I was asked to elaborate on the idea of the Business Incubator that I mentioned in my post “The Big Idea.” There are a couple of key facets to this idea that are described in that post but let’s see if I can bring some cohesion to my vision.
First, I think that the downtown business district should be supplied with free, wireless, high-speed internet access. This should be paid for by the city government and it’s should be maintained by the city government for the life of the technology. Further, the city government should build into it’s annual budget the money to keep up with the internet technology, whatever that may ultimately become. Why? Because Main Street should, in a small part, be a cooperation between the public and the private. I am a firm believer that the machine of industry, whether blue or white, is the responsibility of the citizenry and the entrepreneur. However, the infrastructure needed to have a Main Street is the responsibility of the government. In the Present and the Future, this infrastructure includes the internet.
What will this infrastructure give the Newton’s?
First, the internet is the way the world works today. That is a given. e-Commerce, media, social interaction and information are all the bailiwick of the internet and everyone uses it; Boomer’s are embracing it, Xer’s do business with it and Millennial’s accept it as a way of life. Because we will have a city core that is free and open to the internet, we will draw the laptops, iPods and iPads to the core at all times of the day and evening. These people are the users and purchasers. They are attendees of structured and unstructured activities. They are the users of the “third spaces.” Further, they are the humans that the businesses of downtown need for life.
Second, with wireless internet access and people downtown, this will fill the storefront businesses with consumers; consumers of goods, consumers of services and consumers of ideas. This lifeblood is absolutely required for the entrepreneur. For the businesses that are already downtown, the internet access will enable them to start e-commerce links for their stores. Think of it! While the Newton’s resident is sitting outside your store waiting for a friend, drinking the coffee they purchased at your store, at the sidewalk bistro table you put out, and while purchasing a pair of climbing shoes from an online retailer on their new iPad, so too is someone in a Pennsylvania kitchen purchasing baking utensils from a Newton store. e-Commerce! Let’s embrace it.
Now for the Business Incubator idea. I think there should be a limited number of downtown storefronts scattered among the various blocks that are designated “Business Incubator Zones.” These storefronts are leased for a finite term, say six months to a year, for little or no cost to the lessor in exchange for his/her willingness to take that newly hatched and weaned business to a rentable storefront after that time. During their time in the B.I.Z. (Nice acronym. I think I’ll use that!) they will have a Technology Mentor to train them set up the electronic end of their business or service and they will have a Business Mentor to train them on the day to day details of living and working on Main Street. Local financiers would make available low interest loans to these entrepreneurs to get them started. The local Chamber of Commerce would give them one free year of membership in exchange for participation in community service projects the CoC sponsors. In turn, the CoC would help promote the new B.I.Z. businesses in the Newton’s, the county and the surrounding areas.
While some ideas and entrepreneurs will inevitably fail, others will flourish. The constant movement of signs and products will constantly change in the B.I.Z., but the Newton’s shouldn’t mourn the loss. Maybe they’re going on to be successful; maybe not. Either way, it’s another person’s turn to start something new, fresh and innovative. That’s what the Newton’s are all about: new, fresh and innovative. It’s the entrepreneurs spirit!
The bottom line is this community should do everything in it’s collective power to promote ideas and success. People with good ideas should be nurtured by other businesses and the patrons of the Newton’s will be growing the local economy and providing more opportunities for the “third spaces” that will make the community more marketable.
