CAPE READY FOR BUSINESS-INCUBATOR MODEL

The word "incubator" conjures images of warm, protected places for babies to stay until they gain strength enough to function in the world outside.

So it's appropriate that places where fledgling companies are nursed to robust stature are called "business incubators."

Carbondale, Ill., has one that nurses 17 businesses at a time. Those businesses create an average of 140 jobs a year.

St. Charles, Mo., has a business incubator too. It opened in 1993 and graduates an average of 15 businesses per year with an 85 to 90 percent success rate.

Poplar Bluff and Farmington, Mo., have incubators. Even Mexico, Mo., population 12,000, started one this year in a small building with one business.

So, then, what about Cape Girardeau?

The city doesn't have such an incubator. But a two-year-old student study out of Southeast Missouri State University indicates the university, the Small Business Development Center and private enterprise could join forces to provide consultation and training services for one, with private contributions or foundations providing financial support.

The idea has been kicked around for more than a decade. The Chamber of Commerce will "continue to look into" it, Chamber President John Mehner said.

Perhaps there's a delay because new Cape Girardeau businesses already do so well. They enjoyed a 48.7 percent success rate from 1992-1999, well above the national average of 20 percent.

But the national success rate of businesses hatched in incubators is 80 percent.

Yes, things are going pretty well as they are. However, if we truly believe the city's economic success is built on the backs of small-business owners -- an oft-repeated phrase -- we will do everything we can to make them successful right out of the gate.