In 2010, the Minnesota Legislature passed legislation creating the Angel Tax Credit to encourage investment in Minnesota businesses. Between 2010 and 2012, $137,322,690 has been invested in small businesses across Minnesota. During that same time, DEED reports 386 jobs have been created as a result of these investments. These 386 jobs have estimated annual wages totaling $15,570,468. The Angel Tax Credit program has been very successful with all 2012 credits issued prior to July 24th. All of the Angel Tax Credits for 2013 were exhausted as of May 9^th. The Minnesota Legislature chose not to extend funding for 2013 when they concluded on May 20^th. However, there will be $12 million in tax credits available for 2014. DEED will begin accepting applications for 2014 Angel Tax Credits in November. The Angle Tax Credit Program will end in 2014 unless the Minnesota Legislature extends the program beyond 2014. For the full 2012 report, please click here.

Minnesota unemployment drops for the second month in a row from 5.4% to 5.3% in April, which is well below the U.S. unemployment rate of 7.5%. However, Minnesota employers cut 11,400 jobs in April. This marks the second month in a row Minnesota has posted monthly job losses (last month was revised to 3,300 jobs lost instead of 5,200). Information (600) and Education/Health Services (600) were the only industries to post job gains over the past month. Trade/Transportation/Utilities posted the largest monthly losses with 5,700 jobs lost in April. Minnesota has still added 24,400 jobs over the past year, which puts Minnesota's growth at 1% during that time. This is below the U.S. growth of 1.6% over the past year. Even with the monthly job loses, Minnesota's labor participation rate increased from 70.8% to 70.9% in April. Click here for more April jobs information.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation requested The EDA Center examine the annual IDEA Competition and make recommendations to enhance the experience of the competition. In order to complete this project, The EDA Center interviewed a wide range of groups involved (both directly and indirectly) with the IDEA Competition: past participants, judges, sponsors, and the communities in which past participants reside. By interviewing past participants, judges, sponsors, and members of relevant communities we wanted to determine the IDEA Competition’s broader impact in northwest Minnesota as it relates to program awareness, impact on regional economic developers/bankers/financiers, and the ability of the program to foster a strong culture of entrepreneurship in the surrounding communities. The information we received from these four groups have allowed us to give the Northwest Minnesota Foundation vital recommendations to enhance the IDEA Competition as it moves forward. For the full report, please click here.

The EDA Center newsletter for May 2013 is now available. Click here for the pdf or here to go to the newsletter archive.

In the recent 2012 Annual Export Report, DEED values the amount of goods exported at $20.6 billion for 2012. This is a $246 million increase from 2011, or approximately 1.2 percent growth. This ranks Minnesota 20th among all states in 2012. The top five countries remain the same as 2011 (with Mexico and Japan switching places): Canada ($6 billion, +2.7%), China (2.48 billion, +7.1%), Mexico ($1.3 billion, +6.7%), Japan ($1.18 billion, -9.9%), and Germany ($728 million, -0.8%). While the growth in exports over the past year was lower than the U.S. average (4.5%), the past year in Minnesota saw record numbers of exports. More than 8,500 businesses in the state of Minnesota exported goods and services which helped generate approximately 114,900 jobs in Minnesota, 15th largest among all states (according to 2009 International Trade Administration data). For the complete 2012 Annual Export Report click here.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has dropped from 7.6% in March to 7.5% in April. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 165,000 jobs in April. Professional and Business Services (73,000), Retail Trade (29,300), and Education & Health Services (28,000) led the way in April job gains. Government posted the biggest losses with 11,000 jobs eliminated in April. The pleasant surprise was the upward revision of new jobs in February and March. The revised numbers show 114,000 more jobs were created in February (+64,000) and March (+50,000) than originally reported. For the entire BLS report click here.

DEED has announced a new blog "aimed at providing practical guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners in Minnesota". The blog, entitled Minnesota Business 101, began on May 1st and will appear every Monday here. One aspect the blog will perticularly focus on is helping new business owners navigate DEED's Guide to Starting a New Business in Minnesota.

The April Economic Update shows an overall increase in the general fund receipts of $145 million (6% more than the February Forecast) for the past February and March. Minnesota received $47 million more in corporate taxes (18.2% increase), $22 million more in sales taxes (3.2% increase), $57 million from income taxes (4.9% increase), and $19 million more from other revenues (6% increase) than previously projected in February. Some of these additional revenues may be a result of some high-income taxpayers shifting anticipated revenue from 2013 into the 2012 tax year to avoid higher federal tax rates for 2013. The MMB also estimates wages for the last quarter of 2012 were 9% higher in Minnesota than the last quarter of 2011. For the complete April Economic Update click here.

