Franklin Business Development Center

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

When the FBI is closed, you will have normal access to your office space and selected administrative areas.

Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM

Saturday Closed to General Public (By Appointment Only)

Sunday Closed to General Public (By Appointment Only)

The FBI generally observes all federal holidays each year. A calendar of these dates is published annually. Please see the attached sheet.

Inclement Weather

The decision to close the administrative areas of the FBI due to weather conditions will be made in conjunction with City offices. While recognizing the importance of maintaining your business operations, the safety of those concerned will be the priority regarding this decision. The City of Franklin Inclement Weather line is 757-562-8500.

Security (After Hours and Weekends)

All doors to the facility are to be kept locked during evenings, weekends, and holidays, or when the facility is closed. All entrances to the building should be locked at 5:00 PM each evening. If you are in the building at that time, please make sure that entrance doors are locked. If you enter the building after normal business hours, make sure to relock the door, locking yourself into the building. At all the above noted times, when you leave the facility, make sure that you lock the door behind you. This policy is to protect you, your fellow tenants and your property.

If you have visitors / employees who need to get into the building after normal business hours, instruct them to advise you of their anticipated arrival time so that you can meet them at the entrance door, escort them into the building, and relock the door after they are in the building.

The FBI is equipped with a fire alarm. If you activate the alarm, the alarm sounds directly to Fire / Police dispatch. If an alarm sounds, please evacuate the building IMMEDIATELY!

Visitors

When clients / customers come to the FBI to see you, the Office Assistant will call and notify you that they are in the waiting area. At your instruction, your clients / customers will either be directed to your office or asked to be seated and wait in the reception area until you come and get them.

Weekend / After Hours Emergency Situations

In case of an emergency over the weekend or in the evening, you may reach the FBI Manager, Nancy Parrish, at 757-653-1712. If you are not able to reach the FBI Manager, call 911.

Prohibited Conduct / Activity

By becoming a tenant of the FBI, your conduct will reflect on the FBI itself, as well as other tenants, and other affiliated organizations. Thus, it is your responsibility as a tenant to maintain a standard of behavior that does not disrupt, or somehow cause damage to the reputation of the FBI, your fellow tenants, or other organizations that are affiliated with the FBI. In short, you are expected to maintain appropriate behavior and standards at all times. Appropriate dress is required, consistent with a business atmosphere. Inappropriate conduct or actions, or behavior deemed – at the sole discretion of the FBI Manager or Board – to be damaging to the image or reputation of the FBI will be cause for immediate termination of all tenant rights and privileges. Inappropriate conduct includes, but is not limited to, filing bankruptcy, or accommodations for the benefit of creditors, breach of leases or other agreements, charges involving moral turpitude, investigations by law enforcement officials, or any other behavior deemed inappropriate by the FBI Manager or Board. To help the FBI run efficiently, certain rules are required for tenants and visitors using the FBI facilities:

