Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on the ECC:
Business News
New, improved center nurtures small business
By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff
Published: December 11, 2014
YBOR CITY — Hillsborough County went way past just giving its small business development center a new address and a fresh coat of paint.
It moved the center to a more accessible location along the I-4 corridor, gave it a new name and stocked it with expert partners to help innovative entrepreneurs nurture their dreams.
The Mark Sharpe Entrepreneur Collaborative Center “is a place where someone is going to go to start their future,” said Hillsborough County Commission Chair Sandra Murman, speaking at the center’s grand opening on Thursday. “Small business is 75 percent of all the businesses in this county and we have to have a place for them to come” and learn ways to help their companies flourish, said Murman, noting that this center was a top priority for her as a commissioner.
Before opening the new center four weeks ago, the county’s Small Business Center was located in a somewhat obscure, hard-to-locate business park off 56th Street, Murman said. Most of its expert partners had moved out. “I immediately knew something had to change.”
The new location at 2101 E. Palm Ave. is designed to provide entrepreneurs easy access to service providers, mentors, routes to capital and specialty training. The 8,000 square-foot center will also provide state of the art technology and collaborative space non-profit groups and agencies can use to host events, network and promote community engagement.
Among those partnering with the county on this are: the Black Business Investment Corp., dedicated to providing funding opportunities for small businesses; the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund, which focuses on supporting and promoting Hispanic entrepreneurs; the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, which will provide consulting and training; and Florida Next Foundation, working to empower young people, entrepreneurs and small businesses to execute innovative ideas.
The center is named for former County Commission Chair Mark Sharpe, who recently stepped down due to term limits and is now president of Innovation Alliance. Sharpe built a reputation as champion for promoting new and innovative business models for Hillsborough County.
“This is not at all about me,” Sharpe said before the opening ceremony. “Tech start-up ventures are happening all over the country. Hundreds, if not thousands of people are all part of making this happen. For years, I looked at this and said we have it. It’s just a matter or bringing it together. There is no reason why Tampa can’t and won’t be No. 1.”
He joked at the podium that he had also made a big push to convert the county’s truck fleet from diesel to natural gas, then thanked his former colleagues for not putting his name on a natural gas plant.
“The name of the building is an honor,” Sharpe said, “but it is about what goes on inside the building.”
Bob Francis, managing partner of Miliford Communications and an advisor for the county’s Economic Development Innovation Initiative, EDI2, said he has seen “a tone, a whole new emphasis in this community on entrepreneurship. This center represents a culmination of what we’ve been needing. We can create a county that creates jobs. Growth in employment is from small businesses.”
The center will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
