One of the most important concepts in growing the economic base of a community is to help people understand the critical need to export products/services in order to draw in “new” money flow from outside the community. Too often, the entrepreneurs that we do cultivate think too much in terms of products or services that only appeal to the local economy – often an economy that cannot sustain the business or at the very least has limited growth potential.

However, more entrepeneurs in West Virginia are fixing their gaze on the global market and leveraging simple ecommerce solutions to break through geographic barriers. We need this trend to continue in a big way so that “new” money flows into all parts of West Virginia, especially our rural and economically disadvantaged counties.

Too quick examples:

• Panther Primitives in Gilmer County – For several years, this company in rural Gilmer County has brought the past to life by supplying reproduction tents and supplies for historical re-enactors and collectors. They have become the largest supplier to the niche market of historical tentage and now employ dozens of people. They have been selling their products worldwide via their website for quite some time.
• Rocket Gifts – A new company based in Kanawha County, Rocket Gifts was started by a WVU Tech professor and has quickly grown into an exciting provider of metal-based gift art. Much of the product line is based on licensed imagery from colleges and universities, geographic icons and associations. They have been selling online for just a few months and have been growing very fast.

Both Panther Primitives and Rocket Gifts are role models in how rural economic devlopment can work by tapping into the heritage and innovation already existing in our hills and sharing it with world markets.

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