Opening a New Door to Small Business Success

The Entrepreneur District brings together 10 business owners from various industries, providing them with essential office space located at Dakota Business Lending. Through this physical community of Residents, the Entrepreneur District lessens common barriers for entrepreneurs to help them better generate ideas, create efficiencies, fill gaps, and serve the community with their talents – all while growing and sustaining their own businesses.

The Entrepreneur District is for business owners who have one of the following two goals: 

• The desire and potential to grow and scale their business (such as hire employees, own/rent their own office space, expand to other cities, go from part-time to full-time business owners, increase revenue, etc.)
• The desire to sustain their business at its current level by creating a more robust, well-rounded business (such as product development, service streamlining, etc.).

You must meet three qualifications in order to apply to become an Entrepreneur in Residence: 

1. Must be a business in current operation or in good standing
2. Must be in need of physical office space
3. Must have an eagerness to collaborate and a desire to be transformed

As part of the Entrepreneur District, business owners who were once siloed now have the opportunity to expand by working in fellowship with other Entrepreneurs in Residence. 

As neighbors under one roof, this residency encourages entrepreneurs to create partnerships that would have otherwise been unattainable. 

The Entrepreneur District Provides: 

• Office space
• Mentors
• Capital
• Free or low cost needed services (i.e. marketing, accounting, etc.)
• Networking
• Education and training
• Business coaching

The Residents Contribute: 

• Volunteer hours donated back their community
• Ideas, advice, collaboration, and partnerships to help others grow and succeed

The Entrepreneur District can provide support for each of the above listed needs in the following ways: 

• Environment – A physical office space to better focus, host meetings, and connect with office neighbors in-person, fostering an atmosphere of ideas and collaboration
• Mentorship – The opportunity to develop wisdom and insight from seasoned professionals
• Education – Training to help Residents in subjects outside of their area of expertise, but critical for a high-functioning business
• Collaboration and Partnerships – Idea generation and skill development outside of their own perspectives by tapping into the talents of other Entrepreneurs in Residence
• Capital – Access to financing to expand their business if needed

By filling the above needs, the Entrepreneur District transforms Residents with not only tangible and trackable growth, but also with…

• Greater adaptability to ever changing conditions, trends, and environments
• Sharper judgement of how to handle situations, problems, and opportunities
• Fresh perspectives to better think outside of the box and uncover new ways of looking at old problems
• Attunement to cultural values and how to better understand and represent our community and our world
• More development instincts to quickly solve problems, act on opportunities, and enhance speed of doing business

Residents’ growth then ripples outward, having a multitude of effects on our community!