The St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center includes a high-quality space to prepare food that numerous business owners said has been key to getting their operations up and running and able to expand. The center has helped 36 businesses since it opened five years ago. Photo courtesy of the SCVBIC.
UW-River Falls, others help make effort to boost the regional economy possible
Five years after it first opened its doors as a place to grow businesses, the success of the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center (SCVBIC) was evident in the form of attendees celebrating that milestone.
During a May 22 ceremony at the business innovation center just north of River Falls, one owner after another spoke about how the facility and its staff helped grow their businesses, and in some cases make them possible at all.
A coffee roaster and seller. A risk assessment company. A CPR trainer. A language training specialist. Several food providers.
Some owners described how the space at the business innovation center was key to their company getting off the ground. Others discussed training they received, helping them learn to run their business. Still others mentioned key ideas they gleaned from meeting other business owners at the facility.
No matter their business type, all of those owners said their operations wouldn’t be where they are today without the SCVBIC, a combined effort of UW-River Falls, Chippewa Valley Technical College, the River Falls Economic Development Corporation, and the city of River Falls.
“In my time here, the business has just exploded,” said Ed Rosheim, who owns Workplace Languages, a corporate language training company and international translation agency based in Woodbury, Minn.
Brianne Rehak, owner of That Girl Brie grazing table, said her business sales have increased significantly since she began using the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center’s food space three months ago. UWRF photo.
Since he housed his company at the SCVBIC, the River Falls part of Rosheim’s business has grown to six full-time and three part-time employees, along with two intern positions. Sales and clients have experienced significant increases, he said.
Other business owners told similar success stories. Brianne Rehak, who operates her That Girl Brie grazing table business, described how her sales have taken off in the three months since she began using the center’s food space.
“Now, instead of me searching for customers, they’re searching for me,” Rehak said. “In my short time here, people have gotten to know about me, and my business has really taken off.”
Such stories of business success are music to the ears of Sheri Marnell, SCVBIC director. Seeing business ideas come to fruition and knowing that the center plays a key role in that motivates her, Marnell said.
“We serve as a stepping stone for these businesses,” Marnell said. “We want this facility and what we do here to make it possible for them to grow and get established in the community.”
‘Stronger together’
That has certainly been the case for many businesses. Since the SCVBIC opened its doors, 36 different businesses have been started or expanded there, resulting in the retention of 153 jobs and the creation of another 94. With that growth, $33.1 million has been invested in the local economy. Twelve businesses have “graduated” during the past five years, meaning they have grown enough to move from the center into the surrounding community.
Those successes wouldn’t be possible without UWRF and other partners who worked for years before it opened to make the center a reality, Marnell said. Having four partners support a business incubator is a rarity, she said.
UWRF provides staffing for the business innovation center, while the city of River Falls donated the land near River Falls where the center is located. Chippewa Valley Technical College sponsors the training room, offices and lighting maintenance, and the River Falls Economic Development Corporation helps finance building ownership.
“Our four founders knew they couldn’t do it alone, that we would be stronger together, and with their commitment to ‘get to yes’ we have the innovation center,” Marnell said.
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo said supporting the business innovation center fits with the university’s mission of supporting the surrounding community and region.
“This facility really adds to the ecosystem of innovation in our region,” Gallo said, “and UW-River Falls wants to play an important role in that work.”
To get the center up and running, the U.S. Economic Development Administration provided $1.4 million. Grants and corporate sponsorships provide additional dollars, as does a loan from the River Falls Economic Development Corporation, along with lease charges paid by businesses using the site.
The SCVBIC offers services ranging from management guidance and technical assistance to new business owners, networking opportunities, and different types of workspaces to rent. Among the business incubator’s 15,300 square feet of leasable space are mail-only options, cubicles, private offices and office suites, co-working rooms, industrial space and food-ready space.
“We try to offer a variety of spaces that can accommodate different types of businesses,” Marnell said. “We want this building and its services to be available to a wide variety of businesses.”
‘A real business’
Rehak said her business has benefited substantially from the networking and connections she has made since she started operating That Girl Brie. Working with other business owners and the ideas that come from their discussions “has been invaluable,” she said, as has the business management expertise the center’s staff have provided. In addition, she said, access to a high-quality commercial kitchen has allowed her business to ramp up.
“Commercial kitchens like this are really hard to come by,” Rehak said. “Being here makes me feel like I’m operating a real business.”
The center is 87% occupied, Marnell said, above the 70-75% considered a healthy level. Now she is focused on leasing the building’s second floor to accommodate an anchor business, and initial designs to expand the building are finished. Doing so, she said, would allow for a doubling of the building’s size, increase income, and provide much-needed industrial space. Increased staffing to provide additional help to businesses is another need, she said.
“Our wish list is really long on what we would like to do,” Marnell said. “We just need more funding.”
To raise more money, business incubation center officials are relaunching their sponsorship program to allow for sustaining sponsor levels. That and other revenue streams will enable the center to enable more business owners to achieve their goals while at the same time growing the regional economy, Marnell said.
“We are grateful for the success our business owners have had,” Marnell said, “and we are working to make sure more businesses can enjoy that same success.”
For more information about the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center, visit https://www.stcroixinnovation.org/.
Photo Inset: Brianne Rehak, owner of That Girl Brie grazing table, said her business sales have increased significantly since she began using the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center’s food space three months ago. UWRF photo.
Written by UW-River Falls
Link to original story: https://www.uwrf.edu/News/St-Croix-Valley-Business-Innovation-Center-celebrates-five-years-of-helping-grow-businesses.cfm