Small business incubator almost full
Bob Shiles, staff writer
©Kinston Free Press

The Kinston Enterprise Center is almost full, and officials at the small business incubator say it is fulfilling its mission - recruiting, developing and stimulating entrepreneurial talent in Kinston and Lenoir County.

"We're working as a small business incubator should be," said Gregor J. Hannibal, incubator manager. "Tenants are being attracted to the center because they see it is working."

The 30,000 square-foot Enterprise Center, in the renovated Sears Roebuck building, has about 15,000 square feet of rental space. Fifteen tenants are in the building that can accommodate 20 to 30 office suites based on the needs of fledgling businesses.

The incubator could accommodate another six start-up businesses, Hannibal said. A variety of businesses, ranging from a professional basketball program to government agencies, are now using the center.

The Enterprise Center is owned by the Pride of Kinston and administered by LCC. It has been touted as the lifeline that can bring life back to empty downtown stores and revitalize the area's sagging economy. Space is offered to a fledgling business while it gets on its feet, Hannibal said. Hopefully, within three to five years, the business will move out of the incubator and into other space downtown.

The center, which opened in February 2003, is not financially self-sufficient. Its occupancy rate is still below the 75 percent level needed to ensure self-sufficiency.

Alice Tingle, who heads Pride's incubator committee, says taxpayer money does not support the center, and no federal or state funding is being received. Operation and maintenance costs are financed through rent paid by incubator tenants, she said. Rent ranges from $248 a month to $1,053 a month. The average is $375.

The bulk of the funding to build the center came from a $1.05 million federal Economic Development Authority grant. A $200,000 Golden LEAF grant helped with technology related expenses.

Tingle said the center is seeking a $215, 720 state Department of Commerce and Rural Center Community Block Grant for roof repair. The money could also be used for loading dock repair, buying movable office partitions and parking lot security lights.

Larry Moolenaar, with the Eastern Carolina Council, said that as a marketing consultant for Pride he has seen the incubator's occupancy rate jump in the past year from 15 percent to 60 percent. This, he said, is a result of direct mail and billboard advertisements, as well as direct calls on fledgling business owners interested in leasing incubator space.

Moolenaar, former Lenoir County economic developer, said the original idea of recruiting small technology businesses changed after it was determined that these businesses were not looking for space in the Kinston market.

"We had to start looking for other kinds of small businesses," he said.

For Debbie Chused, president of Coastal Connections Marketing, moving to the incubator in July 2004 was a good decision.

"It's the best business decision I've made," she said. "I love the location downtown, and it's nice to be in a building where everyone has common concerns. All of us are new, or expanding, businesses. We encourage each other."

Bob Shiles can be reached at (252) 527-3191, Ext. 237, or bshiles@freedomenc.com.