Grayson Begins Business Incubation Program

The approved its 2013 budget last week that includes $115,000 to begin a in the city. In fact, the council voted to advance the Grayson Downtown Development Authority $15,000 from the budget immediately in order to furnish the building planned for the project.

Last summer, with money from the 2009 Special Local Options Sales Tax and have been renovating the building ever since. It is now almost ready to go and will house the business incubator program that the DDA has been working on.

Plans are to hire a person to run the program, who - with help from a board - is tasked with home-growing small businesses inside the city.

, business incubators are public and/or privately funded programs intended to nurture small businesses usually with an emphasis on assistance of start-up companies. Ideally, the incubator will help small businesses in their establishment and accelerate their growth and success. Local, state and national agencies look for ways to create jobs and stimulate the struggling economy. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) reports that the first incubator was founded in 1959 at the Batavia Industrial Center. a type of incubation project with with hopes of growing entrepreneurs right out of school.

Appointed has been working with DDA Chairman Jimmy Norton and other members of the board to get the incubation program up and running as soon as possible. Anderson said the plan is not to have a tourism type organization, but rather one that works in an entrepreneurial capacity. The businesses would be able to offset start up expenses by utilizing the building for office space, marketing opportunities offered by the program and business advice to help cut down on strategic failures that often beset new businesses. In exchange, the businesses will move to a location within the city once they are more established and able to stand on their own.

Norton said the incubator program is in line with the mission of the DDA, which includes attracting and encouraging businesses to anchor within the unfilled space available in Grayson. The incubator program would serve to fulfill that part of its mission.

Other business the Grayson City Council completed at the August City Council meeting included:

• Passed the 2013 Budget, as amended, to include $100,000 for the incubation program after advancing $15,000 to this year's expenses.
• Approved the expenditure of $530 to install Internet in the Senior Center.
• Agreed to
• Called for the city election for two council posts to be on the November ballot. The election will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2012 at the Grayson Senior Center. Qualifying will take place from Aug. 27 to 29 at city hall.
• Named the poll workers – City Administrator Laura Paul-Cone to be election superintendent and chief registrar and Libby Smith to be poll manager.