On April 24th at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation announced 4 winners of the 5th Annual IDEA Competition. The winners received $10,000 cash plus additional assistance, such as "business coaches". The winners are as follows:

The U.S. Small Business Administration has designated April Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Month. During the month of April no events were scheduled to be in the state of Minnesota. However, the SBA has scheduled two encore entrepreneur mentor events in Minnesota within the month of May. Encore Entrepreneurs are those people over the age of 50 who choose to start a new business. Listed below are 2 events to be held in May in Moorhead and St. Paul.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Concordia College Barry Auditorium 1310 – 8th Street South

Moorhead, MN

9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Program will consist of a panel of resources and testimonies from entrepreneurs.

Contact – Cathy Lindquist, Concordia College SBDC, 218.299.3037 or sbdc@cord.edu

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Wilder Center 451

Lexington Parkway North

St. Paul, MN

9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Program will consist of a panel of resources and entrepreneurial success stories.

Contact – Susan McCloskey, St. Paul SCORE 651.454.2698

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia produces monthly leading indexes for all 50 states. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia "The leading index for each state predicts the six-month growth rate of the state’s coincident index. In addition to the coincident index, the models include other variables that lead the economy: state-level housing permits (1 to 4 units), state initial unemployment insurance claims, delivery times from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing survey, and the interest rate spread between the 10-year Treasury bond and the 3-month Treasury bill". The newest release shows Minnesota ranked fourth for the month of February with a leading index of 2.95. Minnesota Rnked behind Rhode Island (4.09), Idaho (3.27), and Vermont (3.10). Rounding out the top 10 are Massachusettes (2.79), Oregon (2.78), Colorado (2.78), North Carolina (2.59), Utah (2.56), and Georgia (2.46). For more information, please click here.

The Minnesota High Tech Association is hosting the upcoming Spring Conference on April 30th from 7:30 AM to 4 PM at the Minneapolis Convention Center. "This daylong event at the Minneapolis Convention Center encompasses all of MHTA’s programs, research and initiatives. Breakout sessions cover the latest trends, breakthroughs and ethical challenges." Hubert Joly, the CEO of Best Buy will be the opening keynote speaker. Innovation expert and creativity author Jim Link will be the closing keynote speaker. To receive the early-bird registration discount you must register by April 2nd. For more information about the conference please click here.

The February 2013 Budget Forecast released by the Minnesota Management & Budget Office outlines a further reduction in the budget deficit. The February Forecast now shows a $627 million deficit for the 2014-2015 biennium. This is a $463 million improvement over the $1.1 billion projected deficit in the November Forecast. Currently, a $295 million budget surplus is expected at the end of the 2012-2013 biennium. As a result of the surplus, $290 million will be applied to previous school aid shifts with $5 million going into reserves. This buyback will leave $801 million in shifts outstanding. For the entire February Forecast please click here.

In 2010, the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project began with the intent of asking one question… do community programs designed to promote broadband awareness, adoption, and deployment work in rural Minnesota? To answer this question, the Blandin Foundation funded MIRC project coordinated approximately 100 separate community-based projects across the 11 demonstration communities in rural Minnesota. With the help of PCs for People, University of Minnesota Extension office, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Minnesota Learning Com-mons, Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace, and all regional development commissions across greater Minnesota the MIRC project distributed over 2,000 computers to low-income families, conducted over 31,000 hours of training to approximately 9,000 individuals and over 2,000 small rural businesses, and also reached over 250,000 rural Minnesotans over the past two years. For the full final report with other related reports included, please click here. For the final report without the related reports, please click here.

There appears to be a growing trend towards purchasing foods from local and whole food sources, especially in the K-12 area (ITAP, 2012). Healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, assisted living facilities, and long-term care facilities also present a promising market for local and whole foods sources and are open all year. Within the counties of Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, and Wilkin counties there are 54 healthcare facilities which serve meals on-site and purchase 385,140 pounds of fresh produce annually. The purpose of this study was to examine the market potential available in healthcare facilities across these four counties as it relates to crops grown in West Central Minnesota. To read the report please click here.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recipients of funds intended to create or save jobs in rural communities. Funding is provided by the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG). These recipients are spread out across seven states: Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Kentucky. In Minnesota, Lake County Power is receiving a $1 million zero interest loan to fund the expansion of a boat lift and dock manufacturing business in McGregor. This project is expected to create 30 jobs and retain 72. For more information on other recipients click here.

The goal of this project was to \"enhance an information infrastructure\" that will allow the Kandiyohi County EDC to establish communications with area businesses. As a result, existing businesses were surveyed to determine "internet utilization patterns, interest in technology training, and satisfaction with the business climate in the county". A total of 405 businesses were sent surveys with 94 businesses responding. To view the result of the survey, please click here.

