JAMESTOWN, N.D. Feb. 15, 2024 – “Grow as a person. Grow as a professional.” These are the words that immediately greet you when visiting the website of the University of Jamestown where a small but committed entrepreneurial center nestled on its North Dakota campus helps those words ring true well beyond the college walls that house it.

The Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center (JREC), a non-profit organization serving nine counties in the central and southcentral area of the state, is helping to foster rural startups and offers a comprehensive suite of supports to empower rural North Dakotans to successfully launch and grow their own businesses.

“The JREC is here to support the growth of small business owners, whether you are in the pre-venture phase, the start-up phase, or already in business,” said Katherine Roth, executive director, JREC. “We have resources and a network that is here to support you in your business’ growth.”

The services the JREC makes available – and at no cost to those they serve – are provided in part by grant funding received from USDA Rural Development (RD), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture which exists to expand economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in America’s most rural communities.

The JREC has been diligent in applying to and competing for USDA RD's Rural Business Development Grant Program. “Over the course of a few years, the funding they have been awarded has stretched far and wide to serve North Dakotans, removing barriers to accessing the types of services, guidance, and supports that rural entrepreneurs and existing business owners need to be successful,” said Erin Oban, state director for USDA RD in North Dakota.

The funding from USDA RD has enabled the JREC to assist businesses from Jamestown to Nome and Hatton to LaMoure to accomplish the next steps in their goals.

“Katherine was an amazing person to work with,” said Kimberly Potts, owner of LaMoure Lockers. “They sat down with us and helped us come up with a business plan for financing. We weren’t able to get a loan from the (Small Business Administration) or a bank without that plan. We could not have done this without the JREC.”

With some help from the JREC to get started, the family-owned butcher shop, processing meat from local producers and hunters, opened its doors in 2018 to their small town of just over 750 people and has been in business ever since.

“Rural communities and small, rural businesses often struggle to access the type of one-on-one technical assistance, customized training, and hands-on support that can turn a dream into a reality,” said Oban. “The programs and funding made available through USDA Rural Development to organizations like the JREC can be game changers for locally owned businesses and individuals and families who wish to start them. We’re grateful that the work the JREC does is helping expand capacity, support needs, and strengthen the economy in our state’s most rural places.”

If you’re ready to plan or grow your business in Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman, or Wells County in North Dakota, the JREC is ready to help. Visit jrecenter.com for more information.