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Community Connections
I recently found photographs of the 1997 construction ground-breaking ceremony for
the Santa Fe Business Incubator. The site, where a large building stands today, was a
dusty field of weeds then. What interested me about those photos are the happy faces
of the people: bankers and engineers, Board members and volunteers, the Mayor and
the Chamber of Commerce Director smiling as they turn shovelfuls of dirt to mark the
occasion. Dozens of people had worked for three years to plan and realize the dream
of having a Business Incubator in the community. The photos and their smiles tell the
story of cooperation and hope for the future, hope to foster a community of
entrepreneurs who would create a stronger economy and new career opportunities for
these people's children and grandchildren.
Since uncovering those photographs I have been thinking about the concept of
“community” in all its forms: community defined as; “group of people”; “neighbourhood
or village”; “kinship, and cooperation”.
Like our communities, Business Incubators vary greatly in shape and orientation.
Some are located in massive complexes and some in small structures; many are built
shiny and new, while others are carved out of old grocery stores or vacant office
buildings; some forsake a central facility using technology to deliver services.
Regardless of what they look like, Incubators are formed to engage, unite and support
a community of entrepreneurs within a broader public setting, creating convergence of
place and people that looks both inward and outward.
Dr. Robert Meeder, an expert on Business Incubation, said the basic job of Incubation
is to help entrepreneurs overcome risk and isolation. Creating an environment of
connection and community inside the Business Incubator is key to preventing
isolation. An Incubator client can get help from a staff person. He knows the
entrepreneur across the hall faces the same challenges even if his business is
different. This community “within” fosters unexpected synergies, something a
colleague of mine calls “Incubator Magic”. I have seen this “magic” at work in many
forms: Incubator visits by government officials or a bank president leading to casual
conversations with entrepreneurs that opens valuable networks; clients sharing
resources; business founders collaborating to start a new enterprise.
We Incubator professionals cultivate those connections within the Incubator and by
links to the broader community outside. We partner with other economic development
organizations; produce seminars and workshops; engage volunteers to help our
entrepreneurs; help clients find employees; introduce them to sources of capital. We
build strong Incubation programmes and advocate for them to stakeholders. We
gather statistics on graduates and report economic impact. We engage many people
from the community, concentrating on those we have ongoing interactions with.
Over time a well-run Business Incubator becomes an institution. The ceremonial
shovels have long been stored and the excitement of the past seems distant. As I look
at the photos of happy, hopeful faces from our earliest days, I want to throw open the
doors and invite more people in, tell them the stories of the graduate businesses they
see located around town, ask them to participate in our volunteer programmes or
inspire them to start a business of their own.
At the end of the day the “communities” that matter most are not those formed solely
by our efforts to improve our Incubators. They are created by the dreams and
aspirations of everyone who lives in the communities we serve.
Marie Lonserre
thePerspective
A recognized leader in Business Incubation and entrepreneurial development, Marie
Longserre has been the President and CEO of the Santa Fe Business Incubator (SFBI) in
Santa Fe, New Mexico USA since its inception in 1997. Marie was elected to the Board of the
National Business Incubation Association for two terms and was Board Chair in 2012.
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