What is the Entrepreneurial Center?
The Entrepreneurial Center is a business incubator. A business incubator is a building in which start-up companies locate during their initial growth phase which can range from one to five years. They receive mentoring, networking and publicity opportunities, access to equipment, and referral to professionals in order to help ensure their success before they move out to their own facility.
The goal of a business incubator is to increase the development and success of small businesses. It has become a widely recognized successful economic development tool for many communities across the nation. When put together with large industry recruitment, you have a great recipe for successful economic development.
Construction of this facility was completed in early 1998 and operations began the following month. It has a total of 40,000 square feet, 30,000 of which is divided into offices of various sizes as well as light manufacturing/ware house space for start-up companies to rent. This facility is one of thirteen incubators in the state of Alabama.
Click here for more information about business incubation.
How does the Entrepreneurial Center
help companies succeed?
Resource Advantage
By locating in a business incubator, a start-up company can save valuable working capital which it can put to use for core business operations. These savings are possible because we provide shared office eqipment, power (for office space), office furniture (as available), fully stocked restrooms, and even complementary coffee and water cooler.
Network Advantage
The success of incubated companies is a result of the "social network" made available through the incubator itself (i.e., other companies in the incubator), and the business network that is usually associated with the incubator ( a university, bankers, media contacts, accountants, lawyers, and other business leaders)
The physical premises in which the companies locate in contribute to:
Synergy:
Opportunities for clients to share equipment, employees, contacts and to learn from each other
Services:
A central locatation where management can efficiently provide daily consulting, services, and training
Focus:
A community focal point for entrepreneurship that is attractive to government and private sponsors and business service providers.
