What is the function and mission of The Enterprise Center?

 

The mission of the Enterprise Center is to assist startup businesses, new businesses and helping businesses to grow.  We do that by providing affordable space and by helping those tenants network with other agencies to find funding and job training assistance.

 

How is training provided to these businesses?

 

There are a number of programs through the State's Department of Community and Economic Development and the Small Business Administration.  Even more localized than that is Northern Tier Regional Planning, Valley Economic Development Agency, and Sayre UDAG.

 

Who actually owns the Enterprise Center?

 

The Enterprise Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation and there is a board of directors but they are a volunteer board, they have no financial investment and they receive no compensation. It's basically a cross-section of the community that's represented on the board. Our bylaws saying that there shall be no fewer than nine members on the board and no greater than 16. We currently have 11 board members and that board hires the director and the director is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the building and renting space in the building. So far we've been fortunate in that we received funding from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners and those grants we've received offset the salary for the director.

 

Does most of the Enterprise Center funding come from Grants?

 

We do receive the Ben Franklin monies, we have availed ourselves of some grant money from the state and our only other source of revenue is from the rent we collect from the tenants.

 

How many businesses are renting space in the Enterprise Center and what types of businesses can be found in The Enterprise Center?

 

We now have over 18 tenants employ over 150 people. All kinds of space can be found in the Enterprise center from light manufacturing to Social Services, child care, storage, educational, sales and marketing, and Consulting. The encouraging thing is that we have 119,000 square feet of rentable space. Currently, we have 73,860 square feet rented out. 

 

How does a business get started renting space in the Enterprise Center?

 

There's an application that a prospective tenant must fill out and like any landlord, we ask a range questions about the future of their business. We ask them first if they have a business plan. We want to know what type of business it is they're interested in starting, what the market is for the type of product or service, the competition the business has and what percentage of the market share the tenant will be able to capture. Spaces available range anywhere from 600 square feet to 15,000 square feet and everything in between. We can accommodate businesses from large to small here.