Innovative online business incubator aims to grow Michigan enterprises

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

A cutting-edge online business incubator created to help Michigan entrepreneurs grow their businesses is open for commerce. The web site, called Accelerating Michigan Entrepreneurs (AME) is the result of a partnership between the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC) and Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

The incubator provides all the advantages of a bricks and mortar incubator—leadership coaching, business consulting, technical assistance, business assessment, training, access to financing, and market research—for just $100 a month and no long-term contracts.

"We decided to do all of those services, and with the technology available today we could really make it work in an online community," says Nancy Boese, MI-SBTDC Business Tools Specialist.

One of the features allows tenants to store their documents on a secure web site where consultants and business owners can interact confidentially. Business owners can also store documents in a secure virtual library and access them over the AME portal from any Internet connection.

The incubator enables business owners across the Michigan to leverage a statewide network of expertise, determine their strengths, and develop new skills.

Source: Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].

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