Congressman Joey Courtney Visits Windham’s Incubator Sites
On Monday, October 4th Congressman Joe Courtney took a tour of the small business incubator programs in the Windham Region that are sponsored by The Chamber of Commerce, Windham Region. Courtney has been working on a bill to help small businesses grow in Connecticut and he supports the incubator concept. On his tour the Congressman was able to meet staff at the Windham Mills and CG Real Estate, two small business incubators that the Chamber sponsors. He was impressed with the number of new companies taking advantage of the benefits of incubators and how this is helping so many start up businesses get their feet planted.
Business incubator programs have two major elements: shared office space including a conference room, bathrooms, kitchen, reception area and business support services. The Chamber of Commerce sponsors both of these programs and provides not only workshops, marketing consulting, networking opportunities and business resources but also provides mentors from among its membership who can work closely with new business owners and guide them through their start up years.
Also on his tour, Courtney stopped at Design Center East in Willimantic to see how the personal investment of local business people can turn around an entire block of downtown. The site had included a run down building with many environmental issues. Mike Weitz, owner of Design Center East, was there to discuss issues concerning and affecting businesses currently operating in Connecticut and how he hopes legislators fighting to make things easier will be successful this election season.
For more information on small business incubators please CLICK HERE.