sales platforms to customers. I also work directly with owners of small creative businesses, providing them the support they need to grow and build.
As a small business owner, I sell my ceramic work online and at markets under Polyhedra Arts. I am also an independent teaching artist, providing instruction to beginners and all ages. I will be a Co-starters facilitator for the Fern Ridge community, which is a small rural region based at the foothills of the Oregon Coast range, beginning in March 2022.
Laura Young - Program Manager
Artisan & Makers
I pivot between being a teaching artist & graphic designer to providing technical assistance & social media marketing support to nonprofits & small businesses. I took the CO.STARTERS facilitator training this summer and I'm excited to help small business entrepreneurs start and grow. I am also a Reinventing Rural Ambassador and have my own small business, Mobile Pottery Lessons, LLC.
Bret Carpenter - Facilitator
At Large
I enjoy helping people learn new skills so they can start and grow businesses and strive to assist new entrepreneurs and existing business owners to be more successful in their endeavors. I facilitate progress with clients by teaching classes in entrepreneurship, facilitating business workshops, meeting with businesses one on one, and supporting rural community leaders that are trying to build up more entrepreneurial activity.
I have extensive business experience, a technology background, and strong coaching skills to help you be a more effective entrepreneur and community leader. I currently teaches entrepreneurship and other business classes at Oregon State University in the College of Business.
2020 RESULTS
147 Cohorts and 2095 Participants
By walking me through the creation of a business plan, helping me define my target audience, and emphasizing the importance of marketing and promotion, CO.STARTERS helped to demystify the process of entrepreneurship and ensure that I got off on the right foot.
Core Participant
CO.STARTERS provided me with the most powerful thing in an entrepreneur’s journey: a little shove. Each week it was a critical reminder to keep forging the foundation of my business, and it provided a community of support that continues to prove invaluable in my daily operations and goals.
Core Participant
CORE is an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people. Led by a facilitator who is an experienced entrepreneur, you’ll identify your assumptions about why and how your businesses will work and then talk to customers in order to validate your ideas. This approach enables you to rapidly uncover flaws in your concept and find viable models more quickly. You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business, articulate your model, and repeat the process with your next great idea
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to launch a new product or service, CORE is for you. The only real prerequisites are (1) having an idea you’re ready, willing, and excited to share and pursue and (2) a willingness to study, shape and fine-tune that idea in a supportive, collaborative, and welcoming environment. If you’re creative and community-minded, and you’re serious about turning your passion into a sustainable business, we want you to participate.
Each session meets once a week for 3 hours. You will be challenged to talk to customers—or potential customers—each week, as it is a critical element of building a business.
Bring CO.STARTERS CORE to your rural community
Reinventing Rural brings you the magic of CO.STARTERS to your rural community so that you can build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. We ensure you develop pipelines of support for your starters at every stage of their journey.
If you are interested in CO.STARTERS for your community or for your small business, please let us know by clicking below. We promise to get back to you as soon as we can. Can't wait? Call us at 541-204-1913.
Reinventing Rural is an online community focused on helping rural communities in the Pacific Northwest embrace their rugged culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
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