Regardless of your experience or skill in entrepreneurship, this article over at Entrepreneur.com entitled 10 tips for the first-time business owner should be a must read.  It could be a simple reinforcement of basic principles you’ve forgetten to focus on, great advice for those of you just starting out, or somewhere in the middle.  Regardless – click over to the article and give it a quick read.  Lot’s of great advice.  Here’s a quick list of what you’ll find (we particularly like #2, 6 and 8):

1. Focus. Focus. Focus
2. Know what you do.  Do what you know.
3. Say it in 30 seconds or don’t say it at all.
4. Know what you know, what you don’t know and who knows what you don’t.
5. Act like a startup
6. Learn under fire
7. No one will give you money.
8. Be healthy
9. Don’t fall victim to your own BS
10. Know when to call it quits.

Be sure to click over to the full article for all the details, but here are the six headlines:

• Update your financials
• Tap a preferred lender
• Ensure the right fit
• Hedge your bets
• Offer more backup
• Get help

Good luck!

NEOinc would add to the list to include the Innovation Loan Fund at Lorain County Community College (grants up to 25K, loans up to 100K), and the Cuyahoga County New Product Development Fund, administered by MAGNET (loans up to 60K).

Without further ado – on to the incentives.

Economic Incentives for the High Tech Industry

City of Cleveland

Technology Business Grant Program

This program was designed by the City of Cleveland to attract new business to the City while helping reinforce the City’s “brain gain.” Grant assistance can be applied to both new and existing technology businesses with strong prospects of growth and commercialization of proprietary technologies. Approved companies will receive up to $50,000 per year for three years, based on 50% of new City of Cleveland income taxes generated.

Economic Development Loan Program

The Economic Development Loan Program is designed to help companies from across all industries. This program offers long-term, fixed-rate financing at 4.0% interest. Loans for this program range from $35,000 to $500,000 and cannot exceed 40% of the total project’s cost. Terms are typically 5-7 years on equipment and to up 15 years on land and buildings. The City will take a subordinated collateral position to a private lender.

Vacant Property Initiative Fund

For technology-based companies looking to buy a building for office space or to build their new headquarters or technology showcase space, the Vacant Property Initiative Fund may help secure the facility you need. These loans are designed to overcome barriers to the re-use of abandoned, idled or underutilized commercial properties. Loans may be used for property acquisition, environment site assessments, site clearance and demolition and new construction. The funding is up to 45.0% forgivable. The loans have a 6.0% fixed interest rate and are made for a maximum of one-year.

The City of Cleveland has various other economic incentives available for business and commercial development, please contact us at the LNE Group to discuss in more detail.

Cuyahoga County

NorthCoast Opportunities Technology Fund

The NCO Tech Fund program targets technology companies that are excellent candidates for future venture capital investment and possess high growth job creation potential. Approved companies will receive a payment-deferred, low interest loan to complete a specific initiative or project that is expected to make the company significantly more attractive to pre-seed investors. Evaluation and selection will be performed by the County in collaboration with the State of Ohio funded TechLift entrepreneurial signature program. Funding rounds will occur on a bi-monthly basis.

Key Business Requirements

• Loans can be for $25K- $125K, with typical loans in the $50-75K range
• Interest rate of 5%
• Payments deferred for five years or until:
  Significant financing event (greater than $1.5 million)
  Sale of company or company assets
  Failure to comply with terms of agreement (i.e. leaving Cuyahoga County)
• Loan proceeds must be used for a specific project or initiative that will bring the company closer to achieving pre-seed funding.
• Loan is secured by the personal property and assets of company

Grow Cuyahoga Fund

The Grow Cuyahoga County Fund is a regional economic development fund operated in conjunction with the National Development Council which is a licensed SBA 7(a) lender. The National Development Council (NDC) is one of the nation’s oldest non-profit organizations for community and economic development. Through its Grow America Fund subsidiary, NDC provides SBA-guaranteed 7(a) loans to small businesses in partnership with client communities throughout the country.

The Grow Cuyahoga County Fund can make loans ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. The loans will generally be at rates of prime minus 2% to prime plus 2%, for terms up to 25 years depending on the proposed use of funds. Loan proceeds may be used for any legitimate business purpose, including working capital, machinery and equipment, acquisition of land and building, construction, renovations and tenant improvements. The Grow Cuyahoga County Fund does not provide venture capital and cannot provide funds for research and development or to satisfy equity or near-equity needs.

