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Recommendations <br />First, any further research on business incubators in Ramsey requires a better understanding of what Ramsey's <br />goals are. The formation of a committee or task force is an important step for furthering this research. The <br />committee could be made up of elected officials, city staff, business leaders, and/or residents. This committee <br />should be responsible for succinctly identifying the problem that they are trying to solve. After identifying <br />the problem, all the possible options for solving this problem should be outlined. It may be that a business <br />incubator is not the only or best approach to solving this problem, and other potential options should be <br />carefully considered before moving forward. This committee should also be responsible for determining the <br />high level goals of a business incubator in the city. Is the primary goal to grow small businesses so that the <br />expand and can be included in the city's tax base? Or is the primary goal to provide in -demand goods and <br />services to Ramsey residents? Or is the primary goal something else? This committee should also consider <br />the role that Ramsey should play in a business incubator. Does the city just want to provide space for the <br />incubator, provide funding, or own and run the incubator itself as an extension of the city? Residents and <br />businesses of Ramsey should be included in this strategic planning process as much as possible to ensure that <br />their needs and interests are accounted for. <br />The goals defined in the strategic planning process should then be used to determine the direction of <br />additional research necessary to make a decision on what form a business incubator in the City of Ramsey <br />should take. The city should research the potential barriers to achieving these goals and identify ways to <br />prevent or mitigate these barriers. Potential partners can be identified that can help meet these goals, and <br />the roles they could play can be explored. The needs and gaps for existing businesses and residents should be <br />researched to ensure that the city's business incubator strategy can best meet those needs. A market analysis <br />of commercial real estate in Ramsey and the surrounding area should be performed to determine if there is <br />a supply or demand problem and what that means for a business incubator. A workforce analysis should also <br />be performed to find out what types of workers live in or near Ramsey, what their needs are, who should be <br />targeted, and what a business incubator could do for them. The city should draft sample budgets of different <br />incubator forms to understand the feasibility of different models. The city should also consider how a business <br />incubator can be holistically integrated into the existing business community of Ramsey, through the space, <br />the workforce, possible events and programming, and more. These recommendations are just a sample of <br />research that should be done to determine the how a business incubator can be best applied and utilized in <br />Ramsey. <br />Business Incubators and the City of Ramsey 26 <br />