Traditionally the Austin area has always been a great place for small businesses. Today there are over 28,000 firms in the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Over 15,000 have less than four employees and over 23,000 have less than twenty employees.

Incubator History in Austin

Since the 80's, there have been several "incubator" programs to help specific kinds of businesses. Most have been run by non-profit or tax exempt organizations.

One was run by the City of Austin on the southeast side of town (long gone).

And one is on the northwest side of town, the Austin Technology Incubator. ATI is exclusively for technology companies with potential for hiring large numbers of employees and generating huge revenues and profits.

Both focused on space and shared business services.

In 1999, a for-profit company, the Business Success Center, formerly known as the Entrepreneurs' Association, launched its own incubator, the BSC "Hatchery" program.

The BSC Hatchery does not provide space. It focuses instead on mentoring, strategic planning, and direct guidance with the owner staying in control. Currently, it has twenty-eight Hatchery members including Anna's Unlimited, Inc. makers of Anna's Salsa, Herbs, Jellies, Queso, and Gryphon Graphics, a publishing support firm.

BSC Virtual Incubator Focuses
on Results

The Hatchery incubator program was created and is under the direction of entrepreneurs Jan Triplett, Ph.D. and Daniel W. Diener. They have been recognized nationally by the Small Business Administration, the Texas Senate, Austin Quality Council and others.

Diener and Triplett have had extensive success working with owners of all kinds of businesses from accounting firms to zoos. Their results have been extensive. They have helped owners achieve stability and debt control; found them traditional and non-traditional funding, and repositioned and re-branded companies and products and services to make these businesses more profitable and fun to run.

They consider small to be beautiful. And, they recognize the employment value and tax base benefit that even the smallest firms provide their communities. (Small businesses historically pay 60% of the taxes.)

So they established an incubator that focuses on identifying and achieving the goals of owners of existing small businesses. These owners want to stabilize and grow faster and safer while staying in control. And, they would like to have a personal life outside of the business.

The goal of the BSC Hatchery is to provide what each owner needs to grow his or her business according to their individual aspirations and life goals. And, it adjusts as owners select new goals and their situation changes.

This individualized program does not take an equity position in the businesses that are invited to participate. Instead, charges are based monthly fee that can be canceled at any time with thirty days notice.

Selection for Success

There is a selection process for aspiring Hatchery clients. Owners demonstrate their desire and willingness to run a viable business with the potential for transference during an interview and assessment.

Hatchery clients meet with Diener or Triplett monthly to review progress, discuss options and problems. They can access their coach at other times for extra help or advice. And, they can opt out at any time if their situation changes or they have achieved their goals. Most owners stay an average of one to two years.

Clients see progress and move forward in a systematic manner. They accomplish this by formulating decisions, policies, and procedures that address the relationships between all five elements of business ownership: vision and planning, management and leadership, finance and funding, records and books management, and marketing and sales.

"When you take action in one area, it can have an equal and unexpected consequence in another area of the business," says Triplett. "We help owners find opportunities and avoid those surprises and negative consequences that can jump up and bite them."

"And, our program forces them to look from at everything from the 40K view of the owner", says Diener. "They stop thinking as an employee or manager. They start making good decisions as an owner and investor in their business."

For more information on the Business Success Center's Hatchery program, contact Daniel W. Diener or Dr. Triplett at 933-1983.