Central Louisiana Business Incubator

Business Counseling and Services

Consulting support is offered to all Incubator clients in a variety of management, financial, marketing and administrative areas by our incubator staff, Small Business Development Center personnel, and the Management Assistance Team (MAT) -- community professionals.

General Business Counsel

The Incubator staff and other consultants provide direction to the owners of emerging businesses on many topics:

Growth strategies
Business best practices
Market identification & marketing channels
Financing options
Building an advisory group

Financing Sources

Incubator staff members will assist entrepreneurs in accessing financial resources and acquaint them with financing alternatives including:

Start up funds
Research and development funds (SBIR)
Working capital
Bank loans
Seed and venture capital

Business Plan Review

Experienced counsel is available for the development of new business plans as well as the analysis of completed plans. The Incubator staff will provide recommendations in the following areas:

Purpose of the business plan
Components of the business plan
Information gathering strategies
Sources of information
Plan outlines
Format for financial projections
Review of drafts of component parts
Critique of completed plans

Equipment

In an effort to preserve client's working capital, the Incubator is equipped with a copier, fax machines, and typewriter for client usage. Audiovisual equipment is available for rent. A computer lab is available to assist clients with computer skills.

Entrepreneurial Training and Development

Training is made available to clients to reinforce skills in certain areas of business and to teach new skills. Networking opportunities are provided to clients to learn from interaction with other entrepreneurs. Focus in on developing the entrepreneur with the acquired skills into consistently demonstrating best business practices.