Beginning in January, six free office spaces will open in the Student Activities Center for students who want to start their own businesses, part of a new project dubbed the Business Incubator.
Taking advantage of some unused space, the Associated Students of Madison collaborated with the University of Wisconsin’s Students in Free Enterprise to come up with a way to utilize the space to benefit students.
“The goal (of the incubator) is for students that are interested in starting their own businesses to have someplace where they can find resources and advising to help them get their business off the ground,” said Lauren Vollrath, chair of the SAC Governing Board.
Paid for by segregated fees, the six office spaces will go to six student businesses, three of which will already have started by the time the office opens.
“The idea is that these three businesses will help foster the growth of the other three businesses that are in the space,” said Kyle Adams, project manager of the Business Incubator and a UW senior.
According to Adams, there will be a reception area to help students find various resources that are already on campus and direct student businesses that don’t receive space.
“[The business] can stop in the reception area if they’re looking for help with, for example, funding or marketing. … They can have a conversation with the receptionist to determine the next best action to take,” Adams added.
By providing an environment where businesses can pool resources and help each other out, the Business Incubator will help new student businesses avoid many of the obstacles that often put a halt to new businesses, according to Adams.
According to Casey Schwab, a UW junior and owner of Rasta Pasta, a late-night Francis Street food cart, some of the biggest things his business had to take care of in the beginning were licensing and figuring out supply and demand for his product.
While Rasta Pasta wouldn’t have benefited much from the office space because, as Schwab pointed out, “we obviously need a kitchen,” they would fall into the category of campus businesses that can receive help from the reception area.
Schwab added that, “Throughout those (first) two months, something like the Business Incubator, even just for advice, would have helped a lot.”
While the Business Incubator will provide consulting on finance, marketing and legal issues, and according to Adams, the program is ultimately about seeing a student’s business get off on the right foot.
“We want to get as many different types of businesses as possible to help with the networking and sharing of ideas once the businesses open up,” Adams said.
Aside from networking, the office itself will provide resources that often go overlooked, but are essential to a functioning business, such as an industrial copier and Wi-Fi Internet. The SIFE Committee will accept applications until Nov. 14 at 5 p.m.
