Sometimes people can feel trapped in their current situation.

It could stem from lack of training, lack of educations or lack of money to attain either one.

But a service being offered through the Douglas Business Incubator Center provides those that feel trapped a way out.

Whether its training your need or want to start your own small business, the center can provide assistance.

The Douglas Business Incubator Center is a Federally Funded program targeted for Douglas City residents. The program provides: business training, computer training, administrative services, office space, copying, internet usage, retail space, shipping, receiving and other aspects of starting a home, micro or small business. We are a bilingual provider of all of these services, always open from 7am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. We are also always open for special needs and to accommodate client schedules, by appointment from 6 in the morning to 8 at night. For more information, call Ginny Jordan or Tommy Bassett at 805-4410.

The Center, located at 1122 G Avenue, is a place where qualified low income residents can receive help to start their own micro business.

Microbusiness

What is a micro-business? A micro business is a small business owned by one person. It may be many things and it may grow into a small business. Examples of a micro business can be home businesses such as: candy making, home care for pre-school children, a house or yard cleaning service, or even an internet café or food/event catering company. Really it is a start-up business that can be anything the owner has a passion for or enjoys doing.

The Douglas Business Incubator Center provides free help to get you started. Some of our many services include: basic computer training from very simple introduction courses through using Microsoft EXCEL, WORD, POWERPOINT and ACCESS to make business cards, marketing brochures, inventory and cost controls, business plans and more We also offer storefront sales space administrative help and training classes in all aspects of a small business -and it is free for qualified individuals! We also offer training in industrial sewing, apparel sewing, screen printing and embroidery for those that may be interested in these types of small businesses.

Besides extensive, thorough and complete business training classes we also offer secretarial, Internet, shipping and receiving services. Please contact us to arrange for an overview presentation or come and see us for more information. We are currently accepting applications.

$3500 of Free Training

Free training covers all aspects of starting a small business including, tax laws, marketing, business systems, shipping and receiving, internet usage, sales and supplier identification. Each client will learn how to make business cards, envelopes and customized stationary. Everyone will be stepped through the process to make a thorough and complete Business Plan and will finish the class with a professional and complete business plan. Training schedules are flexible and designed to accommodate family and work responsibilities.

Lots of Other Services

There soon will be retail space available along with lite manufacturing space, office space, shipping and receiving and a place for meetings. Soon there will also be high speed internet, copiers and various types of printers camera and scanner all available for client use and training.

Expert Mentoring

Community and other resources are available for 1 on 1, seminars and training classes. If you can think of it, chances are we can have someone with successful experience share the how to's and why fors to get you going and successful.

Background

PPEP Microbusiness and Housing Development Corporation (PMHDC), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation and regional technical assistance and training (TAT) service provider, together with its multiple community partners, proposed a $500,000 Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) project, under Priority Area 2 Self-Employment/Micro-enterprise, to support the opening and operations of the Douglas Business Incubator Center (DBIC). The project will house a micro-business development service center, a computer lab, an industrial sewing plant, and retail storefront space. The grant funds will be used to support the costs of program administration and delivery of technical assistance and training (TAT) services in industry specific and personal and business development.

Planned work of the Douglas Business Incubator Center (DBIC) is part of an overarching community economic development initiative in Douglas, Arizona, which is a HUDdesignated Arizona Border Enterprise Community (EC). This area is one of the poorest rural regions in the United States and is characterized by a cycle of intergenerational poverty, high rates of unemployment and substandard living conditions. The multiple, endemic problems and quality of life facing this border community cannot be addressed without mobilizing local resources and initiatives to bring value-added employment and business opportunities to this impoverished area.

Goals

The project will bring about positive change in the lives of low-income residents of Douglas, Arizona. The project will offer a holistic approach to individual economic selfsufficiency. PMHDC will work in tandem with the Office of Community Services, the Arizona Department of Economic Security and the Cochise County Superior Court for inclusion of low-income recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and non-custodial parents owing child support, increasing the likelihood of program participation by these groups.

Many low-income and very low-income entrepreneurs need training and technical assistance to start, operate, or expand their businesses. In order to achieve measurable success in the effort, the providers of this technical assistance and training (TAT), must be accessible, competent and committed to the entrepreneur's progress over extended periods of time. For every business started or micro-loan made, a number of entrepreneurs are preparing themselves for business start. The cost of training is substantial because those at the entry-level stage of development typically require the greatest amount of dedicated advice and guidance, over an extended period -of time, to achieve the highest rates of success. Funding is scarce relative to the need. The micro-enterprise industry has found the technical assistance-funding gap to be a nationwide condition, particularly in the very low-income sector.

Local community recipients of TANF and other low-income residents including non-custodial parents owing child support, and others will be given the opportunity to participant in a business incubator project. The DBIC project offers hands-on technical assistance and training (TAT) in business development and lending products and services including loan application assistance, and most importantly direct TAT services in contract/subcontract outreach, negotiations and facilitation of executed long-term contractual relationships. These comprehensive TAT services are unmatched by others.

Project Future

The center will have a variety of resources for all businesses . There will be some resources that the center will sell and others offered a low or no cost. The DBIC will develop a library of resources to help the community(s) in developing their business plans. The center will also have an Import/Export Division that will develop these strategies. We hope to see this center as a place where pre and post natal businesses come in for counseling, where the SCORE representatives will hold counseling sessions, where even Cochise College and the University of Arizona South begin to offer workshops and seminars.

We see it as a combination library and resource center for home, micro and small businesses