June Clougher, of Jump Start Incubator, spoke to members and guests at the April 17 Northeast Berks Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown.
“This is a really wonderful resource that’s in the Berks County community and I want to make sure that as many people as possible know we exist because there are people who are looking to start businesses in all different environments,” Clougher told members during her presentation.
Clougher is director of Jump Start Incubator which is managed by the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center and housed in the Berks County Community Foundation.
She said that Berks County Community Foundation and Kutztown University Small Business Development Center got together, recognizing that one of the things needed in this area is an Incubator.
“We need a place for these small businesses to go, to grow. And the Berks County Community Foundation had just built a new building a few years prior to this. They built the building big enough for expansion so they had office space on the third floor,” said Clougher. “(Founding business sponsor) Customers Bank stepped up to the plate and gave them the funding that they needed to outfit this whole third floor with office furniture and the physical offices. That combination with the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center is really how the Incubator got started in 2012.”
Jump Start works with small business start ups to help them transform “into a stronger, vital element” in the local economy.
“A lot of times with a small business, when someone decides they are going to go into business for themselves, what they have is a skill of some type. They have an idea and a skill that they feel very confident that they can make into a business but that doesn’t mean that they have the accounting background that they need, the legal background that they need, the marketing understanding that they need. These are the types of things that our Incubator can help to cultivate in these new start-up businesses,” said Clougher.
She talked about their Mission, “We’re a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurial development. We’re trying to cultivate the viable business concepts that people come to us with. And then provide that support so that clients have what they need in the beginning stages.”
Clougher explained that they provide support and mentoring. The program also provides professional office space at a low cost as well as consulting services. KU Masters in Business Administration graduate students work with Jump Start clients, giving KU business students professional experience and giving businesses quality staff, she said.
She said having Jump Start Incubator in downtown Reading is a great location because it is close to local resources like the Greater Reading Economic Partnership, Reading City Hall, and the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce.
“We have all of these other organizations that are physically close to us so it really helps when a client comes in and they need help in a particular area,” she said.
“What we’re hoping to do is create jobs, increase the tax base in the City of Reading. Businesses that come into the Incubator are in the City of Reading because that is where our offices are. There is not a requirement that they stay there but there’s a hope that they’ll stay in that area,” said Clougher.
Clougher noted that they are looking to have thriving businesses in the Reading area.
“One number I want you to hear is that 87 percent of Incubator clients, not just ours but as a general concept, are still in business after five years. It does not guarantee that they’re going to become IBM but it does give them a much better platform to continue down the path of success,” said Clougher.
Jump Start Incubator is supported by public and private funding, as well as corporate donations.
For more about Jump Start Incubator, visit http://jumpstartberks.org.