No firearms, illegal drugs, explosives, fireworks, alcoholic beverages, flammable, radioactive or potentially contagious / hazardous materials will be permitted in or around the FBI facility without disclosure to and specific permission from the FBI Manager.
The sidewalks, entrances, and passages or hallways in the common areas of the FBI facility shall not be obstructed by any tenant or used for any purpose other than ingress or egress and for temporary moving routes at times approved by the FBI Manager.
Toilets, wash basins, and other plumbing fixtures will be used responsibly and for their intended purposes. No coffee grounds, lunch or snack remains, sweepings, rubbish, rags, paper towels, or other non-intended substances shall be flushed or washed down drains. All damages resulting from any misuse of plumbing fixtures shall be borne by the tenant who – or whose employees, customers, visitors, or invitees – shall have caused the damage. If a tenant is having problems with or sees a broken plumbing fixture, please notify FBI staff promptly so it may be corrected.
No cooking will be done in any portion of the FBI facility, except for microwaves, and coffee / tea service in the Break room.
No canvassing, general solicitations or distribution of political, religious, or cause literature will be permitted.
Tenants can hang pictures on walls with designated picture hangers in their offices; however, no offensive displays of a sexual, political, etc. nature will be permitted in the FBI facility. See the Office Assistant for picture hangers.
In general, tenants may not cause or permit unusual or loud noises and / or odors to be produced in their spaces if such noises / odors could offend or disturb other occupants of the FBI facility.
Tenants will not cause or permit duplicate keys to be made for their access doors. If a duplicate key is needed, please see the Office Assistant. Be aware, however, that a $10 fee is charged for duplicate keys.
Tenants will provide reasonable cooperation with the FBI Staff.
Tenants will be responsible for providing supervision of any moving operations that may involve common areas or the FBI facility, and tenants will be liable for any losses and / or damages that result from such activities and /or from their failure to provide such supervision. Moves will be coordinated in advance with FBI Staff to minimize interference with other FBI activities.
The FBI facility shall not be used for lodging or over-night occupancy.
All requests for building services or accommodations will be made through the FBI Staff.
Although there are no assigned parking spaces, we do ask that you park in the area furthest from the front entrance door. The parking spaces in the front of the building should be left for Visitor Parking. Handicapped parking is available next to the ramp access. You are asked not to park in the 5 spaces next to the parking spaces for the handicapped. Parking is not allowed in the area of the loading dock, and violators will be towed.
No additional security systems will be added without prior written approval of the FBI Manager, and any approved security systems will be installed and maintained at the tenant’s expense and removed at the tenant’s expense upon request of the FBI Manager.
Smoking is not permitted any where in the FBI facilities.

Fax Machine

The fax number is 757-562-1612.

There is a $.05 charge for each fax page transmitted or received. In order to assure that everyone is properly charged for their usage of the fax machine, follow the steps below when receiving a fax:

1) When your company receives a fax, please designate your suite number on the receive log next to the copy / fax machine, along with the number of pages received.

2) If you need to receive confidential information, please see the Office Assistant to receive your receipt fax code (RFC).

General Office Support Services

General Office Support Services includes typing, filing, record keeping, folding documents, stuffing envelopes, applying labels, printing labels, collating, stapling documents, etc. $20.00 per hour (15 minute minimum)

All typing needs should be submitted to the Office Assistant in a legible form.

The Office Assistant will give you an approximate completion time. Without prior approval from the FBI Manager, General Office Support Services will be done on a first‑come, first-served basis. When the Office Assistant finishes the project, he or she will have you sign a (General Office Service Support) GOSS Request Time Sheet. A copy will be made for your records.

If you have any questions regarding the General Office Support Service, please address your questions to the FBI Manager.

Janitorial Service

The City of Franklin Public Works Department will provide Janitorial Service. They will empty the trash in your office and the common areas. They will also vacuum and dust the common areas. You are responsible for the dusting and vacuuming of your office. A vacuum will be available for check-out from the Office Assistant.

If you are occupying an industrial area, you are responsible for the clean up of your own area. A dumpster is located behind the building.

Each tenant is asked to do his or her part in helping to maintain the cleanliness and order of the FBI facilities.

Mail

Your incoming mail should be addressed as follows:

Your Business Name

601 N. Mechanic Street

Suite #

Franklin, Virginia 23851

Incoming mail is delivered to us at approximately 11:00 AM. The mail should be sorted for you and placed in your mailbox no later than noon, unless it arrives late. If you receive an oversized package, a note will be placed in your mailbox asking that you pick up the package from the Office Assistant.

Outgoing mail should be placed in the mail box no later than 4:30 PM to assure that it goes out that same business day.

Upon leaving the FBI, we will accept your mail up to one year. After the initial 12 month period, all mail will be returned to sender.

Notary Public

This service can be provided by the Office Assistant or FBI Manager at no charge to you.

Signs

Cling window signs are available through Vic’s Signs & Engraving located at 106 A. West 4^th Avenue, Franklin, VA. Vic’s telephone number is 757-562-2243. The signs can be designed with a white, black, or clear background and range in cost from $25‑$50, depending on the size of your sign and the complexity of your logo. The cost of installing and removing the sign is the sole responsibility of the tenant.

The FBI Manager must approve any sign you would like to display in your window.