Economic Development Loan Program

The Economic Development Loan Fund provides businesses with financial assistance to support the retention and creation of jobs for County residents. The fund provides long term, fixed-rate financing at interest rates lower than conventional financing. Interest rate is typically four and a quarter percent (4.25%). The fund is intended to fill a financing gap beyond the amount of private participation and equity investment that can be raised. Loans generally range from a minimum of $35,000 to a maximum of $350,000, up to forty percent (40.00%) of total project cost. Loan terms are up to seven (7) years on equipment and up to fifteen (15) years on land and building. Loans can be used to finance the acquisition of land, buildings, machinery and equipment as well as for new construction, renovation, expansion and/or conversion of facilities. Loans cannot be used to refinance debt, purchase inventory, pay other non-capital costs or on speculative projects. The County will take a subordinated collateral position provided there is adequate collateral available as security, up to a ninety percent (90.00%) loan to value ratio.

Key Business Requirements

• Businesses are required to create one new, full time, permanent job for every $35,000 loaned within three years of loan closing.
• Businesses must provide a minimum of ten percent (10.00%) equity. The business owner or majority stockholder must provide a personal guarantee for the loan amount.
• A majority or fifty-one percent (51.00%) of the jobs created must be made available to low and moderate income persons as defined by the federal government.
• The business must execute Workforce Cooperation Agreement with the County that designates as first source of referral for mutually agreed positions at the company.
• Business must demonstrate the ability to repay the loan as well as have adequate collateral and acceptable credit.
• When loan funds are used for construction, federal prevailing wage rates must be paid and a departmental environmental review must be conducted.
• The business owner or majority stockholder must provide a personal guaranty in the amount of the loan. Additionally, key man insurance and hazard of business insurance is required in the amount of the loan with Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners as the loss payee

Enterprise Zone Tax Incentives

A business enterprise located within a Cuyahoga County Enterprise Zone is eligible for negotiated tax incentives for new investment. Currently there are twenty-six (26) enterprise zones designated in Cuyahoga County municipalities which include: Bedford, Bedford Heights, Berea, Brook Park, Cuyahoga Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Glenwillow, Highland Heights, Highland Hills, Maple Heights, Mayfield Heights, Newburgh Heights, North Olmsted, North Royalton, Oakwood, Olmsted Falls, Parma, Richmond Heights, Shaker Heights, Solon, South Euclid, Strongsville, Valley View, Walton Hills and Westlake.

Key Business Requirements

• Businesses must apply directly to the municipality which is the site of the new investment. Local governments can grant exemptions of up to seventy five percent (75%) on eligible new investments. The term of these incentives can be for up to ten (10) years. Once an agreement is negotiated between the company and the municipality, the agreement must be approved by the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners. The project cannot begin prior to the Commissioners’ approval.
• The companies are required to negotiate and execute a Workforce Cooperation Agreement with the County, which designates the County as the first source of referral for mutually agreed entry-level positions at the company.
• All intra-state relocations require a relocation waiver issued by the Ohio Department of Development. A letter from the mayor of the exited community is required on intra-county relocations.
• Fees include a one-time application fee of $750.00 payable to the Ohio Department of Development. There is also an annual monitoring fee charged by the municipality and split with the County. This fee is equal to one percent (1%) of the taxes exempted, minimum $500 and not to exceed $2,500 per year for the life of the agreement.

For more information on the Cuyahoga County economic incentives please feel welcome to contact me at 216.781.9000 or at mdealoia@lnegroup.com.

State of Ohio

Job Creation Tax Credit

The Job Creation Tax Credit allows companies that are creating at least 25 new full-time jobs that are paying at least 150% of federal minimum wage to apply for state income tax credits. Certain project that create 10 or more full-time jobs and pay more than 400% of the federal minimum wage may also be eligible for the tax credits. The credit is calculated as a percentage of state income tax revenue withheld by the business for new employees. The credit also allows a municipality to grant a credit against its income tax to business that receives it from the state.

