Bryan Stading represents one organization that’s providing that sort of coordination and mentoring in the Blue Earth County area.

Stading, who also attended the press conference, is the facilitator for the Riverbend Center for Enterprise Facilitation. Created by Blue Earth County and now being supported financially by the state, the center helps entrepreneurs develop a business plan, points them to sources of capital for start-up businesses and lines them up with more experienced business owners.

But the small-budget center can’t afford to advertise its services and relies almost exclusively on word-of-mouth to find new clients.

Entenza said the state can make similar help available and get the word out to small business. But it might need to do less of what its doing now — offering tax breaks to big companies through programs such as JOBZ (Job Opportunity Building Zones).

Programs like that tend to largely move jobs from one community to another and tend to be most successful along interstate highways rather than in more deeply rural parts of the state, Entenza said. They also often benefit companies that aren’t loyal to their current location and are likely to move again in the future.

“Laura’s not going to move,” he said, looking toward Dhuyvetter. “She’s not going to take Laura’s Candy to Mexico.”