Telephone Answering Service

When ordering phone service for your business at the FBI, you will be offered a call-forward option by the local phone company. If you choose to purchase this option, your phones can be forwarded to the FBI’s Office Assistant.

The FBI has a designated line, 757-562-1958, which is used as an answering line for the tenants of the facility. There is no charge for this service. When you utilize this service, we will take a message that you can pick-up upon your return to the FBI. If we have messages for you at 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday, the Office Assistant will place the messages in your mailbox prior to closing the facility.

FINANCES

Billing / Payments

All additional services in the FBI will be billed on your monthly invoice by the first week of the following month. This invoice will include all charges broken out by usage. Back-up copies of the charges are available for your records. Should you have any questions concerning your invoice, please contact the Manager of the Franklin Business Incubator.

Invoice charges are for service usage in the preceding month.

Payment of Invoices

Payment of invoices (rent and additional service charges) is due by the 10^th of each month. (This is not the tenth business day, but by the 10^th. Should the 10^th of the month fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, plans should be made to take care of your payment before that date, not after that date.) All late payments are subject to a 5% late fee. All payments are to be made by check only. The check should be made payable to Treasurer, City of Franklin. Please include your suite number in the memo section of your check. Submit your payment to the Office Assistant.

Monthly Rental Payment

In accordance with your lease, the monthly rent is due and payable on the first day of the month. (Please see above note for failure to make payment by the 10^th of the month.) The check should be made payable to: Treasurer, City of Franklin. Submit your rent payment to the Office Assistant.

BUILDING GUIDELINES

Conference Room and Classrooms

The FBI’s conference room and classrooms are available 24 hours a day on a sign-up basis. The sign-up book is located at the Office Assistant’s desk to make your reservations and to check availability. The space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please leave the reserved room as you found it. Return all furniture to its original location.

After utilizing any and all equipment, classrooms, and conference rooms for a period of four (4) hours per month, tenants will be responsible for an additional charge of $10 per hour or any part thereof.

Kitchen / Vending Facilities

Kitchen facilities and vending machines are for your use. Each person should clean up after him / her self. Should you lose money in the vending machines, let the Office Assistant know so that the vendor may reimburse you. If you have a question on the operation of any of the kitchen appliances, please ask the Office Assistant.

Office Access

If a tenant is locked out of his or her office – or rooms that have been reserved – after 5:00 P.M., or on the weekend, they will be charged a fee of $25.00 for access to their office, plus mileage at the standard Internal Revenue Service Rate (currently $.0585/mile) of the person who has to come in to unlock the door(s) of the rooms needed.

Resource Materials

The FBI has subscriptions to magazines and publications which may be of interest and help to you in your business. You are welcome to borrow any of these materials. Please do not keep any publication for more than 3 days so others can also use them. Please let the Office Assistant know when you would like to borrow the resource materials so that she can track it.

Rules

1. The temperature of the building is 72 degrees in the summer and 70 degrees in the winter. Please plan accordingly.

2. Coffee pots are permitted in the kitchen area only.

3. Hot plates are not permitted in office or industrial areas for safety reasons.

4. Space heaters are not permitted in office or industrial areas for safety reasons.

5. Plants are permitted in your office area only if a water tray is used under the plant. Please do not hang plants from the ceiling or ductwork.

6. The FBI’s common areas are for everyone’s use and enjoyment. Please keep these areas looking their best by picking up after yourselves.

7. For the sake of your fellow tenants, please pick up your own trash and clean counter areas in kitchen and conference room after using.

8. Place your dishes in the dishwasher. The dishwasher will be turned on at the end of each day if there are dishes in it at 3:00 P.M.

9. If you are the last to leave the building after normal business hours, please make sure that hallway lights and lights in the common areas are turned off.

10. Please make sure the entry door is securely locked behind you.

11. Pictures and wall hangings are permitted in your office area. Excessive damage to walls may cause a reduction in the amount of your security deposit returned to you at the end of your lease. Picture hangers can be obtained from the Office Assistant.

12. Nothing is to be taped on any glass, wood, metal, or wall surfaces.

13. Vinyl Cling signs or lettering can be added to your office suite window. The entire cost of the placement and removal of a sign is your responsibility.

