Books, bikes, canoes. Publishing, tourism, outdoorrecreation. Family, friends and fun. Like nature's diversifiedgeography providing the Missouri Riverbackdrop for the scenic town of Rocheport, Brett andTawnee Dufur's ecopreneurial life reflects the strengthin diversity. Despite the sleepy town with a populationa dash over 200, 15 minutes outside of Columbia,Missouri, the thirtysomething husband-and-wife teamhas created a laboratory of innovative, ecopreneurialventures that keep life and livelihood blended andblooming, locally focused, yet reaching audiences andcustomers well beyond the river's touch.

Brett's first venture started in 1995, when he wroteand self-published the first guidebook for the Katy Trail,the longest rails-to-trails project in the United States, 225 miles along the meandering and mighty Missouri River. It remains a best-seller to this day. "What I discovered is that people are hungry for the opportunity to connect with a sense of place, and that's what this guidebook is all about," explains Brett.

This guidebook introduced Brett to Rocheport and sparked his passion for local commitment."With publishing I knew I could be based anywhere, thanks to the Internet andshipping options. Rocheport delivered such a strong sense of place blended with nature, aplace where I could walk out the front door and just keep walking without worrying aboutfences or property lines.This place immediately felt like home."

Brett's Katy Trail Guidebook, now in its ninth edition with over 35,000 copies sold,prompted him to officially start Pebble Publishing, nurturing the business into a leading purveyorof books exclusively about Missouri. "When I first started working out of a house onthe bluff overlooking Rocheport, self-employment was like tumbling down a big hill," admitsBrett."I welcomed the challenges and recognized early on that no one else was doing whatI was doing. Boxes of books lined the walls and served as chairs. I didn't even know what aP&L statement was until several years later."

Flash forward through the years and experience deepened while new ideas germinated.Brett's wife,Tawnee, joined him as a partner. Creating a business that enabledTawnee to useher natural resources degree without needing to commute out of Rocheport, the couplepurchased and renovated the Katy Trail Bed & Bikefest, blending green practices with hospitality."At first, I admit the B & B business idea didn't appeal to me since B & Bs typicallyare such luxury resource and energy hogs," Brett comments. "Then Tawnee and I thoughtmaybe we could create earth-friendly lodging that reflects our own low-impact lifestyle thatstill delivers a comfortable experience."

Doing the renovations on a lean budget, the Dufurs were pleasantly surprised to findthat most of the energy-saving changes, such as compact fluorescent bulbs and calkingaround windows cost less than $15. "Our personal beliefs stood in sync with the bottomline, and we realized this is a no-brainer way to do business,"Tawnee says. Today, the Dufurshave found that their B & B guests appreciate their green B & B initiatives. "It is one thingto talk about something, it's another to provide an experience where someone uses a lowflowshowerhead for the first time and loves it. We think of our guests as being on a 'fieldtrip' when they are here, taking ideas and new approaches for their lives back home."

Simultaneously Pebble Publishing grew to offering 12 titles plus others sold throughMissouri Gold Booksellers, a distributor of over 500 Missouri books. Needing more space,the company transformed an old brick 1917 gas station building into an attractive retailstore, publishing house and book warehouse. As with most ecopreneurial businesses,restoration provides a central framework for how businesses operate. "The retail storefrontbrought years of publishing work full circle and allowed us to directly connect with the peoplewho enjoyed our books," explains Brett. Additionally Brett launched Mighty Mo CanoeRentals. He offers guided interpretive floats by canoe or kayak on the Missouri River, tappinginto the rapidly growing interest in experiential travel and ecotourism. "Mighty Mo is the only canoe rental on the Missouri River and the Lewis and Clark Trail this side ofMontana."

These business ventures add up to a solid, diversified income mix, with 50 percent oftheir income stemming from their oldest, established venture of Pebble Publishing, about 30percent from the B & B and 20 percent from the canoe business, getting away from lots ofearned income and focusing instead on passive and royalty income."Our diversified incomemix is always in fluid change from year to year, especially as some of our newer venturesget established," explains Brett, with the B & B running at double the previous year's volume.Rather than playing the distant stock market, the Dufurs are building long-term equitylocally by investing into fixer-upper properties they plan on using as rental income.

The Dufurs still keep open to new opportunities, particularly those that enhance andinvolve their local Rocheport community. "When I started the canoe business, I wanted amore earth-friendly shuttle vehicle option than a gas-sucking huge van. Then a friend suggestedbiodiesel," adds Brett. This idea evolved into a local cooperative of six, adding up toenough fuel for Brett to run the diesel shuttle van and heat his home.

Brett's passion for Rocheport prompted him to run for mayor, and he is now in his secondterm. Ever modest, he sees his all-volunteer role as mayor as a means to effect change,particularly in a small town like Rocheport. "Small towns are like balls of clay, where everyonecan have an active role in shaping its destiny," Brett explains. His goal is to seeRocheport, recently voted "One of America's Top Ten Coolest Small Towns" by Frommer'sBudgetTravel, evolve into a top ten "greenest small town," starting with community programsto help residents with easy, efficient green changes, similar to what the Dufurs did at the B & B.

Never seeing money as a huge hurdle, Brett emphasizes the personal aspect of businessloans. "We've done it all when it comes to raising money, from taking out SmallBusiness Administration loans to maxing credit cards to borrowing from friends and family,"explains Brett. "Remember the majority of our country is burdened with needing to turn adecent interest rate on their investments. When interest rates are down, it is easier to compelbusiness associates or friends to loan our small business money rather than putting itinto a faceless CD."

Sowing their passions into their businesses has been a lot like creating a garden for theDufurs, a garden that now includes their young son and daughter, Everett and Naomi Jane."We've been sowing seeds for a long time now, and our 'garden' is starting to create abundanceboth for us and this community," concludes Brett." I look at success from the perspectiveof the three 'I's: identity, working on what you truly want to be; interactions, meeting lots ofinteresting people; and income, to pay the bills and provide enough to reinvest in my familyand business. We're not business superheroes, we're simply being who we want to be,putting our heels down in this town where we want to live, work and raise our kids."

Advance Book Order Information Order your advance copy of ECOpreneuring today at a 22% discount off list price (a PDF file order form). The book will be shipped when available, most likely in May, 2008.

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