By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
jboomgaard@mibiz.com

HOLLAND — With layoffs and corporate downsizing the norm, local economic development agencies are looking for ways to keep talent in the region.

One such project run by a partnership of Lakeshore Advantage, the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center and the Ottawa County Michigan Works! is quickly becoming a model for other communities.

FYI What: FastTrack New Venture courses Who:Recently laid off employees in the Holland-Zeeland area When:Monday afternoons, 2-5 p.m. from Feb. 9 to March 31 at Lakeshore Advantage, 201 West Washington, Suite 410, Zeeland Cost: Free to workers with proof of layoff More info: www.misbtdc.org/training or (616) 331-7370

The group is offering the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac New Venture, an eight-week program that helps individuals evaluate business opportunities and develop action plans for owning their own businesses. Better yet, it’s free of charge to dislocated workers.

The training was initially offered in fall 2008 after Johnson Controls Inc. went through a round of layoffs.

"The goal of SBTDC’s involvement in this program is to assist potential business owners evaluate their business ideas to see if their ideas can become a viable businesses," Jennifer Deamud, marketing coordinator for MI-SBTDC, told MiBiz. "The obvious goal of the SBTDC is to help small businesses grow. This in only one program we are involved with that allows us to do this."

According to Deamud, the program typically costs between $5,000-$8,000 and most Ottawa County participants would have had to pay about $350 per class had Michigan Works! not provided a scholarship to laid-off workers. Those who could prove they were "dislocated" paid nothing.

According to Amanda Chocko, director of entrepreneurial development at Lakeshore Advantage, the involved organizations are looking at toward the Holland partnership as an example of how the program could be used to help laid-off workers across the country without them having to plunk down a large chunk of money.

"This was the first initiative to actually offer (the FastTrac New Venture program) with scholarships to dislocated workers," Chocko told MiBiz.

Deamud said an official announcement about plans to roll out a similar arrangement elsewhere would be coming in early February. She credited the program’s success to the "many hours devoted" to planning it and the statewide endorsement from the Department of Energy Labor and Economic Growth’s Bureau of Workforce Transformation and Human Resource Development Inc.

Response to the initial program was brisk. More than a dozen people were on a waiting list to get into the course. The eight-week program will next be offered Feb. 9 to March 31.

"At the time, we focused on JCI because they were really the first company to announce big layoffs, but we’ve had a number of others since then," Chocko said. "We’re hoping to be able to retain that talent and spur some new businesses that will hopefully create jobs."

One of the people in the program is already in the process of purchasing an IT franchise, while a couple of others were in business on a part-time basis when they were laid off, Chocko said. The training allowed them to add to their business model and plan for a full-time venture.

Other individuals were going into personal and nutritional coaching, while one person planned to start a non-profit organization that focused on helping parolees find work.

"There were quite a few designers and engineers in the group," Chocko said. "They wanted to stay in that field, although they’re trying to be more diverse than automotive."

A couple of those in design and engineering were looking toward possible ventures in alternative energy, she said.

"The experienced designer from JCI would provide valuable assets to any organization, manufacturer or service, by utilizing their skills in the design process – identifying the problem and then forming a creative methodology to resolve that problem," said John Berry, chair of Design West Michigan, an organization tasked with promoting and supporting the local design community. "As design is more and more recognized as a differentiator, the skills of design thinking (will be recognized as an) aid to economic growth. It’s important to keep those people in the region and continue to maintain and grow that creative community."

According to Chocko, the format of the FastTrac program, facilitated by MI-SBTDC consultants, involves local entrepreneurs and experts coming in to present to the attendees. The past sessions included a range of professionals, including attorneys and bankers. SCORE counselors were also available to work one-on-one to help the aspiring entrepreneurs develop their business plans between class time.

While Chocko said the attendees had expertise in their given fields, they mostly needed help with marketing and market research – "how they can reach potential customers."

She said many had questions about finding the right amount of funding given the current market. While acknowledging that finding money is more difficult, Chocko said there are options for entrepreneurs as long as they were willing to have their "own skin in the game." Another local option is the Lakeshore Seed Capital Fund.

Going into the planning stages of the program, Chocko said the planners believed it would be a success if they helped 25 percent of attendees to actually launch a business.

"FastTrac New Venture is the perfect precursor to all the other support we offer entrepreneurs in the area," said Chocko. "Once an individual has developed and tested their business plan through the training, they can see their business through to fruition using the resources available at the Lakeshore Advantage Business Garden incubator, applying for capital through our seed fund program and accessing free business advice from our online Entrepreneurial Forum."