The new home of the Greater West Dayton Incubator will officially open on Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and community open house.
The 4,000 square-foot center will allow the organization to expand services to entrepreneurs who want to connect with other business owners, learn how to expand their work and build sustainable businesses.
"We have two offices for entrepreneurs or business support organizations if they want to come and have their home here at the Greater West Dayton Incubator," said Juanita-Michelle Darden, director of the Greater West Dayton Incubator. "We still have an awesome conference room and that conference room has one of the chapel doors from the University of Dayton."
The Greater West Dayton Incubator moved just down the block to its new home at 1169 W. Third St., adding 3,000 square feet to its operation.
"It is a beautiful space, and when you walk through the Greater West Dayton Incubator, you see little hints of the historic characters," Darden said. "So there's some exposed brick in one of our classrooms, we still have a fireplace. That was one of their original features of the space."
This new location was funded through state capital funds totaling $1.8 million, adding to the organization's annual $70,000 grant from PNC Foundation.
"We've received about $300,000 from the Ohio Department of Development and $1.5 million from the Small Business Administration," Darden said.
The additional $1.8 million offered the incubator a one-time funding boost to cover construction, equipment, furniture, signage and more.
The organization will continue to provide workshops, co-working spaces, public and private events as well as educational programs through its partnership with the University of Dayton.
The Greater West Dayton Incubator is an initiative between University of Dayton and The Entrepreneurs' Center, with a grant from the PNC Foundation.
UD President Eric Spina helped establish the incubator program after he set out to help grow relationships in the west side of Dayton.
"He started something called the Greater West Dayton Conversations, where he invited different leaders to come into a room. And when they were having these conversations and deciding what was a good way for the University of Dayton to be a good neighbor, they came up with a way for university to assist entrepreneurs," Darden said. "So that consists of students at the University of Dayton coming over and doing consulting work, doing special projects."
Nicole McWhorter is one of the incubator's former students connected to UD. She said her doula solo-business was boosted through the Greater West Dayton Incubator's Urban Accelerator class.
"I've been in business for two years, and when I started my business, I just started my business not knowing that it was a bunch of steps in between that I need to take," she said. "I had to literally revamp. I had to sit down, think, start over, and fill in those missing gaps. The first year I just had the LLC. I didn't have clientele or anything like that. Second year comes in, I go to the class, I get all the information I need. I was able to gain clientele."
McWhorter is just one of many local entrepreneurs who have worked with the organization to grow her business but she said the work they are doing is life changing.
"You get one-on-ones, you can co-work, you can call your cohort or you can work with other people, but you will get that individual one-on-one time if you're stuck or if you just need a little guidance," she said.
According to Darden, they offer a multitude of resources as well as Mindful Mondays, where each Monday offers a unique networking opportunity where anyone — member or not — can be part of the space.
Memberships are $75 for access to the incubator seven days a week but Darden said they also offer a plus membership, which also includes membership at the Arcade Hub of Innovation.
The community can learn more about business ownership at the incubator's Mind Yo Business Week which celebrates Black Business Month through three days of programming.
“Day one is specifically for that new entrepreneur, that person is ready to start, that person who's looking for funding," Darden said. "The second day is for the entrepreneur that is ready expand or just sustain. And the third day is all about acquisitions and succession planning.”