With the demographic profile of areas of Minnesota changing, the presence of minority businesses will naturally change as well. U of M Extension Educator Adeel Ahmed released a new report highlighting the changing demographic in Willmar, MN, the issues unique to minority business owners, and recommendations that would be beneficial to minority business owners. Ahemd interviewed 15 minority small business owners for this report (7 Hispanic, 6 Somali, and 2 from other ethnicities). Overall, they enjoyed the small town environment but there were some challenges they could use help with. Based upon his interviews, Ahmed made 4 recommendations that would help minority small business owners in the Willmar area. The recommendations are:

The Collaborative, an organization serving growing and emerging companies, entrepreneursm investors and executives, is hosting a new Collaborative Case Study at the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship in Minneapolis on December 14, 2012 from 8:15 AM to 10 AM. The Colaborative Case Study Events are free to members ($75 to non-members) if you register by the priority registration date and cover topics relating to one particular company. Topics covered typically include the development of the company's strategy, process of how, when and why the company raised funding, recruiting and compensation key management and what the future holds. This particular event focuses on SPS Commerce and how they have become a "leading provider pf on-demand supply chaiin mangement solutions, providing integration, collaboration, connectivity, visibility, and data analytics to thousands of customers worldwide". For more information on this event, click here.

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities in conjunction with DEED, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and other public and private sector organizations will begin a 7 part series aimed at assessing future workforce needs in the Financial Services industry in November and run through December. MnSCU will use the information attained during these sessions to make sure certificates and degrees align with businesses' current and future workforce needs. The first session will be held on November 8, 2012 at St. Cloud State University from 8 AM to 9:30 AM. There is no charge for registration, but space will be limited. Please click here for more information.

Oct. 22, 2012 - DEED has announced the Minnesota Trade Office is accepting funding applications for small business owners wishing to expand their sales in foreign markets. The State Trade and Export Promotion Programs (STEP) is responsible for disbursing awards and is partially funded through a U.S. Small Business Administration grant. For those interested in funding, up to $7,500 may be available for approved export-related activities, which include: participation in trade missions, exhibits at trade shows or industry-specific events, translation of marketing materials, development of foreign language websites, Gold Key or other business matchmaking services, company-specific international sales activities, and testing/certification necessary to sell products in foreign countries. In addition to the larger award, $500 may also be available for those who wish to participate in classes intended to help develop export plans. The first deadline is October 30, 2012 with a second round deadline of November 15, 2012. Additional awards will be available each following month until all funds are committed. For more information and application materials, click here.

Click here to view the MIRC Partners progress as of September 2012. PCs for People, DEED, MNREM, and U of M Extension have reached all of their goals set prior to the start of the project. Minnesota Learning Commons is close to completing their goals for the MIRC Project. Rural Minnesota new broadband subscriptions have surpassed the goal of 38,000 new subscriptions.

A new report is available from faculty of the University of Minnesota, Crookston examining contributing factors in new small business success. With the help of Regional Development Commissions across rural Minnesota, they identified various successful small businesses that were at least 5 years old but no older than 15 years. They then collected information from 62 businesses and analyzed the data for commonalities. They found 6 factors that seem to contribute to the success of these small businesses. Click here to read the report.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 27, 2012 employment increased in 293 of the 328 largest counties in the U.S. between March 2011 and March 2012. Average weekly wages in the U.S. also increased 5.4% during that same time. Seven counties in Minnesota were mentioned in this report: Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey, St. Louis, and Stearns. All of them either showed increases or remained steady in employment. Hennepin (3.4%), Olmstead (2.9%), and Anoka (2.6%) all showed increases above the U.S. average of 1.8%. Average weekly wages for all counties also increased with St. Louis (8%), Dakota (7.4%), and Hennepin (6.3%) performing better than the U.S. average of 5.4% Click here to see the entire report.

NBIA is hosting its 22nd Training Institute starting October 1st in Milkaukee, Wisconsin. This event will begin at 9 AM Monday Oct. 1 and run through Noon Wednesday Oct. 3 at the Intercontinental Hotel. NBIA offers this event as a way of networking as well as training for incubation and economic development professionals. Go to http://www.nbia.org/events/ti2012/index.php for more in-depth information.

DEED announced that $47.5 million in business development grants have been awarded to 9 projects across the state. This money will be used to fund approximately 2000 jobs. Governor Dayton signed off on the recommendations made by DEED September 13, 2012. To see the announcement from the Governor's office and information about the projects awarded, click here.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation has announced applications for the 5th Annual IDEA Competition will be accepted starting September 1st through November 30th. The entry fee is $150 but if entrepreneurs submit their paperwork by November 15th the entry fee is $125. For more information on the competition and to apply go to www.ideacompetition.org.

