Hattiesburg may be near perfect for business start-ups

By MARYAN PELLAND

How Hattiesburg’s environment encourages small business g

CNNMoney, selecting Hattiesburg as a desirable place to develop a business, attributes the community’s success to several factors: The community is growing at more than 40 percent annually, while other small metro areas average nearly 10 percent slower. Small business growth is nearly twice the national average for small metro areas. 10 percent more people hold bachelor degrees. Violent and property crime is far less. Local business people find local government and business leaders highly accessible. Hattiesburg prides itself on a long-standing tradition of entrepreneurship — a legacy it's working to carry forward by supporting companies in expanding industries and encouraging young, educated workers to stay in the city. In 2005, Hattiesburg's Area Development Partnership and the University of Southern Mississippi opened Business Launchpoint, an incubator that supports small businesses with high growth potential.

HATTIESBURG
CNNmoney recognized Hattiesburg as the 9th best place to launch a small business and specifically talked about the work that Business Launchpoint, Hattiesburg’s incubator, did in contributing to this. Locals see multiple reasons Hattiesburg is a nearly ideal place to launch an endeavor.

Business Launchpoint, Hattiesburg’s new business incubator, graduated its third fully fledged self-supporting enterprise in October and will tackle the new year with other entrepreneurs. The graduate, Will’s Way, is a psychiatric counseling center for children.

Established and operated by Dr. Kimberly Bellipanni and Dr. Dannell Roberts, the practice was established less than 18 months ago and is growing. Statistics traditionally indicate small businesses can’t expect to flourish in the first three years.

“The incubator — amazing,” Bellipanni said. “They provided everything from office space, understanding pricing and leasing, to a copy machine and guidance through a marketing plan — how to monitor our growth. By time we moved out, we had an established business, income and a future.”

She added that Hattiesburg’s receptive business community made the incubator possible. She likens the experience to a young adult leaving home for the first time and finding a supportive community with mentors, advisors and resources readily available. Success is more likely for that person, she said, and that’s how Hattiesburg feels.

Andrew Murff, Business Launchpoint director, emphasized that community commitment to business development is the catalyst for a healthy entrepreneurial environment.

“We have a tremendous network of business experts and counselors, professionals willing to give up time to help people,” he said, “an attitude of ‘how can we help you be successful?’ Our job is to create more jobs, which helps new businesses and the community grow. Business development works. Economic development gives entrepreneurs confidence to go out and get a start.”

CNNMoney cited several contributors to their ranking Hattiesburg ninth among all U.S. mid-size cities. Accessible legislators and business professionals were key. A low crime rate, affordability, mild climate, and a growth rate 40 percent higher than average figured in.

Murff thinks the Angel Network is a big factor, offering funding and financial mentoring.

“About 75 to 80 percent of people look at some kind of funding to get started, and it’s hard to find capital investors,” Murff said. “South Mississippi Angel Network is not looking for ginormous $1 million to $3 million businesses. They work with small enterprise. It’s all about networking, and Hattiesburg provides avenues and opportunities.”

---