14. The FBI is a smoke-free facility and smoking is not tolerated. The designated smoking place will be behind the brick wall surrounding the dumpster at the corner of Middle Street and Mechanic Street.

INCUBATOR PROGRAM

Personnel

The FBI Manager manages the FBI offices, but delegates significant day-to-day authority to staff members.

Business Plan and Manager Meeting

All tenants are required to meet with the FBI Manager on a periodic basis to review a tenant’s progress, or lack thereof, and to assure that: (1) appropriate services are being provided by the FBI that will allow tenants to progress at a rate consistent with its industry, product / service, etc.; and, (2) FBI’s resources are not being squandered on tenants who, for whatever reason, fail to appropriate the value provided.

The FBI Manager will meet with each tenant on a regular basis to discuss specific milestones and action items that are deemed necessary for the tenant’s progress. Such meetings will include discussion of:

Financial reports, particularly a cash flow report
Tenant staff and personnel needs / issues
Tenant staff training needs
Product / service development / deployment status
Tenant marketing and sales goals

On a quarterly basis, the FBI Manager and mentors will meet with each tenant to discuss the tenant’s strategic needs and overall progress. These routine tenant reviews will serve to assess the reasonableness of the expectations and to act as a vehicle for ensuring the purposes of the FBI and tenant are being met. Topics to be addressed at the Quarterly Tenant Reviews include:

Overall financial status of the company
Status of tenant’s key strategic relationships
Marketing and sales plans
Major staff recruiting needs
Fund-raising plans

Mentors

All Incubator tenants are required to participate with a mentor group. We appreciate that the needs of various tenants will not all be the same and that the use of mentor counseling will be less for some and greater for others; however, participation is expected from all tenants.

Mentors are individuals who, by reason of their past or present business experience, desire to support the Franklin Business Incubator. Through their commitment to business development within our community, they wish to freely give of their time and expertise to assist emerging new tenants.

Mentors may be members of the FBI Board of Directors, City Council, the Franklin Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce, or persons knowledgeable of business practices, as well as other area and regional professionals. A mentor or mentor group (2 or more) will assist a tenant so that they benefit to the maximum degree from services offered at the Incubator.

Furthermore the mentor(s) will help the Incubator tenant seek special services as appropriate, and generally support the new business so that their chance for long-term success is improved. Mentors will counsel the new company using their best efforts to answer business and management questions, concerns over financial matters, and technical questions specific to the tenant’s interests. This advice is on a voluntary basis and the mentor is not liable in any way for the actions of the tenant.

The tenant should meet with the mentors at the manager’s and mentoring teams’ direction. The tenant should be prepared, if the tenant desires to do so, to share confidential and proprietary information with the mentor(s) as needed to meet the best interest of the tenant. There is no charge to the tenant for this service. Finally, the mentor may join with the member principals, at their request, in periodic progress reviews. The mentor should be seen as an advocate and advisor. Mentors will not be able to solve all problems; however, their time and expertise will hopefully result in great success.

It takes creative ideas, leadership, hard work, and many blessings to get a new business on its feet. The Franklin Business Incubator’s mission is to influence these aspects of success in every way that we possibly can. Mentors are charged with assisting new and expanding businesses in getting their feet wet and leading them down the path to success. A mentor will provide a helping hand to the tenant in some of the following areas:

How to start a business
Organization
Marketing
Competitive analysis
Finances
Credit analysis
Sources of funding
Business planning
Supportive documents
On-going critique, support, and suggestions for incremental improvement

There are three phases for mentoring:

Pre-Incubation

Screening of potential tenant by Incubator Manager.
Developmental manager / mentoring phase – help the possible tenant get the application materials together.

Incubator

Ongoing tenant support.
Review and revise materials from A.

Graduation

Help the tenant prepare for graduation.
Send the tenant off on his / her own.

Success is not by accident!

At the FBI, mentors are an integral part of the business team.

