Virginia Business Incubation Association

Stuart Mease wants to keep up with you on Twitter

2009-06-23T23:21:00.001-07:00

Stuart Mease wants to keep up with you on Twitter

To find out more about Twitter visit http://twitter.com/i/8cd57a6d9259c8dcb22fb6ccd3b58f38f2df821f

Thanks,
— The Twitter Team

About Twitter

Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or the Web and the responses are shared between contacts.

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New Contributor to the Blog

2009-06-10T08:26:00.001-07:00

We will be having a new contributor to the VBIA blog - the current President of VBIA and VT KnowedlegeWorks in Blacksburg, Virginia - Jim Flowers. Thank you Jim for contributing to this site.

Forced/Recession Entrepreneurship

2009-03-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

There have been a number of articles written about the rise of entrepreneurship during the economic downturn. In Roanoke, we had over 140 people come to a workshop. VT KnowledgeWorks also has a session coming up in April.

CEO for Cities wrote this entertaining blog post about forced entrepreneurship and the importance of it for job creation.

Jon Roberts of TIP Strategies also made the simple yet clear point recently "Companies are in the business of creating profits, not jobs. Economic developers, politicians and government officials are using the wrong metric (job creation). The metric should be how many profitable companies have you started and the by-product will be job creation."

Could the silver lining in this dark economic cloud be the emergence of more business start ups by entrepreneurs?

Does Place Matter When Starting a Business?

2009-03-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

Penelope Trunk's blog post is very insightful in determining where to launch your business. She argues starting in Silicon Valley is "stupid". It gives ammunition to incubators who may be confronted by a client about such a move.

Importance of SMEs by Jim Flowers

2009-02-16T05:41:00.000-08:00

Jim Flowers author of Start with Moxie and architect behind VTKnowledgeWorks generated this interesting post about the importance of SMEs (small-to-medium enterprises). As defined these are businesses employing less than 50 people.

Obviously in this economic climate more entrepreneurs are needed. The soil is fertile as many organization like VBIA are offering many resources. Contact one today and help turn around your local economy.

Rofo Finding Space for Startups

2008-08-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

Rofo is a web site finding cheap space for start ups. It is a pretty fascinating model for incubators to look at in terms of fulfilling the needs of its clients as discussed on Tech Crunch. What are your thoughts? Will it work in a non-major metropolitan area?

Member Incubator VT Knowledge Works is Blogging. Are You?

2008-07-23T05:46:00.001-07:00

VT KnowledgeWorks - located in Blacksburg at the Corporate Research Center - has a very informative blog and uses it quite well in disseminating information, and creating the incubator's online presence.

The blog Inside VT KnowledgeWorks highlights member events, displays videos of member's technology, and provides an overall online forum for members to interact and discuss various topics.

If your incubator is not blogging, then use Inside VT KnowledgeWorks as an example. It's cost effective and much easier than you think to setup.

Virtual Incubator

2008-07-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

There was some discussion recently on virtual incubators and how were communities responding to the needs of these business owners. Recently, I visited with one such individual who met me at the building of his incubator for a meeting. He talked about his desire to work from home for his specific business, but also how he benefited from a traditional facility incubator. This hybrid approach was very attractive to him and it appears to be serving him quite well.

Does your incubator have a virtual program? Do you have any success stories with a virtual incubator? Please share.

Why should I join VBIA? Part 5 of 5

2008-07-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Why should I join VBIA?

Certainly, no one can argue that the ultimate good of our economy is served by developing viable new businesses. In addition to doing a positive thing for your community, you’re also getting access to tomorrow’s business leaders. It can be a great chance to make mutually beneficial business alliances. And who knows? You just might meet your next boss.

VBIA members get free and discounted educational opportunities. Members also enjoy exceptional networking opportunities and access to an impressive store of knowledge on issues ranging from employment law to work-flow management.

VBIA leans on the expertise of a range of volunteers and members. Its rate structure is designed to promote participation from professionals from all walks of life.

Why should a new business want to locate in a business incubator? Part 4 of 5

2008-07-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Why should a new business want to locate in a business incubator?

Most new businesses have a strength in a specific area and a great deal of passion. What they generally lack is experience in the basics of running a business and the infrastructure -the fax machines and telephone systems - to make things work. Virginia’s business incubators give these bold new companies structure, credibility, access to knowledge, infrastructure, and contacts that are necessary for the businesses to take root.

Why should I support business incubators? Part 3 of 5

2008-07-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Why should I support business incubators?

Simply stated, they work. According to national statistics, 30% of incubator clients typically graduate each year. According to the Impact of Incubator Investments Study, 1997, 87% of incubator graduates remain in business. Less than one in four businesses that start outside of an incubator survive for five years.

What does a business incubator do? Part 2 of 5

2008-07-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

What does a business incubator do?
Business incubators are generally physical structures that nurture start-up businesses. Some incubators focus on one specific kind of business (such as technology or manufacturing), while others promote mixed use.

What is VBIA and business incubation? Part 1 of 5

2008-07-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is the first part of a five-post series that will educate and describe VBIA and the opportunities of incubators.

What is business incubation?
Incubators nurture young firms, helping them to survive and grow during the start-up period when they are most vulnerable. Incubators provide hands-on management assistance, access to financing, and 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.

Join the VBIA Linked In Group

2008-07-06T16:43:00.001-07:00

Please visit and join our VBIA LinkedIn group, so we can better connect you to people in our networks who may be able to assist you in becoming successful. If you have never used LinkedIn, do not worry it is easy, addicting and time efficiently and effectively spent.