Organizations, Incubators Aid Start-up Companies
Published Mar 03, 2008
Southeast Women’s Business Center is open to all, says Ramona Daugherty.
In 1988, when Joe Ruf worked as an executive for a major telecommunications firm in Atlanta, he was among the first people in the country to carry a cell phone. Today, 13 years after retiring, Ruf still handles a multitude of cell calls, but now they come from entrepreneurs across Towns and Union counties in Georgia and Clay County in North Carolina.
A resident of Hiawassee, Ga., Ruf is a volunteer for the Service Corps of Retired Executives. The program, popularly known as SCORE, provides small-business owners with consulting services and opportunities to learn more about running and growing their companies.
“When you’re a small-business owner, there are a lot of stumbling blocks that can get in the way of taking your company to the next level. Our goal is to try to remove some of the stumbling blocks to help these companies become more successful,” says Ruf, who joined SCORE’s Atlanta chapter after retiring from his corporate position in 1995.
In addition to providing free one-on-one business consulting for 18 local entrepreneurs, Ruf runs a series of business seminars that are sponsored by local chambers of commerce.
“Some of these business owners just need someone to bounce ideas off of who has real-world business experience, and others need a personal coach who can continue encouraging them,” he says.
Targeting Demographic Groups
As the number of small businesses opening in the region continues to increase, entrepreneurs are finding more resources like SCORE to help get – and keep – their companies going.
For instance, the Chattanooga-based Southeast Women’s Business Center conducts training that focuses on skills development, business counseling and assistance with accessing U.S. Small Business Administration lending programs.
With a territory that spans 22 counties in southeast Tennessee, north Georgia and southwest North Carolina, the center and its new program director, Ramona Daugherty, remain dedicated to offering services at little or no cost.
“The Southeast Women’s Business Center is designed to serve primarily women entrepreneurs, but is open to any person who has an established business or would like to start a new business,” Daugherty says. “For the future, I would like to see an increase in entrepreneurship coming from the rural areas.”
Another resource for entrepreneurs is the Small & Minority-Owned Business Assistance Program, known as SMOB, which the Southeast Tennessee Development District administers for all 95 counties in the state. According to She’rri McClellan, program director of SMOB and a former owner of three small businesses, the program helps new, expanding and existing businesses secure loans of up to $125,000. SMOB also offers workshops and training for entrepreneurs.
“I wish this program had been in existence when I was opening my businesses,” McClellan says. “We can help provide the technical assistance and funding business owners need to open up and stay in business.”
Warm Response to Incubators
For emerging technology-oriented companies, the Hamilton County High-Tech Incubator/Accelerator has been a valuable asset since 2006.
The incubator, housed in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Engineering building, is a joint venture among the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton County and UTC. The space includes cubicles, audiovisual equipment and conference facilities. It also provides a location where entrepreneurs can go for business development counseling and support from UTC engineering and business faculty.
Another business incubator, this one in Cleveland, Tenn., has led to creation of more than 300 jobs in its first five years of existence and now houses 27 fledgling businesses. The incubator has been so successful that organizers say a second one is in the works.
Story by Valerie Pascoe
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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