Business Incubator Introduces Mini-Suites

Space once used to help manufacturing businesses get a start in Nashville has a new purpose.

It’s been turned into low-cost offices for entrepreneurs who might otherwise work out of their homes.

The Nashville Business Incubation Center helps small businesses owners by giving them instruction and a place to work. When Tennessee State University opened the center, manufacturing was an important part of its mission. But that sector has declined in recent years. So has demand for parts of the center’s facility designed to house manufacturing start-ups.

Now, one of those spaces is subdivided into offices, each about the size of a spare bedroom or a converted garage. Tenants in the mini-suites don’t have to take classes, like their neighbors in larger units. But there are mandatory monthly meetings. Executive director Mildred Waters says those offer something entrepreneurs can’t find at home.

“I think the community that we offer here is the most important aspect of our program. That means that they have people who are going through the same things that they are going through as entrepreneurs, and who understand what they’re going through and who are able to offer them support.”

The center first announced the mini-suites in an email blast earlier this month. Waters says inquiries from potential tenants came right away, even before she got notices of emails that had bounced.