Marketing / Public Relations Services

The FBI has established relationships with various local newspapers, magazines, and other media that can be used to highlight tenant activities. Assistance will be provided by the FBI Staff to tenants for working with the media, including preparing press releases. Tenants must allow the FBI Manager and other appropriate FBI Staff to review and approve any information that references the FBI, or affiliated organizations, prior to its release to the media.

FBI will issue press releases at certain times to publicize a tenant’s activities. Among these are:

When a tenant signs a Lease Agreement with the FBI
When significant milestones are achieved
A major sale of products
A major contract secured
New products introduced

The FBI will only release information that has been approved by the tenant, and it is the tenant’s responsibility to provide information and approval in a timely fashion.

Finally, tenants are encouraged to promote their association with the FBI; however, the use of the FBI name and / or logo in any article, advertisement, brochure, or other public release requires prior written approval of the FBI Manager.

Tenant Staff and Business Development

The FBI endeavors to work with affiliated organizations to help tenants get access to education and training in business subjects tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs. Topics of such training programs might include Business Planning and Management, Business Finances, Taxation, Proposal Development, Marketing, and other similar business skill subjects.

In addition, the FBI will occasionally sponsor relevant workshops that might include guest lecturers, live televised presentations from distance learning sources, videotape presentations, and exercises led by FBI Staff. Instructional materials will also be provided to attendees in order for them to apply the training received in specific areas of application to their particular business situation.

Consultation. The FBI Staff will be available for general business development consultation and, to the extent possible, will provide information and insight on business issues, including business planning and marketing.

Grant proposals. FBI Staff will, to the extent possible, provide assistance in grant proposal writing for Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) and other grant programs.

Market Plan Development. The FBI Staff will, to the extent possible, assist tenants in the development of their marketing plans using market information collected through research or compiled from tenant records.

Management Business Plan Review. Experienced counsel is available for development of new business plans, as well as analysis and revision of completed plans. The FBI Staff and associated advisors will provide recommendations in the following areas:

· Purpose of the business plan

· Components of the business plan

· Information-gathering strategies

· Sources of information

· Plan outlines

· Formal financial projections

· Review of drafts of component parts

· Critique of completed plans

E. General Business Counsel. The FBI Staff will, to the extent possible, provide support to the principals of early-stage businesses on a variety of topics:

· Growth strategies

· Market identification

· Marketing channels

· Business advisors

· Professional advisors / mentors

Termination of Relationship

Tenant progress through the FBI Program will be tracked and reported according to the Levels of Maturity as described above. Tenants will be “certified” to described levels of maturity when, in the judgment of the FBI Manager – in consultation with members of the Advisory Council, Mentors, and others, as appropriate – a tenant has satisfactorily achieved the milestones described herein. Other criteria for progress within the FBI Program may be established by the FBI from time to time, and will be binding on the tenant’s following being notified of same.

The FBI retains the absolute right, within the FBI Manager’s discretion, to terminate any agreement, or otherwise end tenant’s relationship with the FBI for any reason, including, but not limited to:

· Unsatisfactory business review that has not been corrected within a reasonable time (not to exceed 30 days) after written notice by the FBI;

· Tenant’s failure to pay, when due, any fees or other amounts owing to the FBI;

· Tenant’s failure to fulfill any requirement or meet any deadline set forth in the State of Goals and Milestones that has not been corrected within a reasonable time (not to exceed 30 days) after written notice by the FBI;

· Actions or behavior by tenant that are deemed by the FBI Manager to be damaging to the image and / or reputation of the FBI; and

· Material or repeated violation by tenant of FBI rules and policies.

What You Can And Can’t Expect

From The Franklin Business Incubator

The Franklin Business Incubator can provide some very valuable services to your company; but, when all is said and done, if you succeed, it will be because you have the drive, talent, insight, and blessings to do so.

What we can do:

Help you question your assumptions and refine your business model: Every new business endeavor needs help thinking through, and hopefully justifying, the fundamental assumptions that underlie its business model. Every entrepreneur needs someone to challenge him or her to find answers to difficult questions.

Help you get ready to seek capital: No new endeavor is prepared to seek outside capital until they have their story properly articulated. You will need the proper written and oral presentation tools in place before you begin your search.

