Planting a SEED

By George Swift


On April 16th, there was a celebration at the Lake Charles
Civic Center that I wish everyone in our region could have
attended. It was the Entrepreneur’s Showcase highlighting the
5th Anniversary of the Microenterprise Development Program and
Small and Emerging Business Development Programs in our
region. After starting off at the City of Lake Charles, these
programs are currently sponsored by the SWLA Alliance and
Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED).

Adrian Wallace, a man with the vision and desire to help
others, has been the driving force of these operations. For
the last five years, he has supervised and trained
entrepreneurs and assisted dozens of start-up businesses with
technical assistance. At the Entrepreneur’s Showcase, local
businesses in the program celebrated their accomplishments and
showcased their businesses.

The evening’s events were keynoted by Dr. Randall Pinkett, of
Newark, N.J. Dr. Pinkett is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of BCT
Partners, a multimillion dollar technology consulting firm,
and Season 4 Winner of Donald Trump’s Apprentice TV series.

I’ve never heard a better speaker than Dr. Pinkett on sparking
the desire to succeed and start your own business. He talked
about his youth, raised by his mother after his father’s
untimely death. He overcame many challenges, earned three
college degrees, and is now an ultra-successful entrepreneur.

He gives back to the community and firmly believes that “for
those whom much is given, much is expected.” I saw the lights
go on for several people in the audience as he spoke,
especially some very young folks. They can go into business
for themselves and achieve their dreams.

This brings us to the planting of the SEED. I’m referring to
the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial Economic Development
Center, the SEED Center. Dr. Robert Hebert, President of
McNeese State University, came up with that name and it’s
perfect for what we want to do.

Still in the formative stages, the SEED Center will be a one-
stop entrepreneurial center on the MSU campus which will
provide office space, counseling, and other assistance to help
launch businesses. It will provide a home to the MSU Small
Business Development Center, headed by Donna Little, who does
a magnificent job of counseling businesses.

We’re also planning for the Alliance offices and other economic
development organizations to co-locate there. The SEED Center
will make the statement that Southwest Louisiana is serious
about diversifying our economy through entrepreneurship.

The SEED Center will serve as a home to beginning businesses that
can’t yet afford commercial real estate properties. As they
grow out of the incubator after two or three years, the
incubator becomes a feeder for commercial properties. SEED
will also provide services to clients not physically located
in the facility and will serve all of the five parishes of
Southwest Louisiana.

The Center will assist start-ups as well as existing businesses that want to grow. With over one
thousand successful incubators throughout the nation, this
will be the first full size facility of its type in our
region.

There is still much to do before a formal announcement is
made, but McNeese State University, Calcasieu Parish Police
Jury, City of Lake Charles, and the Alliance have entered into
an agreement to construct and manage the facility. An
architectural firm has been hired and is working on the plans.
Funding from the Parish, City, and the State are lining up.

Federal grants are being sought. Things are coming together.
The Entrepreneurs Showcase brought home what it is all about:
giving folks with ideas and desires a little assistance to
open and operate their own business.

All large businesses start small and who knows, as Adrian Wallace always says, “we
might have the next Bill Gates right here in Southwest
Louisiana.” That’s planting a seed! Think globally, act
regionally, and promote Southwest Louisiana.

From left to right: George Swift, Craig Hartberg of LED, Dr. Pickett, Ruth Admal of LED, and Adrian Wallace.