Wyoming a friendly place for entrepreneurs

The Merriam-Webster definition of an entrepreneur is “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.”

In looking for a lifestyle that was more attuned to his family’s liking than the increasingly hectic life in a growing Colorado Front Range city, Siebert said they got to know some people in Wyoming and in the Cheyenne community. With a new start, they imagined a better way of managing their business and enjoying life.

“We liked what we saw, and we thought we would have a better return on quality of life,” Siebert said. “And so, we took a risk. And yes, it's not for the faint of heart to pick up and move a business.”

The move 170 miles north to Cheyenne changed the way he thought about community.

“I'm not missing anything from where I came from,” Siebert said. “I have equal or better support in Cheyenne than I did in Colorado Springs. I'll tell you this, the (Cheyenne) community sure cares about a small business a whole lot more. The whole state of Wyoming, I think, values small business a whole lot more than the state where we came from, which was a real plus for making the move.”

The move to a regional transportation hub is providing TBC Mfg. with the ability to meet its customer needs wherever they are, Siebert added.

“I'll tell you another thing that proved to be a hidden value that I didn't really anticipate as much,” Siebert said. “That was taking a fresh look at our business and building a new facility, laying it out correctly and including the things that we really needed and how we wanted to do them. We had our best sales year ever last year.”

Siebert said the company is more involved in the community than it was in Colorado Springs, and he feels it’s making a difference.

“My wife, Karri, and I, it’s not like we’re a ‘big wheel,’ but we like to contribute,” he said. “The community we have come to know here, we’ve really embraced it, and we enjoy it, and we value it.”

From his experience, Siebert advises that when Wyoming is seeking entrepreneurs to come to the state, “Work with those who really want to enjoy living in Wyoming.”

For Josh Dorrell, the experience of Jeff Siebert and TBC Mfg. is exactly the kind of message he hopes new and experienced entrepreneurs hear about Wyoming, whether they’re homegrown or looking for a new home.

Dorrell is the chief executive officer for the Wyoming Business Council (WBC).

“An entrepreneur is anyone who wants to take a risk and solve a problem and serve customers,” Dorrell said.

People often associate entrepreneurs with “superstars,” like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, who are associated with incredibly high growth and want to approach the whole world with a solution, he said. But the WBC is focusing on other kinds of entrepreneurs.

“It's those folks who are willing to take a risk, put themselves out there, serve customers and create a business,” Dorrell said. “That's the type of entrepreneur that is maybe even more important to the fabric of our communities because they make them so livable. They create a great community.”

He also appreciates those who he calls, “intrepreneurs.”

“Those are people within businesses that are already existing, that are already stable, but they’re out there looking for the next thing for their organization to make sure that their businesses are stable now and into the future,” Dorrell said.

He said business owners may think because their business is stable, they don't need entrepreneurship.

“I think that that's the wrong approach to stay competitive in today's business world,” Dorrell said. “You have to be thinking of things that are 10 and 20 years down the road. And there are a number of companies that are doing that in Wyoming.”

Dorrell acknowledges positive assessments of the state, such as that announced in October 2023 by project management experts at The Digital Project Manager. It ranked Wyoming as the sixth most “entrepreneurial” state in the nation. The Digital Project Manager found that, in 2022, there were 12,357 small businesses for every 100,000 people in Wyoming, and nearly a 120% increase in business applications from 2019 to 2022.

But numbers don’t tell how an entrepreneur can get started or how to plan for the future, he said.

That’s where the resources of the WBC, in partnership with the University of Wyoming and the Business Resource Network, come in, he said. Business Resource Network members are the Small Business Development Center, the Women’s Business Center, IMPACT 307, Manufacturing Works, Wyoming APEX Accelerator, and the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Other resources for entrepreneurs are Wyoming Main Street, Wyoming community colleges and the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

Through all these programs, entrepreneurs can find assistance in developing a business plan, technology transfers, seed funding, employee recruitment and training, and much more, Dorrell said. The WBC has six regional offices, which can be located at its website, wyomingbusiness.org.

While Wyoming is acknowledged to have a business friendly environment, no corporate tax, very low other taxes and no personal income tax, limited access to venture capital has been a major challenge for expanding entrepreneurial opportunities in the state.

However, Wyoming’s entrepreneurial climate received a boost last year with the creation of the $60 million Wyoming Venture Capital (WYVC) fund, Dorrell said.

WYVC utilizes two investment strategies – the Direct Strategy and Funds Strategy – to support the growth of Wyoming entrepreneurs. The program targets contributing 20% to selected funds or companies’ fundraising rounds with a maximum of up to a 50% contribution, or $5 million.

Ultimately, both strategies are designed to support in-state companies and to help bridge the early gaps in startup equity funding.