Help you plan where to look for capital: Most new endeavors use the same approach to capital, i.e. write a business plan and send it to everyone they have ever known in hopes that someone is “crazy” enough to send them a check. You need to develop a more focused approach, and we can help.

Help you figure out your market: Some entrepreneurs know their market from top to bottom. Most just think they do. We can help you get access to resources that will let you discover how much you really know, and then where to learn the rest.

Help you plan your business future: A business is more than just a business plan. It is management, staffing, marketing, sales, product rollout, strategic alliances, contingency planning, and a few hundred other things. We can’t do it for you, but we can help you make sure you’ve carefully considered the key issues.

Network, network, network: You need advisors, staff, investors, service providers, advocates, customers, and friends. You won’t find any of them sitting in your spare bedroom. Instead, you need to get out and meet people, talk to the Chamber of Commerce, attend educational opportunities, and make yourself visible in the community. This is where we can help.

Help you set milestones and measure your progress: Franklin Business Incubator establishes a series of milestones for each tenant company. Incubator staff helps the tenant establish action plans to reach these milestones and measures the tenant’s progress and makes suggestions for further advancement.

Help you get training to succeed: Franklin Business Incubator provides tenants with opportunities to learn the subtleties of entrepreneurship. Individual advice, group training sessions, and a library are all part of the Incubator program.

What we can’t or won’t do:

Fund your start-up: Franklin Business Incubator is not a venture capital fund, Angel network, slush fund, or a philanthropist. We do not have any money to lend or give you.

Find you funding: The Franklin Business Incubator is designed to help you get ready to seek funding; but, you will have to do the searching yourself. We will help you design a funding plan and we will introduce you to local and regional funding sources; but, it will always be your responsibility to decide how and where to seek the funding that makes sense for your business.

Write your Business Plan: A company’s business plan is the founding document that reflects the management’s vision of the future. We will provide guidance and review; but, you have to write your own plan.

Do your books, write your agreements, recruit your staff, and run your business: If you expect to become a real company, you will eventually have to put in place the basic business processes that keep companies running smoothly. You need to do it eventually, so you might as well start now.

GRADUATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

FBI tenants will be expected to graduate from the FBI when either of the following two criteria is met:

the business has grown to 10 or more full-time employees, on site,

or,

sufficient sales and profitability have been achieved that will permit the tenant to be successful outside the FBI;

and,

the business has developed a plan for successful operation outside of the FBI.

The Manager of the FBI will be responsible for making the determination that these criteria have been met. The manager shall do so by review of the tenant’s business records. This determination will rely on the manager’s judgment; however, if the records show two years of profitable operation and two years of growing sales, such performance will be considered – on its face – to constitute achievement of the second graduation criteria above.

A tenant’s progress toward achieving the graduation objectives will be evaluated within three years of its admission to the FBI, and annually thereafter, until either:

the business has met the aforementioned graduation criteria; or,
the business has been a tenant in the FBI for at least five years. If a business has not met graduation criteria within five years, it may be asked to leave to create room for other tenants. (This may be negotiable in certain cases.)

Once it has been determined that

a tenant should graduate because he / she has met the necessary graduation criteria, or
a tenant should leave because he / she has been a tenant for five years or more, the manager will set a date for when the tenant will graduate / leave.

This date should be within six months of the determination. If there are existing leases whose terms extend beyond the six month guideline, the manager will negotiate an early termination of such a lease.

Tenants may be permitted to remain in the FBI past the graduation / termination date determined above, on a month-to-month basis. The lease rate charged such transitional tenants will be reflective of all the FBI benefits in addition to market value rent.

Failure by the tenant to provide sufficient information for the manager to determine whether or not graduation criteria have been met shall be deemed grounds for expulsion from the FBI Program.

Note: The practical application of this policy will allow even a very successful tenant to stay in the Incubator at least three years. The manager is not required to evaluate a tenant until after his / her third year. An exception would be a case where a tenant becomes extraordinarily successful and adds 30 employees in the first year. The manager could elect at the end of the first year to evaluate the tenant and find that such tenant is ready for graduation.