Job Loss Can Be Opportunity for Entrepreneurship - Luncheon Focuses on Moving Forward

Receiving the proverbial 'pink slip" is never fun. It frequently results in floods of fear centered around "what next."

A luncheon was held Thursday at Western Nebraska Community College designed to help displaced workers considering starting their own business.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center hosted the lunch. The event was attended by representatives of state and local agencies designed to help prospective business owners, and a few people researching the options, including business ownership.

The meeting included introductions of the agencies and what they offer. Most of the agencies focused on financing and how to find funding to start a business. Agencies also offered services to help design a business plan and research their product.

The meeting was also attended by Dave Fritz, whose Agency 39 is taking part in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. Fritz said he worked in marketing while at Cabela's, and also had experience in construction. He attended a similar meeting of potential entrepreneurs and started a garage door business. Along the way, he met others who needed marketing assistance and in time formed Agency 39, an organization of talent in print and broadcast media that clients seeking to promote their businesses.

"We're growing steadily," he said.

Paula Abbott, director of the Sidney campus of Western Nebraska Community College, stressed the importance of networking and applying the assets provided by the college. She said the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center is designed for networking and collaboration. Part of the concept with the I & E Center is a co-working space, a commons area for anyone who is part of the Center to use. The Center has office space, meeting rooms and areas for interviews and work space.

Businesses within the I & E Center can stay there for up to two years rent-free, with the resources of the college available. Companies working in the I & E Center are also expected to develop a business plan with the goal of having an independent site.

"If you fail while you're in here," she said Thursday, "that's okay, but I want to make sure you have your ducks in a row."

The meeting included discussion with government agency representatives on how to find funding, what qualifies a business for funding and how to apply. Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Hope Feeney explained the promotional events and opportunities the Chamber offers businesses and the membership rates for new businesses.

Abbott said the I & E Center was developed after a conversation with Sidney Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard in 2016. The college's cosmetology program was not drawing sustainable interest so Abbott proposed an incubator, a place where new businesses and develop into independence.