Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

If you have a great idea for starting a small business but lack the finances and the know-how to get started, you may be a candidate for the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Incubator Program.

The program, in place for five years, provides everything a fledgling entrepreneur needs for the price of an application fee and the cost of utilities, says Rachel Stone, Chamber President and CEO.

The qualification process is simple.

“The committee that reviews the applications is made up of a non-profit member, a small business owner, a member of the banking industry and myself,” Stone says. “We weed out the ones that are just in the talking stage and select those that are really, really serious about starting their own business. Many of them are ready to start — they just need some help.”

If your application is successful, you are provided with an office space and furniture as well as access to a copy machine, fax and computer with Internet hook-up. A computer lab, conference room and a small boardroom with phone lines and Internet access are also available. A receptionist greets and directs visitors and answers the phone, so prospective clients can speak to a live person rather than an answering machine.

Another valuable service is free advice and counseling from Midland College to help new owners with their business plan.

Stone points out that you do not have to be Hispanic, nor do you have to be a member of MHCC to qualify for the program.

A number of businesses have taken advantage of the Incubator program since it began, Stone says. These include Comfort Keepers, a non-medical home health agency, a Spanish linguistics company (translating documents from Spanish to English or English to Spanish), AFLAC agents, insurance agencies, an attorney, a home builder, a roofer, realtors, a photographer, an interior decorator and an IT company. In addition, several home-based businesses that are members of the Incubator Program take advantage of the computer lab or the conference room. Incubator members are able to network and spur the growth of their companies through word-of-mouth.

Members of the Incubator Program generally graduate after three to five years, though several have flown from the nest before that time. “The program lets them keep costs low during those first years while they build capital so that they can buy or rent their own office or building,” Stone says. “It takes a lot of the stress out of those early years.”

And it may help the business succeed. Nationally, 87% of all firms that graduated from their Incubators are still in business, according to a brochure.

The Incubator Program is financed through corporate donations and fund-raisers in addition to some funding from the city of Midland, Stone says. The program also received a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that allowed them to purchase computers for Incubator companies.

“We were competing against some larger chambers, so I was excited to see that we were awarded the grant,” Stone says.

The Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is located at 208 S. Marienfeld. For more information, call (432) 682-2960.