What do you get when you combine a team of young entrepreneurs, a non-profit supporting new entrepreneurs, a community advocate and an organization committed to ending poverty? A new economic development solution – a residential business start-up incubator called Raleigh ReachOut!
In a packed room at NC State’s Hunt Library the general plan for the prototype was shared with trainers, coaches and wellness professionals with an interest in playing a role in this ground-breaking concept. The prototype plans are being formulated by Valorcorp – a young entrepreneurial venture that intends to provide business skill mentoring to participants, WeCare Partnerships Network – a network of small business service providers with a desire for empowering and healing our communities, Justice Served NC, an advocacy group assisting young adults who have gotten involved in the justice system and the Business Alliance of NC Small Business Fund.
The concept is not as much “new” as it is a “new application” for an older concept – apprenticeship programs – more often known as work-study programs. The program plans to combine the traditional apprenticeship approach of on-the-job training in sales and marketing, with the added benefit of working participants through their own business idea and launch. In effect, they will get the opportunity to earn while they learn.
Diana Powell, Executive Director for Justice Served NC, stated that she is excited to be involved with another option to get her clients off the streets and back on their feet. While she is extremely thankful that participants will be trained and mentored to create their own jobs, she is even more enthusiastic about the prospects for putting a roof over some of their heads at the same time. The plan is to have a limited number of rooms available for living quarters, along with space for business training and activity.
This collaborative team comes together with a broad variety of reasons for being passionate about this project. From Ms. Powell’s own experience of having had her identity stolen, and being jailed for a crime someone else committed, to Mike Valor’s experience as a homeless teen, this is a team and a project that has a lot of heart.
“If someone had not come along and shown me how to use my own entrepreneurial skills, I could have ended up in the same system some of these people get caught in. It only makes sense that I would work to make the opportunity to start a business available to more young people,” said Mike.
Christian Hampton, Valorcorp’s project leader for the incubator, is excited to be able to make a direct contribution to the community. “Although I grew up in a household where we never had to worry about survival issues, I knew that helping in the community was important. What I love about this program is that instead of making a donation that gets used in some unknown way, I am directly contributing to helping people create their own jobs. That’s powerful!”
The team is also engaging in some not-so-traditional forms of fund-raising. While the plan is for the facility to become self-sustaining through the business activities being worked on-site, it does require some start-up funds to get the ball rolling.
The team has decided to use it’s own marketing and consulting expertise to partner with businesses who would like to contribute to the start-up. From employee benefit programs to budget cards that will provide discounts to Triangle merchants, Triangle area businesses and individuals can purchase a variety of products and services that will fund this facility start-up, much in the same way as Girl Scouts sell cookies! For more information about the products and services being offered to raise funds, visit WeCare-Partnerships.com/BANC.html. To follow the progress of Raleigh ReachOut, go to RaleighReachOut.org and sign up for our email list!
As Melanie Paul, Executive Director of the BANC Small Business Fund says, “We need economic development through small business at all levels of our community. We’re excited to help develop new small businesses as part of this initiative.”