Technology Investment Tax Credit Program

This credit program offers a variety of benefits to Ohio taxpayers who invest in small, research and development or tech-based firms. Through this innovative program, Ohio investors may reduce their state taxes by 25.0% (and in some cases 30.0%) of the amount they invest in qualified, technology-based Ohio companies. Both the companies and the investor’s must meet several requirements specified by Ohio law in order to gain access to this program.

Ohio Research & Development Investment Tax Credit

The Ohio Research & Development Investment Tax Credit provides a non-refundable tax credit against the corporate franchise tax and is designed to encourage Ohio-based companies to invest in increased research and development activities.

Research & Development Sales Tax Exemption

A unique way for a company to support its research and development activities is the Research & Development Sales Tax Exemption which allows for an exemption from the usual state and county sales tax for companies that purchase equipment for research and development activities. This allows Ohio-based companies to enjoy significant tax savings while undertaking research and development activities.

Ohio Innovation Loan Fund

The Innovation Ohio Loan Fund (“IOF”) was created to assist existing Ohio companies develop next generation products and services within certain “Targeted Industry Sectors” by financing the acquisition, construction and related costs of technology, facilities and equipment. The IOF provide competitive financing terms on loans to finance projects that will positively impact Ohio by creating high-value jobs, increased tax revenues and improve the welfare of the State.

The IOF is intended to supply capital to Ohio companies having difficulty securing funds from conventional sources due to technical and commercial risk factors associated with the development of a new product or service. The IOF can finance up to75.0% of a project’s allowable costs to a maximum of $3.0 million and a minimum of $500,000.

Key Business Requirements

The IOF will target industry sectors involving the production or use of:

• Advanced Materials
• Instruments, Controls & Electronics (“ICE”)
• Power & Propulsion
• Biosciences
• Information Technology

The IOF is intended to support the capital needs of established Ohio companies that have:

• A recent history of positive cash flow
• A minimum of three years of operating history
• Attracted or are likely to attract additional third party capital to the project

However, while entrepreneurs may have the “right stuff” to develop technology and bring it to market, odds are they aren’t very proficient in building a website.  Depending on the stage of their startup, they also might not have funds to hire a professional web design firm to develop it for them either.  So what’s an entrepreneur to do?

One place to start is this article we recently found on the Small Business Trends blog entitled “Are You Committing These 4 Common Site Errors?“  Targeted more toward small and medium-sized businesses, the article nonetheless has some great tips on making that first website have impact.  There’s even an idea or two in there on how to get a great looking website developed with minimal cost.

The Innovation Fund advances the strategy to grow our own businesses and jobs in the region.  “In this our seventh round of funding, we continued to be impressed with depth and quality of entrepreneurial ideas that are emerging from our region,” noted Lorain County Community College President Dr. Roy A. Church.  “Including this round, the Fund has invested more than $2 million in 30 companies located in NE Ohio”

The Fund is seeding the development of new technology-based industries in Northeast Ohio that represent the jobs of the future.  The fund supports Ohio’s overall strategy for technology-based economic development as evidenced by the Ohio Department of Development strategic plan.  These Innovation Fund awards help to fill the funding need for businesses that are at the earliest stage of development, the difficult point in a business’s growth before they are mature enough to attract angel investors and venture capitalists.

There are two types of awards within the Innovation Fund: the first is a grant of up to $25,000 to help validate the technology; and the second is a pre-seed grant of up to $100,000, which requires a one-to-one match, and is designed to help validate the business concept.

The six Innovation Fund Awards announced today are:

TheraVasc - Cleveland, Ohio – $100,000

• TheraVasc is developing a business based on new novel therapies for peripheral artery disease (PAD),a chronic disorder associated with reduced blood flow to the extremities that affects millions of people across the world.

Absorbent Materials Co. – Wooster, Ohio – $100,000

• Absorbent Materials is developing a new class of patent-protected, organosilica glass polymers called OSORB – which instantaneously swells to greater than three times its dry volume in non-polar solvents. As a result, it shows great promise as the material to clean hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater and also to remediate toxic waste.

BizVeo – Youngstown, Ohio – $25,000

• BizVeo is developing a web based education and training tool that utilizes streaming video accompanied with competency based testing.

