Business Incubators—A New Business Office Option Creative office spaces help increase entrepreneurial success. by Maria Meyers
Like all newborns, new business ventures benefit from extra attention and nurturing to ensure their survival and growth. Organizations providing these special environments and services are aptly named “business incubators.”
The Kansas City region is fortunate to have a widely diverse group of business incubators that offer creative office solutions for many area small businesses. Each incubator serves a different market and need. The Arts Incubator of Kansas City The Arts Incubator of Kansas City meets the specific needs of professional artists. Located in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Mo., this incubator helps emerging artists grow from struggling entrepreneurs to successful business professionals. Currently more than 30 professional artists are working within the incubator, the only arts incubator in the Midwest.
Executive Director Jeff Becker has initiated a partnership with the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac for the Arts, a program that helps artists learn entrepreneurial skills. He reports that art organizations from many other cities have contacted and sometimes visit him to learn more about establishing a similar venture in their communities. Enterprise Center of Johnson County (ECJC) Serving another market niche, ECJC targets early-stage companies in Johnson County that have high-growth potential and an innovative, unique and/or creative product or service. Selection criteria for participating companies include: • Potential national or international scope • Strong leadership from a committed management team • A realistic, written business plan • A management team that is open to the expertise and guidance of the Enterprise Center staff • Being located in, or willing to relocate to, Johnson County
ECJC’s facilities in Lenexa include office space, shared resources and business consulting services. Unique programs include coaching, mentoring and opportunities to network with CEOs, angel investors and venture capitalists.
El Centro Inc. Development Corporation (ECI) ECI, located in Kansas City, Kan., targets new and growing small or micro businesses, with a special emphasis on Hispanic businesses and nonprofit organizations. ECI provides affordable office and conference space, basic office services, bilingual receptionists and a flexible, “family-friendly” environment. The ECI business park assists the growth and development of small businesses and entrepreneurs while inherently increasing capital investment in Wyandotte County.
Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) The HEDC Small Business Incubator Program was a natural extension of their business services. After a client approached him with the idea, Executive Director Carlos Salazar attended a National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) conference, where he learned the importance of molding an incubator to clients’ needs.
The incubator offices are now fully occupied with HEDC clients.
The affordable rent, including furniture, telephone, all basic services and bilingual staff, is subsidized by HEDC. According to Salazar, there are other Latino incubators in the United States, but the HEDC incubator is unique in the Midwest. Although the focus of this Kansas City, Mo., incubator is Latino businesses, it is open to everyone.
Kansas City, Mo., Small Business Division 18th and Vine Business Incubator Located in a renovated space within the historic 18th and Vine area of Kansas City, Mo., this incubator nurtures a variety of small businesses. It targets small and micro businesses, especially in the professional service industry. To qualify, a business must have been licensed for a minimum of two years. Services include furnished offices, all business necessities, one-on-one case management, help with business plans, cash flow, loan packaging, government certification and other operational guidance.
Free e-mail and Internet access, a computer lab, video conferencing capabilities and a computerized plan room are some of the special services offered by the 18th and Vine incubator.
Greater Kansas City Biotechnology Development Center (KCBDC) This life science incubator in Kansas City, Kan., helps scientific entrepreneurs, specifically targeting biotech companies with a patented drug, product, process or technology. Potential companies are screened based on their business plan, organizational structure and access to financing. The incubator provides basic office space and specialized services that include:
• Wet lab space • Utilities, including deionized water • Access to animal care facilities • Research library, databases and publications • Bioformatics/statistical analysis • Research faculty and specialized laboratories
Additional services are provided for a fee, including safety consultation, biohazard waste disposal and training and management consulting. Business incubators enable the kind of informal networking that can be invaluable to emerging small businesses. The supportive entrepreneurial environment provides a comfortable, safe place to ask questions and encourages an easy exchange of information within the incubator.
Contact Information for Kansas City Area Incubators
The Arts Incubator of Kansas City Jeff Becker, executive director 115 W. 18th St., Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 421-2292 Enterprise Center of Johnson County Joe Kessinger, president 8527 Bluejacket Street, Lenexa, KS 66214 (913) 888-9100
El Centro, Inc. (ECI) Development Corporation Jeff Fendorf, director 2100 Metropolitan Ave., Kansas City, KS 66106 (913) 677-1120
HEDC Small Business Incubator Program Carlos Salazar, executive director 1427 W. 9th St., Suite 201, Kansas City, MO 64101 (816) 221-3442
Kansas City Mo., Small Business Division Deborah Mason 18th and Vine Business Incubator 1601 E. 18th Street, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 513-6817
Greater Kansas City Biotechnology Development Center Richard Huston, associate director 3901 Rainbow Blvd., MS 1039, Kansas City, KS 66160 (913) 588-1495
Photos and more information on Kansas City area business incubators can be found at www. kcsourcelink.com/news.
Maria Meyers, network builder, leads the KCSourceLink team. KCSourceLink is an initiative of the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Small Business Administration. There is no cost for using KCSourceLink’s network services.
For more information, contact KCSourceLink at (816) 235-6500 or (866) 870-6500, by e-mail at , or visit www.kcsourcelink.com.
