Business Incubator
The Muskegon Innovation Hub Business Incubator helps entrepreneurs transform their emerging startup into a successful company. Our highly-personalized business coaching program focuses on maximizing growth potential and positioning our clients for long-term success. Incubator clients gain invaluable connections to game-changing resources and mentoring that teaches them how to navigate the path to market.
We understand that every entrepreneur and early-stage company has unique needs, which is why we provide tailored programming for each client. Working toward defined goals, we will show you how to understand your business and your customers, create connections, access funding, and grow the leadership skills needed to gain traction in the marketplace.
Our entrepreneurs can be physically located in our facility or receive services on a weekly basis while working off-site. Ready to start the process?
“You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology - not the other way around.”
—
Steve Jobs
Hub's Tips for Entrepreneurs
Starting a Business
Are you ready to start a business? Learn more about the first questions you should be asking yourself and what steps to take in our guide below.
Setting Up Your Business
Learn more about the basic steps to keep your business legal and managed as you get started.
Naming Your Business
Coming up with a name for your company is often challenging. Gain some guidance on how to find the right name for your business in our guide.
Business Structure
As soon as you start operating as a business, you need to protect your brand, start banking as a business, take advantage of business breaks in the tax code, and generally identify your business. This means registering your business.
Naming Your Product or Service
Naming a product or service is different than naming the company. Learn how to create the right name for your product or service in our guide.
Standardizing Work
Make the most of your time by standardizing where you can.
Intellectual Property
Whether you're protecting your company name and logo or a new product, here are the basics to understanding IP
Helpful Tools for Entrepreneurs
Getting Started
- First Steps Program - This short course will help you understand your readiness and provide recommendations on how to proceed in planning for your business. After completing this, contact us to get started with your business.
- How to Build a Startup - Udacity course by Steve Blank teaches you the basics of how to start a business. Our incubator program covers many of the same tools and techniques with 1-to-1 mentoring.
Additional Resources
Type of Entity Wizard - This short series of questions will help you decide if your business should be a DBA, an LLC, a Professional LLC, an S-Cop, a C-Corp, or a non-profit.
Guide to Starting and Operating Your Business by the Michigan SBDC - An expanded, and less interactive, version of the First Steps Program.
IRS' Checklist for Starting A Business - Super-short guide to starting a business that is compliant with tax regulations
Apply for an EIN - The simple online tool for obtaining an IRS Employer Identification Number (for free), used like a Social Security number for your business.
Michigan Pro Bono Patent Project - Inventors and small businesses that meet certain financial thresholds and other criteria may be eligible for free legal assistance in preparing and filing a patent application. (Inventors in other states can find equivalent local programs.)
Simple guidance for protecting your idea, brand, or logo - There's no substitute for an experienced lawyer when protecting your business' intellectual property, but this quiz will help get you started.