A Cooperative Extension Home-Based Business program: A case study

According to Joseph Schumpeter (1934) development arises from within and catalysts for transforming an economy are entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship programs are unique and tailored to their locales and as such cannot be lifted per se from one locale to another but lessons can be learned from successful programs. One such successful program was Oklahoma State University's Cooperative Extension Home-Based Business program which was considered to be an exemplary program by State Directors of Centers for Rural Development.; This study identifies criteria associated with an exemplary program and compares that criteria to the actual program to determine whether or not the program fit the enumerated criteria. The study then looked at how the program achieved this success and what obstacles it encountered in its development and if and how it overcame those obstacles.