Buffalo Rising Online

Mar 23rd, 9:51am By Dr. Richard S. Knaub

One of the first stones people throw at any idea these days is “Where is the money going to come from?” This is really sort of a silly question, not unlike the question posed to a famous bank robber, Willie Sutton. He was asked: ‘Why do you rob banks?’ His response was “That’s where the money is.” The money will come from a source willing to provide it for the creation of the business. That is what capitalism is all about.

The better question is “Who is going to start and run the businesses?” A jobs initiative of any kind requires two groups to support it, the business community and the workers. Under free enterprise, there is no requirement that politicians need to support job creation, although more support is always better. But the support of politicians is only necessary in a fascist state, where the resources are controlled by the government. In the US, capital is controlled by private sources that look for a winning combination of entrepreneurs, marketable ideas and workforce.

Finding an entrepreneur is the hardest part. In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the lead box which has the picture of Portia signifying her hand in marriage and control of her fortune warns: "Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath". This is a pretty good description of both marriage and going into business. Going into business means committing both time and money to the success of the business; it means putting any kind of a social or family life on hold while the needs of the business come first. It means paying your employees or your suppliers before you pay yourself. It means being the first one in and the last one to leave. It means no sick days, no vacation days and filling in for any employee who is sick or at the beach.

Finding a Sustainable/Green Entrepreneur is even harder. This is someone who is not just motivated by money and being his or her own boss, but also by protecting the environment and the community. This is someone who doesn’t feel that labor and management have to be at odds on everything, that there is common ground in trying to create a healthy community. Of course, the workers are going to have to feel the same way and be willing to work for that healthy community as well as a paycheck, but more about that in the next article.

Once you’ve found that elusive entrepreneur, then he or she needs a support system to be successful. Starting a new business is difficult and most will fail in the first 5 years. Buffalo State College operates the Small Business Development Center which provides training and assistance to people who are interested developing their own businesses. They can help develop business plans (essential for accessing capital), marketing assistance and financial planning just to name a few of their services. Next week they are offering a three hour seminar called “The First 3 Questions of Business” which only costs $10 but covers business planning, accounting and record keeping, tax planning and legal planning.

Another good resource for the entrepreneur is the Service Core of Retired Executives on Elmwood Ave. These counselors have been in business and know it, usually from the perspective of being Buffalo business people. It usually helps to have someone who’s been there before and the counseling is free. May 28th they are offering an all-day seminar at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library on “Starting and Managing Your Own Business.” For a $25 investment the prospective business owner can get the advice from 6-8 experts, a counselor for one on one questions, plus coffee and donuts.

Then there are the community development organizations that have a mission to help entrepreneurs connect with members of their community who need jobs and to make capital resources available for job creation. Nationally, these organizations tend to be less successful, largely because they lack the contacts with the entrepreneurs. But these organizations often have access to capital and capital resources like space. They may be able to access incentives for job creation and resources for job training. In some places the potential business working with these organizations has access to low rent, low interest business loans, trained employees and can receive incentives for creating jobs for those trained employees.

Small business incubators are also a big help to the fledgling businesses. Typically, they offer low cost space and may provide resources like phones and high speed internet as well. Some will provide a shared receptionist and security as well. The Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation is working on renovation of the old North Jefferson Public Branch Library as a business incubator and the Jefferson Avenue Marketplace Incubator is already at capacity. They also have incubator modules in the Can-Am building and several of their other buildings. The eXurbio Group LLC has established a for-profit incubator, the third in the state, in Kenmore that provides tenants with access to several business development and marketing services.

One of the underlying principles of Green and Sustainable Businesses is to utilize the available resources more efficiently. These support resources are a way to recycle experience and to reduce waste of time and money. Small business incubators that provide shared resources are helping new businesses to be more efficient in the use of their capital. But as a general rule, it is up the entrepreneur to incorporate green and/or sustainable principles into his or her business plan. Ideally, at some point Buff State, BERC, and SCORE will provide some experts to help specifically in this aspect of development for Green and Sustainable Businesses, but for the time being they are at least providing the support that every business needs.