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Braintree is flourishing with community
support
Russ Kent
July
14, 2005
News Journal
MANSFIELD -- Want your business to succeed? Get help from a business
incubator.
That was a key point during an incubator conference here Wednesday.
"Four of five new businesses which don't take advantages of the services
made available through an incubator fail within five years," said Dave
Williamson of the Governor's Economic Development Office. "When it comes
to business which make use of an incubator, four of five succeed."
The success story of the Braintree Center for Business Innovation,
formerly the Mansfield/Richland County Business Incubator also was
shared when representatives of the Ohio Business Incubator Network came
to town for their 13th Summer Conference.
The conference was designed to provide information for incubator
professionals, chamber, university, city, county and economic
development representatives and business leaders. It included sessions
and discussions on financial and technical resources that are available
to help entrepreneurs.
"The (Mansfield-Richland Area Chamber of Commerce) has an interest in
seeing Braintree succeed," said Tim Lehman, a chamber member and the
president of Richland Bank. "New businesses create opportunities not
only for new businesses but for existing businesses. The chamber has
always been active with Braintree and has always held a position on the
Braintree board."
One of Wednesday's sessions, moderated by Lehman, included a panel made
up of Ashland Economic Development Director Martin Irvin, Ashland County
Commissioner Matt Miller, Nadeane Johnson of the Regional Growth
Partnership in Toledo and Williamson.
"There are three ways to grow a community," Irvine said. "You can
attract new business. You can retain and expand the businesses you have
or you can grow your own."
Incubators help communities nurture their own businesses.
Many communities are interested in starting incubators to help nurture
businesses. And everyone agrees that community support is vital.
Melissa James, executive director of the Norwalk Area Chamber of
Commerce, wanted to know how to get community members involved.
"You do that one cup of coffee at a time," Irvin said. "That way you
take time to break down those invisible walls and you build support as
you go."
"You have to get your local officials involved," Miller said.
Pat Longo, who was representing Hamilton County at the conference, said
successful incubators have community support. He said Braintree is a
perfect example.
"This incubator would be dead if not for Bob Cohen," he said. "He
managed to get the word out. They manage to market themselves. They let
people know about their success stories. They celebrate those successes.
Bob's done that by drinking lots of cups of coffee."
The Braintree Center has flourished in recent years, thanks in part to
the efforts of Director Bob Cohen and a strong board of directors.
"We are very pleased to host this event and show people from other parts
of Ohio how our incubator fits into the overall economic development
effort," Cohen said. "We are proud of the strong record of community
support that we have and hope that we can serve as a model for other
areas that hope to develop similar programs."
Roger Daughtery of the Ohio Business Institute teaches several classes
for would-be entrepreneurs at Braintree. He said it's important for
incubator directors to remember that they are businesses, too.
"It's an incubator. But it's a business, too," he said. "When you
operate a business there are things you need to do in order to be
successful. Those things include marketing, financial planning, hiring.
Those are all part of running a successful business."
The Braintree Center for Business Innovation is a non-profit business
incubator that assists business startups and emerging companies in north
central Ohio. Experienced "Braintree Partners" offer counseling,
customer referral, access to capital, and training opportunities. |
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