Archive for September, 2009

After all the dreary news about layoffs, bankruptcies, and plant shutdowns, I saw a NY Times article the other day showing U.S. manufacturing growth after 18 months of decline.

In an index in which a number above 50 indicates growth and below 50 indicates contraction, the Institute for Supply Management in its survey of factories and industry had a manufacturing index of 52.9 in August, up from 48.9 in July.

Indeed, this is great news and is yet another one of those nuggets pointing to recovery and an upturn in the economy.

Last night, I had a chance to attend an Open House at the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster, which is a business incubator. It was a great event and a chance to see old friends and meet new ones.

The business cluster is a great concept and is located at Sonoma Mountain Village. Their mission is to stimulate regional economic development through entrepreneurship and business development. In addition to providing physical offices and other infrastructure for start-ups, it offers many other resources and services as well, among them:

1. Management support in the way of in-house staff and a distinguished board of mentors, who are volunteer staff and leaders from the local business community.
2. Access to venture capital and other financial resources.
3. Support networks and networking opportunities.

In addition, having several start-ups housed under the same roof creates a unique bond and sense of camaraderie that’s out of the ordinary and not typical of the environment that most start-ups find themselves in.

There are a few things I find really are ground-breaking in the approach taken here. The most obvious is that this is the first business incubator in the North Bay, which is significant in itself. Being housed in Sonoma Mountain Village, an innovative local leader in developing and promoting sustainability, the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster (SMDC) also prides itself in supporting sustainable and “socially relevant” technologies in its tenants. They also are taking the initiative to reinvigorate Sonoma County’s technology industry, which sorely needs all the leaders it can get.

Although this was my first formal encounter with this group, it won’t be my last. They have some tenants that no doubt will be bringing great products to market and will have a positive impact on the local economy as well in the way of new jobs and other opportunities.