Abstract
This paper examines the nature of entrepreneurship within the tourism and hospitality industry in the Alleghany region of West Virginia and discusses goals and problems faced by the interviewed entrepreneurs. It analyzes the factors that have enabled small business owners to create and maintain successful businesses within the service industry in the rural areas of West Virginia. The paper highlights the lesson that entrepreneurs have learned about what it takes to be successful at setting up a new entrepreneurial business in an effort to encourage the development of entrepreneurship in West Virginia and to provide some insights into the way state government agencies may tailor their assistance to promote entrepreneurship in Alleghany, West Virginia more effectively.