A rural renaissance is taking place. For years the economic fabric of rural America has been primarily based on its natural resources. Although traditional industries such as farming, fishing, forests and mines do not offer the robust opportunities of years gone by, new options have arisen. In part this has been in response to Americans' appetite for organic products, concerns about food safety and increasing demands for alternative energy. All of which rural areas are well-positioned to provide.
Due to a convergence of trends such as our growing information economy, global competition, a need for business continuity and increasing availability of broadband, the economic landscape in rural America continues to change. Companies like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have located data centers in remote areas where land is abundant, flat, inexpensive and protected from earthquakes or other disasters. Hydroelectric power is plentiful and economical.
Communities with high-speed Internet and an eager workforce have also attracted call centers for insurance, travel and various technology intense industries. Some companies have chosen to open branch offices in rural communities while others are entrepreneurial startups like Call Center 24x7 in Port Angeles, Wash. The company supplies small businesses and professional offices with support services provisioned from within the United States, including e-commerce support, warehousing and fulfillment, mailing services, and customer support such as answering service. Says Shane Miller, CEO, Call Center 24x7: “Our distributed rural workforce model enables us to provision these domestic-outsourced business support services within the United States at prices competitive with offshore and blended offerings.” Miller, who returned to open his business in the community where he went to high school, currently has operations in Washington, Texas and Oregon.
Over the past eight years the Rural Bridges program at Washington State University (WSU) Extension has had an opportunity to help promote companies like Call Center 24x7 as well as provided research, training and technical assistance to support technology-led rural economic development. Through the program, we have discovered there is a plethora of opportunities to cut costs, tap a new labor pool and locate business in the safety, serenity and beauty of a rural environment. Like Port Angeles, those communities with broadband telecommunications are attracting high-tech professionals interested in doing business outside the crowded corridors of major cities. Take Dr. Nelson Ludlow for example.
Ludlow traveled the world, serving as an Air Force officer, mathematician, pilot, intelligence officer, technical director of artificial intelligence and professor of computer science. But when he decided to start a business, he returned to rural northwest Washington and settled in the historic Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. In addition to a chance to return home, Ludlow chose Port Townsend for its lower start-up costs and proximity to the area's military installations, important given that these are key clients. Intelli-Check Mobilisa, Inc. is a leading technology company in developing and marketing wireless technology and identity systems for various applications including: mobile and handheld wireless devices for the government, military and commercial markets. The company has more than 60 employees with offices in Washington, D.C., Woodbury, N.Y. and Dayton, Ohio. Its headquarters in Port Townsend has 30 staff.
Although Intelli-Check Mobilisa has been able to recruit staff to move to the area, they are committed to helping develop the local workforce. Washington State University's distance learning program provides training and career growth through use of a local learning center. Using videoconferencing and online courses, one staff member was able to secure her master's degree in engineering management without leaving the area.
As the company grows, Ludlow remains committed to this rural area. That was quite obvious in March of this year after a merger was completed and the headquarters remained in Port Townsend. And WSU with support from the local economic development community is committed to helping him continue to succeed. “Intelli-Check Mobilisa is an example of the type of research-to-product and entrepreneurial focus that the teaming with WSU can bring to a rural area,” says Bill Wise, local economic development chairman. “Intelli-Check Mobilisa is the type of business we want to attract to our county and also grow locally. They are constantly thinking ‘outside the box,' and that creativity and innovation will be the key to a strong base for our rural economy.”
When Pura Carlson moved to Forks, Wash., (population 3,200) with her husband who took a job as the new pharmacist in town, she didn't realize the contribution she would make. For more than eight years, she provided language interpretation services to clients of Language Line Services, an international business headquartered in California. She worked from home in Forks using a phone line dedicated to clients. More than a translator, Carlson studied her clients' businesses and knew their concepts and terminology. Language Line Services adopted its flexible telework policy when it realized most of the skilled interpreters it sought were not located within commuting distance of its headquarters. “We could insist that our interpreters work in a facility or hire only those who are geographically close, but then we would be sacrificing our ability to work with the very best,” says Dale Hansman, Internet marketing and public relations manager, Language Line Services. From her home in Forks, Carlson has helped the company achieve its goal of global reach using the skills of home-based workers.
But this isn't just about a teleworker contributing to the local economy. Working with WSU Extension, local leaders determined that with more than 15 percent Hispanics in Forks as well as a growing number of other Spanish-speaking residents, they had a unique asset in their community. The team began to explore the language interpreter and translation industry. They discovered both a local need for interpreters and opportunities to use technology to provide services for companies like Language Line Services. Working with the Forks branch of Peninsula Community College, the first language interpreter course was offered last spring with Carlson serving as one of the instructors. What started as a way for Carlson to balance her own family and work life now is helping create a new pool of language interpreters who will serve clients in Forks and around the world. And, it also is providing new economic opportunities in this small town that was once dependent on timber for its livelihood.
“Over the past few years our greatest learning has been that individuals like Shane, Nelson and Pura, with an affinity, or passion, for their community are the ones responsible for rural economic diversification,” says Monica Babine, senior associate for telework, WSU Extension. Often discounted by economic development professionals in the past, quality of life is drawing people with innovative ideas and jobs to rural areas. In some cases, it is corporate executives who want to more time in their favorite vacation spot, for others it's a chance to come home.
Opportunities abound for business expansion, relocation, telework, outsourcing and e-commerce, but insuring success requires hard work. Continued investments are needed in workforce development, telecommunications infrastructure and local leadership capacity building so rural communities can attract and support technology-led economic development. WSU in partnership with community, business and government leaders helps rural communities take part in the New Economy.
Monica Babine is the coordinator of e-work programs for the Center to Bridge the Digital Divide for the Washington State University extension. For more examples of rural business innovation using digital technologies, visit http://cbdd.wsu.edu/projects/rural/ruralbridges/casestudies.html
