SMALL BUSINESS INCUBATION
Business incubation is a dynamic process of business enterprise development. Incubators nurture young firms, helping them to survive and grow during the startup period when they are most vulnerable. Incubators provide hands-on management assistance, access to financing and orchestrated exposure to critical business or technical support services. They also offer entrepreneurial firms shared office services, access to equipment, flexible leases and expandable space -- all under one roof.
An incubation program's main goal is to produce successful graduates -- businesses that are financially viable and freestanding when they leave the incubator usually in two to three years. Thirty percent of incubator clients typically graduate each year. According to the Impact of Incubator Investments Study, 1997, 87% of incubator graduates are still in business.
A small business incubator is also an economic development tool that yields many benefits to its community. When graduates leave the incubator, they:
- Revitalize Neighborhoods
- Commercialize critical new technologies
- Strengthen local and national economies
Like venture capitalists, incubators impose selection criteria upon prospective clients... The businesses being incubated today are at the forefront of developing new and innovative technologies -- creating products and services that improve the quality of our lives -- on a small scale today, and on a much grander scale tomorrow.”
-- National Business Incubation Association