City offers program to help start-ups

Every day, about 80 percent of Maricopa’s workforce leaves the city to work elsewhere, but officials are hoping an investment in local business development will change this.

The city’s newly created Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship aims to help fledgling businesses thrive by providing training and support for entrepreneurs and connecting business owners with opportunities for startup funding. Ultimately, city officials hope the incubator will boost startups to grow into profitable firms that will strengthen the city’s economy and drive job growth closer to home.

“I think one of the important things is that we are such a young community and we are really making investments in the long-term economic viability of our community,” said Maricopa Economic Development Director Micah Miranda. “More established cities don’t even have this in their community.”

The incubator was identified as a priority in the city council’s five-year Economic Development Strategic plan, Miranda said. The Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship was launched six months ago through a $50,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. The incubator is operating virtually, but officials plan to lease and ultimately build a space.

In February, the city council finalized a professional services agreement with the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, commonly referred to as NACET, to serve as the center’s management firm, officials said. The agreement allows for an expenditure of up to $119,947.50 from the FY12-13 Economic Development Professional and Occupational budget line item.

NACET is a 10-year-old organization that has managed contracts for the incubator at Gateway Community College and the city of Flagstaff and has helped businesses grow from local startups to national companies, said Tom Baxter, executive director of the Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship and NACET business counselor.

“We’re heading up organizational development and setting up the organization in such a way that it can be transferred into its own 501(c) 3 and be a standalone organization with its own board, focused on Maricopa,” Baxter said. “To accomplish that, we’re building the brand, community network and accumulating business advisers.”

He added, “It’s a little bit of a challenge, since Maricopa is an island.”

Currently the Center for Entrepreneurship is gearing up for a Tech Tank Program, which will bring together the computer hacker and programmer community as well as trainings about crowdfunding and Google Plus. The center also is holding a business plan competition, which includes a Shark Tank round and prize money. The competition is accepting applications through Sept. 9.

One participant in the upcoming competition is Jake Johnson, who co-owns the Maricopa-based commercial photography company Jake Johnson Pictures with his wife Tami Johnson. Although the pair has been in business since 2005, they’re joining the competition with a business plan to start a side business.

Jake Johnson Pictures is one of two clients of the Center for Entrepreneurship. The other client is All About Promotions, a company that provides Arizona promotional products, branding and embroidery.

“It’s been very helpful to be a part of the incubator, in just their knowledge of business and entrepreneurship,” Johnson said. “I would definitely recommend people to go to them and see what they have to offer, because they have lots of time to help you and help you set up.”

Still, not every startup business is qualified to become a client of the incubator, Miranda said. Prospective clients are thoroughly vetted using national best practice standards and, if selected, have responsibilities and ongoing work. Clients who are close, but not ready to be a part of the incubator will remain at the affiliate level until they’re ready.

“It’s not a free ride,” Miranda said. “They have to put time and energy into it.”

There are a lot of great businesses, but there is certain criteria that makes a client attractive, such as “the ability to make a change without heartburn,” and open book accounting, Baxter said.

“When we look at a business, we are looking for a business where the entrepreneur is well-organized and isn’t afraid to say, ‘There are pieces I don’t know,’” Baxter said. “We are looking for entrepreneurs who are coachable and know the value of a team.”