The small business support Biz Harney provides to Harney County is based on a seven-component framework developed by Business Oregon Rural Opportunity Initiative. This framework categorizes the needs of Harney County’s entrepreneurial ecosystem into culture, capital, support, policy, market, people and infrastructure needs. For each of these categories follows is the support provided by Biz Harney to anticipate and respond to the needs of Harney County’s small business.

1. The CULTURE of Harney County’s business community

• Media and celebratory environment that supports entrepreneurship
• Main Street revitalization and business community building
• Agriculture and multi-generational ranching heritage rooted in land stewardship
• Cross-cultural connections including Tribal economic development
• Collaborative culture that chooses communication over contention
• Public, nonprofit, and Tribal leaders join forces to cultivate a thriving business ecosystem in Harney County—rooted in collaboration and long-term growth.

2. The CAPITAL that helps fund Harney County’s business community

• Finance and funding access for businesses at all stages through opportunities such as Kiva Loans, Business Oregon funding, and R3 Funding.
• Investment in community infrastructure and development projects like Miller Springs.

3. The SUPPORT to help Harney County’s small businesses grow and thrive

• Business educational opportunities for rural entrepreneurs such as CO.STARTERS.
• Technical assistance and mentorship programs through partnerships such as with Small Business Development Center and Foundry Collective.
• Youth-focused initiatives through an ‘Idea-to-Ownership’ entrepreneurial pipeline includes the Side Hustle course at Burns High School, a developing middle school curriculum, and a summer entrepreneurship program designed to cultivate business acumen from an early age.
• Education to support and enhance agriculture and ranching enterprises with partners such as OSU extension, partners such as OSU Research Extension, Farm to School (a Department of Education program), and OSU Small Farms Program

4. POLICY advocacy

• Public policy advocacy and regulatory navigation support
• Collaborative approach to land use and water management challenges
• Public-private partnership development—for example, fostering local contractor development through stewardship agreement with the U.S. Forest Service.
• Biomass—creating local heating supply
• Workforce development—co-collaborating with Youth Changing the Community Collaborative to create local youth opportunities

5. MARKET development

• Customer development and market access support for businesses to market their products through Shop Harney and events such as the Seed Swap, Harvest Festival, Indoor Winter Market, Saturday Farmer’s Market, etc.
• Regional branding and tourism economy development, such as the Harney Brand: Land Water Sky Soul
• Land stewardship economy market creation

6. Opportunities for PEOPLE

• Human capital development and talent retention
• Diverse leadership development across all demographics
• Seasonal employment culture optimization
• A broad coalition of partners bringing varied expertise to the table
• Foster local job opportunities to build meaningful careers within Harney County

7. INFRASTRUCTURE development

• Physical infrastructure including agriculture, broadband, housing, and energy systems
• Innovative biomass heating system and renewable energy development
• Agricultural technology and innovation hub
• Co-working space development