Rapid Charge Technologies - Cleveland, Ohio – $25,000

• Rapid Charge Technologies will further develop and commercialize rapid charging technology for lead acid batteries that is based on patented technology created and tested at the University of Georgia Technology. This technology holds the promise of allowing lead acid batteries to be charged in minutes, not hours, and dramatically extend battery life.

Citizen Groove – Cleveland, Ohio – $25,000

• Citizen Groove is developing an innovative, patent-pending, digital music organization system to first enhance all artists networking capabilities, second, to create an easy-to-use music discovery engine for music listeners, and third, to enable the aggregation and supply of critical music market data to industry professionals.

Sooth, Inc. – Beachwood, Ohio – $25,000

• Sooth isdeveloping technology that automates computer network management to provide a less costly, more stable and secure network.

About the LCCC Foundation Innovation Fund

Contributions to the Innovation Fund are fully tax deductible as a result of a landmark ruling by the IRS.  Realizing the potential risks to a foundation’s tax-exempt status for supporting incubator activities, the LCCC Foundation submitted a special request to the IRS seeking permission to accept charitable contributions that would be used for the purposes of the Innovation Fund.  In January of 2006, the LCCC Foundation received a positive ruling, a groundbreaking decision applicable only to the LCCC Foundation and is the only one of its kind in the nation.

To date the Innovation Fund has received generous support from a variety of partners and the local community.  In 2007, the State of Ohio made a major investment of $400,000 through the Ohio Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Support Program.  Additional investments were made by the State: in 2008 in the amount of $500,000; in 2009 in the amount of $1.5 million.  The Third Frontier Project is the state’s largest-ever commitment to expanding Ohio’s high-tech research capabilities and promoting innovation and company formation that will create high-paying jobs for generations to come.

The Innovation Fund focuses on technology opportunities in Ohio’s five high growth industries.  It is a regional fund, providing support across Northeast Ohio’s 21 counties to help great technology ideas develop into viable businesses and thus create jobs in the region.

Recipients of Innovation Fund awards agree to provide an educational experience in entrepreneurship for a student – allowing the student to walk side by side with the entrepreneur without taking on the risk.

The application process for the Innovation Fund is completely web-based.  Applicants are able to submit an application through the fund’s website.  Upon submission, GLIDE and its regional partners representing a network of industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors employ a thorough due diligence process to assess both the technology and the business potential.

For more information about the LCCC Foundation Innovation Fund or to apply, please visit www.lorainccc.edu/if

While a lot business owners are still scratching their heads when it comes to Twitter, a recent post over at the SmatBlog on Social Media suggests Twitter may be an excellent starting point for small businesses to take advantage of social media channels.  This short posts lists three ways Twitter can benefit a small business or startup (with virtually no cost):

1. Use it as a home base
2. Get market research
3. Find leads

Of course, no tool is without cost.  This article, like many Twitter-focused articles, neglects to factor in the time and effort involved in attracting followers to your account, and you will need a strategy.  That said, for a very small amount of time spent using Twitter you may be able to reap significant benefits for your small business.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could achieve all of the above in a single action? I know…I know…the “free money” thing first got your attention, but we can all agree that these are all important and good things. So, how do you do it? By using the various subsidized internship programs that are available to entrepreneurial technology companies in Northeast Ohio, that’s how.

Internships can benefit your company in a number of ways. First, employers have found that student interns can get a great deal of real work done at a very reasonable cost. The key is to define a task or set of tasks that the intern can immediately “dive into” and then provide guidance when they get stuck. When this happens, most employers have found that student interns typically exceed expectations. Interns are great for those jobs where you constantly say “yeah…we need to do that,” but you never do.

Hiring a student intern can fill the talent pipeline for your company. When your company grows, you will need talent. An internship basically represents a “3 month interview” where you can judge whether a person fits your organization, while he or she can see how great it is to work in an exciting entrepreneurial company. Studies show that 65% of engineering internships and co-ops turn into job offers for full time employment. It’s the ultimate “try before you buy” for both parties.

Students today deal with the recurring dilemma of not being able to get the job because they “don’t have experience,” but cannot get the experience without getting the job. You can help invest in our youth by breaking this cycle, and having your company benefit as part of the deal.

Investing in our young people, those who are from Northeast Ohio as well as those who attend college in Northeast Ohio, is particularly important to our region. We have all heard about the “quiet crisis” and “brain drain” with regard to Northeast Ohio. Having the prospect of a good job in Northeast Ohio will keep our students here, and will ultimately make our region more vibrant and economically strong.

