CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Hybridge Communications Management Group has weathered the economic downturn better than most start-up technology companies.
A year and a half ago, Hybridge opened for business at the Charleston Enterprise Center, a small business incubator run by the Charleston Area Alliance on Smith Street.
Like other start-ups at the incubator, Hybridge pays about 30 percent less than the going rate for office space in downtown Charleston.
There are no additional utility costs to worry about. Parking is free. Hybridge and other start-ups share a copy and fax machine. They also have three conference rooms at their disposal.
There's even a receptionist to answer the phone, if need be.
"It helps keep your overhead manageable," said Terri Conway, operations manager at Hybridge, which provides computer network and voice-over Internet protocol services in West Virginia and several southern states. "You can still provide high-quality service, but it helps keep us at a more affordable price-point for our customers."
Across the country, small business owners are moving into places, such as the downtown Charleston incubator, to shave overhead costs amid the recession.
West Virginia has 15 business incubators, stretching from Mercer to Jefferson counties.
Kanawha County is home to three - the Upper Kanawha Valley Enterprise Community Business Center in Cabin Creek, the Chemical Alliance Zone Biotechnology and Allied Sciences Incubation Center in South Charleston, and the Charleston Area Alliance center - one of the oldest in the state.
The Alliance's incubator opened in 1986 with six tenants. More than 100 companies have come through its doors. About 75 percent of tenants stay in business five years or longer.
Tenants receive a one-year lease that can be renewed four times.
The Charleston incubator now has 18 small businesses that have a combined 44 employees.
Mike Aeiker, the Alliance's senior vice president of real estate, said the incubator allows entrepreneurs to concentrate on growth, rather than bricks, mortar and other administrative costs.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Hybridge Communications Management Group has weathered the economic downturn better than most start-up technology companies.
A year and a half ago, Hybridge opened for business at the Charleston Enterprise Center, a small business incubator run by the Charleston Area Alliance on Smith Street.
Like other start-ups at the incubator, Hybridge pays about 30 percent less than the going rate for office space in downtown Charleston.
There are no additional utility costs to worry about. Parking is free. Hybridge and other start-ups share a copy and fax machine. They also have three conference rooms at their disposal.
There's even a receptionist to answer the phone, if need be.
"It helps keep your overhead manageable," said Terri Conway, operations manager at Hybridge, which provides computer network and voice-over Internet protocol services in West Virginia and several southern states. "You can still provide high-quality service, but it helps keep us at a more affordable price-point for our customers."
Across the country, small business owners are moving into places, such as the downtown Charleston incubator, to shave overhead costs amid the recession.
West Virginia has 15 business incubators, stretching from Mercer to Jefferson counties.
Kanawha County is home to three - the Upper Kanawha Valley Enterprise Community Business Center in Cabin Creek, the Chemical Alliance Zone Biotechnology and Allied Sciences Incubation Center in South Charleston, and the Charleston Area Alliance center - one of the oldest in the state.
The Alliance's incubator opened in 1986 with six tenants. More than 100 companies have come through its doors. About 75 percent of tenants stay in business five years or longer.
Tenants receive a one-year lease that can be renewed four times.
The Charleston incubator now has 18 small businesses that have a combined 44 employees.
Mike Aeiker, the Alliance's senior vice president of real estate, said the incubator allows entrepreneurs to concentrate on growth, rather than bricks, mortar and other administrative costs.
"The incubator is a sympathetic environment for the growth of small businesses," Aeiker said.
New start-up companies typically lease an office, and then expand into two or more offices. All offices at the incubator have interconnecting doors, allowing businesses to grow.
Hybridge, for instance, is expanding into a larger office space, one with windows, on the incubator's second floor later this month.
"This is a really nice environment," Conway said. "It gives you a professional place to be everyday. You no longer have to work off your coffee table [at home]."
Incubator tenants also take advantage of networking opportunities.
Kathleen DuBois Saber, president of the Progressity marketing and public relations firm on the incubator's fourth floor, said fellow entrepreneurs at the center constantly support and encourage one another - whether it be on the elevator, hallway or parking lot.
"Being located in the same building with other small business owners provides a sense of security during this time of uncertainty," DuBois Saber said.
Several years ago, Stephen Haynes, Hybridge's network administrator, started his own company at the incubator, where he met Hal Stump, who ran a phone systems support business.
The two decided to share office space at the business incubator. A short time later, the two companies came together as Hybridge. Stump now serves as the company's president.
Haynes and Conway have both worked outside West Virginia. Haynes was a recording engineer in Ohio before moving to Charleston 18 years ago.
Conway, who grew up in Kanawha City, worked in the Washington, D.C.-area in the banking businesses for 12 years before returning home in 1994.
"We're trying to help small businesses grow and prosper, and as they grow and prosper, so do we," Conway said. "Some of the companies that have grown out of here [at the incubator], we're still working with."
Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.
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