Grafton County NH Economic Development Council - PSU Business Enterprise Center

PSU Business Enterprise Center

The Enterprise Center at Plymouth is a business incubator that will support entrepreneurship, small businesses, and economic development in central New Hampshire by providing services including leased space, mentoring, and networking to new and existing businesses.  Federal, state, and corporate funding will be used to reconstruct an existing building in downtown Plymouth as well as provide pilot funding for PSU programming and staff.

Incubators Work

Business incubators are a proven tool for creating jobs and starting new businesses. An incubator’s main purpose is to produce successful “graduates”- businesses that are financially viable, usually after two to five years from entering the program.  Most businesses that graduate from incubators remain in the immediate area, confirming the goal of business incubators to build the business base for job creation and tax revenue.  Accordingly, the National Business Incubation Association confirms that:

*  Most firms that graduate from business incubators remain in their local communities – an average of 84%.

*  Business incubation programs produce graduate firms with high survival rates – a reported 87 percent of all graduates are still in business.

Background


In recent years, PSU and Plymouth area organizations concerned about economic development have collaborated on the creation of a business incubator.  Our partners have included the Grafton County Economic Development Council (GCEDC), NH Electric Co-op, White Mountains Gateway Economic Development, the Plymouth Region Chamber, area banks, and others.  Together, these groups funded a feasibility study and business plan that would set the incubator project in motion.  In 2010, PSU and the GCEDC formally agreed on creating the Enterprise Center with the following understanding: That PSU will provide incubator staffing and business services while the GCEDC would provide property in downtown Plymouth in which to house incubator tenants and headquarter the Center’s services. In an innovative twist, the Enterprise Center will not only assist those businesses occupying leased space.  Rather, many of the Center’s services will also be provided to entrepreneurs and business owners throughout central New Hampshire.

Overview

The Enterprise Center will be headquartered at 149 Main Street, Plymouth; a building that the GCEDC purchased from NHDOT in August, 2011.  PSU staff dedicated to the Enterprise Center will be housed there as well as the GCEDC and, potentially, other business assistance organizations.  

Currently unoccupied, the building is a one story former retail store strategically located at the entrance to Plymouth’s downtown and directly across from the PSU campus. Its 4,000s/f of leasable space is structurally sound but needs substantial improvements in order to be used as a business incubator. The GCEDC has employed the services of an architectural firm to develop plans to expand the building’s square footage.  The result will be a 3 story, 12,000 s/f structure that will headquarter the Enterprise Center staff, an “anchor tenant” whose long term lease will finance the Center’s operations, and most importantly, new entrepreneurial companies seeking to gain a foothold. Amenities include flexible space and leases; office services and equipment on a pay-as-you-go basis; an on-site incubator manager and staff as a resource for business advice; orchestrated exposure to a network of outside business and technical consultants, often providing legal, accounting, web design optimization, and marketing; assistance with financing and business planning; relationship building programs with New Hampshire angel and VC firms; and opportunities to network and transact business with other firms in the same facility.  Incubators reduce the risks involved in business start-ups, and their young tenant companies gain access to facilities, equipment and resources that might otherwise be unavailable or unaffordable.

Some customized spaces within the Enterprise Center will be reserved for innovative services not usually hosted within incubators.  These include a sales skills development video production room and space dedicated to professional focus group services.  Both of these are currently provided by PSU’s College of Business Administration and are very popular with students and entrepreneurs alike.

The Enterprise Center will also act as a headquarters for an enhanced business outreach effort in central New Hampshire by PSU staff and graduate students.  While the services offered will be similar to those provided to tenant incubator businesses at 149 Main Street, those assisted would not be physically located at the Center. This “incubator-without-walls” concept is not new but has the potential to help develop strong, financially viable businesses throughout central New Hampshire.

Finally, the Enterprise Center at Plymouth will provide a “one stop shopping” location for businesses throughout the region seeking ad hoc advice and counseling without necessarily being a full time Enterprise Center member.   Space will be reserved for use by state and federal business assistance providers so that they can meet with individual businesses or produce educational forums related to business and entrepreneurial success.

Significant Corporate Support

Because of the potential for successfully creating economic development, area corporations have enthusiastically supported the Enterprise Center at Plymouth’s creation.  The NH Electric Co-op, for instance, donated funding for the original feasibility study.  More recently, the GCEDC successfully sold $100,000 in NH tax credits each to Meredith Village Savings Bank, Northway Bank and Laconia Savings  Bank.  Based on the positive feedback from these civic minded businesses, the GCEDC feels confident that it will sell the remaining $200,000 in tax credits.

Grafton County Economic Development Council ®2012
PO Box 178 | Plymouth, New Hampshire 03264
(603) 536-2011 or toll free at 1-888-535-0002