Money & Career
SEED Center Incubator Clients Learn and Grow their Businesses
Entrepreneurs with businesses located inside the SEED Center enjoy the opportunity to brainstorm ideas and network.
The entrepreneurs who currently build their businesses inside the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic Development Center’s Business Incubator spend their hours working at computers, talking to clients, or exchanging ideas. Amid the action, they find time to attend seminars, talk to mentors and expand their business education. That’s the life for new business owners accepted into the SEED Incubator at 4310 Ryan St in Lake Charles.
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The Business Incubator, which opened this summer and currently houses 12 clients, is a support process that accelerates the successful development of startup and fledgling companies by providing an array of targeted resources and services. Services include Internet, utilities, telephone equipment, conference rooms, a receptionist, professional address, building security, private parking, copiers and printers, office furniture along with an assortment of training programs. “I love being here,” said Tracy Clark, co-publisher of Team Publications, which produces The Voice. “I like being able to network with people here in the incubator and with all the other organizations.” Clark and co-publisher Brenda Hill attend classes and seminars provided at the SEED Center, where they also have an office to discuss content, advertising and operations. “This has lived up to our expectations and beyond,” Clark said. “Everything offered here is a dream come true for a startup.” Before the Incubator opened, both Hill and Clark attended the Kauffman FastTrac classes organized by the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. The program helps people develop business plans and learn how to obtain capital. Hill explained that “support” has been one of the primary assets provided at the SEED Center, which is Thrive Magazine for Better Living
led by executive director Adrian Wallace. She says that anyone starting their own business should investigate the Center’s opportunities and services. Liz Fuselier, owner of Sassy Oil and Vinegar, Derek Champagne, owner of Fit For Business, and Nicolas Villaume, owner of The Dev Department, all share a communal workspace and are grateful for the opportunity to run businesses in a success-driven environment. “This is good for nurturing, mentoring and providing structure,” Fuselier said. “It has really been awesome. I’ve met great people and everyone on the staff and the business owners are supportive. We all lift each other up and encourage.” Champagne will graduate from McNeese State University in December. He intended to start his business on his own, then heard about the Incubator and learned his monthly rent for an office space would be just $300. “What is offered in the Incubator is way more than I thought initially,” he said. “You have access to table top computers, classes and publicity. Every day there are more assets added to the program.” Villaume moved back to Lake Charles after a stint in Atlanta, where he saw firsthand how business incubators function. While growing his new venture, Villaume intends to positively impact the local community’s information technology sector. He was December 2013