Growing businesses

Area organizations are providing fledgling companies with the space and support needed to grow ideas into thriving businesses. The groups are tweaking the definition of “business incubator” and offering a variety of rent subsidies in hopes of sparking economic development.

If successful, those efforts could create more living-wage jobs for people in the region.

Liberty Lake, which boasts a desirable mix of high-tech industry and a supportive business climate, has two buildings incubating new businesses.

Steven Tabacek expanded his business, IT-Lifeline, because a Liberty Lake company offered him high-tech headquarters for below market value.

Tabacek was set to renew a lease for downtown office space when Liberty Lake Internet Exchange owner Bernard Daines offered him a deal.

The offer brought IT-Lifeline, which provides data backup and recovery services for large companies, into a building with the latest in fiber optics and communications wiring.

“He recognized that we were a relatively new company at the time, so he made us an extremely attractive start-up offer,” Tabacek said.

At the Liberty Lake facility, IT-Lifeline has 5,800-square feet of specially-designed space for offices and central processing equipment. The building offers an ideal climate for protecting databases, because it’s away from hazards.

At its former Downtown location, IT-Lifeline was located near a train trestle that could have endangered computer files, had the trains ever leaked fuel or other substances or derailed.

IT-Lifeline is one of several firms specializing in information systems that are renting space in the building for below-market value.

Greg Zemp, who owns Liberty Lake Internet Exchange with Dan Saliger and Daines, said grouping similar companies under one roof allows them to share resources and business connections.The low-overhead arrangement helped IT-Lifeline add staff, which in turn helped expand its account base.

The company now boasts 17 to 18 large accounts, including Washington Trust Bank and Rockwood Clinic.

“We’re actually getting ready for a massive expansion. We’ve landed contracts from the west side of the state,” Tabacek said.

Down the road, the firms will pay increased rent, Zemp said, but in the meantime, the focus is on growth.

“As we build out our data center spaces, we hope that they build out their companies to fill them,” Zemp explained.

Another Liberty Lake incubator is providing free office rental for new businesses that qualify. Entrepreneurs stay up to two years, paying just utilities, while city officials point them toward resources and connections.

The city worked with Eastern Washington University’s Center for Entrepreneurial Activities, which provides business education and guidance on establishing incubators and programs that foster economic development.

The public-private project is supported by Greenstone Corp., which provides downstairs space in its Liberty Square complex and the city, which paid to finish the offices.

The incubator has a mix of businesses, including an importer-exporter who’s ready to move into a larger facility.

In the future, Doug Smith, director of community development for Liberty Lake, hopes to integrate some high-tech upstarts in the incubator.

Landscape designer Mike Terrell, who specializes in park planning and landscape services for small cities, moved into a space a year ago.

Last August, Terrell hired a Washington State University graduate, which he attributes to the incubator arrangement.

“The real critical thing is being able to add an employee without the huge expense of having to pay for additional square footage,” Terrell said.

AHANA, the African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American business and professional organization, has five occupants in its small-business incubator at Marycliff Center, near Deaconess Medical Center.

Companies pay $50 to $100 a month for office space, said Ben Cabildo, director of AHANA.

Tenants include a psychologist, a poet and a business that creates medically related educational materials.

Because the majority of Spokane companies have nine or fewer employees, helping small businesses grow has far-reaching benefits, he said.

AHANA experts offer business and marketing counseling and brainstorming sessions to help companies plan growth and provides information about potential funding sources.

Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce has office suites that give small businesses a big presence.

Businesses can rent space inside the chamber’s east Sprague office building for $350 a month. Rent includes high speed Internet access and use of office machinery, conference facilities and a waiting area.

“They really can put on a professional front of being in business without incurring all the costs of getting set up,” said Eldonna Gossett, president and CEO of the chamber.

“We’re not trying to make money on this – we’re just trying to cover our costs,”

Affordable rent coupled with flexible rental agreements allows companies from other areas to check out the local market.

“For a new business, it gives them the chance to get their legs under them and decide if they want to stay long term,” said Justin Knapp of A+ Mortgage.

Knapp moved from Wenatchee last spring to start a business offering mortgage and financial planning services. He found the chamber’s mix of services and built-in foot traffic a good fit.

“In my case, they’ve allowed me to do a six-month lease and after that a month-to-month lease and that’s a lot of flexibility for me.”