Business Incubation hits it big

As a business incubation professional, I am constantly describing what it is I do to people that feel I must work with chickens/eggs and that sort of thing.  I'm not complaining as it gives me the open door to tell them about just how beneficial incubation can be for a growing start up.  So to see Business Week giving the "incubation community" a little ink, was pretty sweet this week. 

Unfortunately, incubation always seems to boom when other things - like our current fragile economy - are busting.  Unemployment peaks and people look to entrepreneurship as an alternative to finding a job elsewhere.  As an industry, business incubation is seeing tremendous interest and growth.  Funding is out there for new incubation facilities, and there are even bills in the works to provide the capital to fund their operations once built. 

If you are looking to start a small business, you really need to investigate the potential incubation service providers in your area.  The numbers suggest much better success in the long run - the 5-year survival rate is 87 percent, compared with just 44 percent for non-incubated companies. 

Its great to see other groups, Congress, and the main stream media getting behind the idea of incubation in such a big way.  Make sure your community does the same!