In a survey examining workers displaced from jobs they held for at least 3 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 6.1 million workers were let go between January 2009 and December 2011. This is an improvement over the 6.9 million who were displaced between January 2007 to December 2009. Another promising finding from this recent survey is 56% of the workers displaced between 2009 and 2011 have found new employment. This is up from 49% of displaced workers between 2007 and 2009. The press release here has other information relating to reasons for displacement as well as other factors of interest.

Anyone interested in starting a small business needs funding. Not everyone has the resources to use their own money or an outside investor to pay for the expenses of starting a business. As a result, obtaining a business loan is usually the best way to obtain necessary funding. The U.S. Small Business Administration released a study showing trends in lending between 2010 and 2011. They used 2 types of data for the study - the Call Report Data and Community Reinvestment Act Reports. The overall finding indicated that lending was weaker in 2011 than 2010. The summary of their findings can be seen at http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/7540/173967. Go to http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/sbl_11study%20FINAL.pdf to see the full report.

In an effort to aid small businesses and the public library, Warren, MN is receiving $396,000 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculutre. The Godel Memorial Library will receive $33,000 while $363,000 will be used to fund low-interest small business loans in and around Warren. Funds going towards the library are a grant. The small business funding is a USDA loan that the city has 30 years to pay off at 1% interest.

As the MIRC Project nears completion, Ann Treacy has been providing updates from some of the coomunitees involved in the project. These updates include reflections on the project as well as specific things done in various communities to cultivate more use of internet technology. Not only is Ann providing updates on the MIRC project, she is also providing updates on Minnesota Broadband Task Force meetings as well as other broadband initiative information. Go to www.blandinonbroadband.org to read her blogs.

DEED has announced the awarding or over $1 million to seven Minnesota nonprofit organizations who provide services and technical assistance to up and coming businesses/entrepreneurs. This funding was approved during the 2011 legislative session and was awarded under the Business Development Competitive Grant Pilot Program. This program is designed to specifically "help nonprofits that specialize in business assistance for targeted groups, such as minorities, women, rural residents, bioscience startups, entrepreneurs and inventors." The seven organizations receiving funding are: BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, Metropolitan Economic Development Association, Minnesota Inventors Congress, Neighborhood Development Center, North Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center, South Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center, and WomenVenture, Inc. For the full press release from DEED, please click here.

In a recent survey, Thumbtack.com along with the Kaufmann Foundation obtained information from 6022 small businesses across the United States to see how "friendly" certain states were to small businesses. The survey addresses 15 separate characteristics that relate to friendliness. Each state was given a grade of A+-F on the following characteristics: overall small business friendliness, ease of starting a small business, cost of hiring new employee, overall regulatory friendliness, friendliness of health and safety regulations, friendliness of employment, labor, & hiring regulations, friendliness of tax code, friendliness of licensing regulations, friendliness of environmental regulations, friendliness of zoning regulations, publicity of training programs, and publicity of networking programs. They also assessed and ranked three categories pertaining to economic health, but did not assign a grade: current economic health, optimism about future, and growth rate in the previous year. Results were broken down by both state and major cities. Click here for state results and click here for Minneapolis results. You can see their methodology along with a sample of the survey here.

Pine Technical College receive funding from the EDA and the State of Minnesota for an 8,000 square foot business incubator on campus. They submitted a technical assistance request to the EDA Center to help develop policies, procedures, operating guidelines, and other foundational systems for this business incubator. Christo Robberts' report outlines suggestions gine to Pine Technical College. Click here for the final report.

In a press release on March 30, 2012 DEED announced $2.4 million in grants for 11 separate projects that will offset costs of redeveloping blighted property. Cities receiving the grants include Barnesville, Clara City, Duluth, Hendricks, Hinckley, Minneapolis, Northfield, Ortonville, and St. Paul. Go to http://www.positivelyminnesota.com/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Most_Current_Releases/March_30_-_DEED_Awards_Funding_to_Redevelop_Blighted_Sites.aspx to see the press release and more information on the funded projects.

In a study conducted by the Institute of Labor, Employment, and the Economy at the University of Michigan titled "Incubating Success: Incubation Best Practices That Lead to Successful New Ventures", David Lewis, Elise Harper-Anderson and Lawrence Molnar examine how these busines incubators can best help businesses succeed. They attempted to clearly define what constitutes a business incubator before undertaking the study. Then, they examined how incubators operated and how their clients performed. They received responses from 111 of the 376 business incubators they reserched. Interestingly, two of the responses received were from Minnesota incubators located around the Twin Cities and Duluth. For the entire report, click here.