This week, the Detroit Business Support Network released the BizGrid, a resource for Motor City entrepreneurs who may be unsure of where to turn for support. Billed as an “infographic,” the BizGrid is a 9-by-27 ½-inch chart with an eye-catching design that serves as a sort of map to the different resources available to local entrepreneurs.
Bizdom, D:hive, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), InsYght, and TechTown directed the BizGrid’s design, content development, and production with the support of the New Economy Initiative. These organizations drew on their day-to-day experience working with entrepreneurs, while also soliciting input from startup business owners who represent the BizGrid’s target users.
Spencer Olinek, a business development manager with DEGC, describes the BizGrid as “a very pretty spreadsheet” that took about a year to compile. Fifty-four entities offering services such as business planning, strategy, real estate assistance, funding, and co-working space are represented on the BizGrid.
To use the BizGrid, an entrepreneur decides if he or she is at the idea stage of a business, or is already a startup. The BizGrid then identifies eight areas of need and directs the entrepreneur to one of the 54 support organizations through phone numbers and web sites depending on the criteria the entrepreneur selects.
“The goal is to provide useful information to entrepreneurs, whether they’re already in business or still kicking around an idea,” Olinek says. “I hear people say there aren’t resources for entrepreneurs in Detroit. Hopefully, this giant sheet will dispel that idea.”
Olinek says the BizGrid, which is available for download online or free at any of the 54 partner organizations, will be updated as new support entities are established in Detroit. “The important thing is that people know we’re all working together to support their business or idea,” Olinek adds.