“So what about that free money?” you ask. There are a number of subsidized internship programs for Northeast Ohio technology entrepreneurial companies that will help pay for the interns you should hire anyway:

• Third Frontier Internship Program – This program subsidizes interns from Ohio universities and colleges and Ohio students at other colleges and universities who are enrolled in scientific, mathematics, technology and engineering programs.
  • 50% subsidy of paid wages, up to $3000 per intern
  • For more information go to www.noche.org, http://thirdfrontierintern.ohio.gov or call the program manager, Halley Marsh, at (216) 420-9292 x234
• TechLift Business Internship Program – This program, generously sponsored by the GAR Foundation, subsidizes internships at entrepreneurial technology companies for Ohio students in business applications.
  • Special consideration given to students, companies and colleges in the Summit County area
  • 50% subsidy of paid wages, up to $3000 per intern
  • For more information go to www.noche.org or contact the program manager, Halley Marsh, at hmarsh@noche.org
• Purdue University/TechLift Interns for Entrepreneurship Program – This program, partially supported by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, subsidizes summer internships at TechLift Advisors-supported companies for Northeast Ohio students of any major attending Purdue University.
  • Subsidy up to 56% of paid wages
  • For more information, contact Kate Hanna with JumpStart at kate.hanna@jumpstartinc.org

So what are you waiting for? Design an internship and sign up for one ASAP. It’s a “win, win, win, win, win” proposition!

So…I  heard yesterday from some childhood friends I had lost touch with who are now living in Chicago, Houston and Phoenix.

And we probably heard, based on an eyeball estimate of my email in-box, from another 500 people from places like New York City, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose and Denver. All thanks to National Public Radio nationally broadcasting a story yesterday morning to its 13 million listeners on the amazing software technology cluster being built by our organization in Youngstown, Ohio.

But, here’s what we’re most excited about.

We received countless numbers of emails from people who grew up in Western Pennsylvania or Northeastern Ohio, but who are now living in places across the country. They told us how thrilled they were to hear the story. They told us they wanted to learn more about what was going on. They told us that they wanted to visit with us the next time they came “home”.

That’s great, but we’re going to go one step further.

We’re going to be working very hard to get them all to move “home”.

You can listen to the story here:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100762987

Our special thanks to Ideastream/WCPN and the Center for Working Class Studies at Youngstown State University for helping to make this a national story.

Jim Cossler
CEO and Chief Evangelist
Youngstown Business Incubator
www.ybi.org

No word on whether the results will be published on AlwaysOn’s site, so this post is definitely for those of you in the green energy space who really like taking surveys…  We’ll keep our eyes peeled for you.

Any page you are on, whether it’s the home page or a blog post, will have the next five upcoming events listed in an “Upcoming Events” window on the left-hand side.  The full calendar can be viewed on it’s own page, accessible from the top menu.  The calendar is fully interactive and offers a number of ways to interact with both the calendar and individual events.  We think you’ll find two aspects of the calendar particularly useful:

1. The calendar has it’s own RSS feed.  Subscribe to the feed and you’ll automatically get updates in your feed reader whenever we add events to the calendar.
2. You can easily add events of interest to your own personal calendar.  When viewing the calendar, simply check the box next to the event you are interested in, then click the “Add to my Calendar” button at the top of the calendar.   Multiple calendar formats are supported, including Outlook, Yahoo and Google.

NEOinc would like to thank MAGNET for hosting the calendar.  It is actually a subset of MAGNET’s comprehensive Regional Datebook, listing events of interest from around the region.

While NEOinc member incubators regularly host events of interest to entrepreneurs, we know our events are just the tip of the iceberg.  If you have an event of interest to entrepeneurs, and would like it included in the NEOinc Regional Entrepreneurial Calendar, send details of your event to:

Lynne Brakeman (MAGNET)
lynne.brakeman@magnetwork.org

Please include as much detail as possible about your event, making sure to include the event’s contact person, website and registration link (if available).

NEOinc is pleased to provide this calendar of events to our region’s entrepreneurs, partners and support organizations.  We hope you find it valuable and take the time to contribute your events.