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City wants to become a ‘center for entrepreneurship'

The Biz Tech Center in Hamilton. The BizTech Center was given the Vision Award for economic development at Thursday's State of the City address. The small business incubator opened three years ago and is now home to 24 companies with 110 employees.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch The Biz Tech Center in Hamilton. The BizTech Center was given the Vision Award for economic development at Thursday's State of the City address. The small business incubator opened three years ago and is now home to 24 companies with 110 employees.

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Staff photo by Samantha Grier Vora Technology Park in Hamilton.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer 10:39 PM Saturday, June 18, 2011

HAMILTON — John Murray is a poster child for the city’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship as a way to help the local economy.

Murray, of Hamilton, struck out on his own as an independent insurance agent last July, specializing in insurance for people in long term care. He needed help figuring out how to start a business, get a tax ID and develop a marketing plan. He said he found Ohio’s Small Business Development Centers online, which has a Hamilton office at the BizTech Center on High Street.

The Small Business Development Center in Hamilton helped Murray develop a marketing plan and the facilities gave him space for training other insurance agents and meeting clients.

BizTech officials referred him to the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, which is identifying small businesses and start-ups for First Financial Bank’s Micro Business Loan Program it introduced in Hamilton in the spring. First Financial gave Murray a $10,000 loan, covering his costs for printing business materials and computer purchases for his home-based business LTC USA.

“What the loan has done is enabled me to increase the speed of my marketing plan,” Murray said.

The city is hoping for more stories like his.

The city has come up with a five-year strategic plan less than a year after a new city manager was hired. One of the plan’s goals is to create economic opportunity, which City Manager Joshua Smith says is his top priority. In the last 15 years, the city has lost approximately 4,000 jobs, according to the strategic plan presentation.

Smith has presented several objectives to create economic opportunity: Enhance the appearance of the city’s primary corridors and entryways; create an attractive environment for business development that creates jobs; attract/retain educated, creative and skilled workers; and maximize value of municipally owned utilities.

The plan, in part, targets growth industries while marketing the city as a center for entrepreneurship. Last week, a contract was signed with a Cleveland consultant to make a specific list of targeted industries, Smith said.

To be a center for entrepreneurship, creative people have to be drawn to the city to open businesses and hire local people, Smith said. For example, Murray plans to open early next year an office, probably at BizTech, and hire an employee who lives in Hamilton.

This means the city needs downtown living, mixed used retail and an entertainment district in German Village to make people want to come here, Smith said.

“It is my belief small businesses are the backbone of a community,” he said. “We’re going to have to make Hamilton a more desirable location to draw people.”

He said the city is also exploring a public/private partnership to focus on entrepreneurship.

The city already has assets in place for fostering entrepreneurship such as BizTech and Vora Technology Park, a private incubator for technology companies on Knightsbridge Drive.

BizTech has always partnered with the city, opening in 2002 in the former historic city building, said Marilyn Collmer, manager of BizTech. In its first five years, the nonprofit incubator created 150 jobs. It now has 34 to 38 tenants and has graduated 31 businesses, of which 17 have located in Hamilton, Collmer said.

Collmer’s first opportunity to see Hamilton’s economic development goal was at the last council meeting. She hopes to work together closely.

“I think we might have to take a proactive approach to get the word out more assertively,” she said.

Create economic opportunity was the first of four goals to be presented to council. The other three goals will be presented at separate meetings before council votes on the plan.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.

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