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| The Downtown Entrepreneurship
Project offers several services and is highly sensitive to the fact
that small non-profit organizations have limited resources. We will make every effort to work within your budget-after all, we've been in your shoes. |
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SOME OF THE SERVICES OFFERED ARE: |
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Entrepreneur Recruitment |
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| You might be surprised to learn
that there are people all around you who have the dream of opening a
retail, service or related business. The key is to find them,
guide them through the process and provide ongoing support. We
at the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project have studied the most
effective methods of entrepreneur recruitment and have developed an
understanding of what makes a good business owner. We know how
to find and locate the potential business owners in your community….or
from around the country. We don't just recruit entrepreneurs, we become their advocates as well. |
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Entrepreneur Testing and Reality Check |
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| Finding the potential business
owners is only the first step. The next step is the reality
test—do people really understand what it takes to commit to a
business. It’s a commitment as large as committing to a
relationship—maybe even a family. It's hard work, requires long
hours and there many times is no safety net. It takes a certain
personality. We have developed an extensive screening process
based on years of research—ours and others. Despite the risks, many
people are willing to take it for the potential rewards. That means additional committed, dynamic and creative people for your downtown or commercial district. |
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Entrepreneurship Training |
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Many people think they have what
it takes to run a business—and they are right. However, training is
still essential to ensure that potential business owners have a complete
understanding of small business management. Through research and a
stable of experts, we offer comprehensive training programs. We also
like to use local experts in the training process—it many times is more
relevant for the potential business owner.
So, if you have a local college, a
Small Business Development Center, a SCORE program or a Cooperative
Extension Program, we can use them as part of the training. If not,
we can develop our own program. We may very well be able to use them as part of the entrepreneurship development program. There are some great programs around the country and we are happy to partner with them. We add value because of our extensive knowledge of entrepreneurship within downtowns and commercial districts and because we are organized and committed for the long haul. In addition, we bring the perspective of the outsider who has seen many other communities-in short, we know what works and what doesn't.
Sometimes all of the available
entrepreneurship programs out there can seem confusing—we can help to cut
through the red tape and find the ones that are best for you and your
community. After all, this is our field.
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| Exploration of
Financing Options |
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For many potential business owners
the biggest hurdle—real or imagined—is financing.
Many wonder, how will I ever get
the money together to open my business and what kind of return can I
expect? The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project has a far-reaching
understanding of potential funding sources—federal, state and local.
In addition, we are not shy about suggesting new local sources of funding.
In today’s economic climate, the right business idea should have little
trouble receiving financing. It may be a patchwork of options, but many
times it's achievable. We can call on our directory of programs and
contacts and even point out what has worked in other downtowns.
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| Ongoing Support
and Follow Up |
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| Observe venture capitalists. These
are people who don’t throw money away. They always build
long-term follow-up and management advice into their financing
mechanisms. Why? Because there will be bumps in the road.
We will train local leaders to help provide ongoing support and of
course we will be available as well. The last thing any downtown
wants to do is encourage a new business to open only to leave it
blowing in the breeze months later. We encourage the development
of “angel networks” to provide practical, technical and moral support
over the long haul. |
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| Business
Retention—Training, Retraining and Jump Starting Existing Businesses |
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Our services are not just for new
businesses. Sometimes established businesses need a kick-start and a
little motivation. Our training programs will be open to existing
businesses and we will attempt to motivate, encourage, innovate and
change.
This can be a key component in any
downtown business retention program.
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| Motivation
Programs and Seminars for Existing and New Entrepreneurs |
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| Sometimes business owners begin to
get into a rut, begin to feel a little down, begin to feel that they
are alone in their fight in the downtown economy. We offer
motivation programs that are designed to spark a renewed interest in
entrepreneurship. We let downtown business owners know they are
not alone. We can provide ongoing support to existing businesses. |
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| Business
Incubators |
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| It can be tough---BUT NOT
IMPOSSIBLE---to develop a retail/service incubator in your downtown.
We have studied downtown retail incubators from around the globe and
know what works and what doesn’t. We are available for downtown
retail incubator counsel, planning and management. Just because
something is difficult, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. We
at the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project would be happy to talk to you
about incubators and how they are developed and managed. We have
a page on this website devoted to Downtown Incubators. Please take a
look, and if you are interested, we would be pleased to discuss it
with you further. |
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