Have you turned Aunt Ellen’s sensational salsa recipe into something spectacular? Or is it your famous barbecue sauce that’s on demand at every family function? Ever thought about trying to move your products from the home kitchen to retail or commercial markets? Ron Steiner, who is the director of The Starting Block in Hart, says it’s not as hard as you think. The Starting Block is a commercial “incubator” kitchen designed to test the ideas and dreams of individuals to see if their products are marketable on a larger scale. It allows entrepreneurs to advance, alter or abandon ideas with minimal investment.

 Key Points

• Commercial kitchen in Hart is available
  for testing new ag products.

• The Starting Block helps entrepreneurs
  develop products and gain customers.

• Proper support and education can help

Idea advancement

Steiner believes too many good ideas remain just that — ideas. Part of the problem, he says, is not understanding the differences between the myths and realities of entrepreneurship.

He questions the saying that four out of five businesses fail. “It’s more like one out of two, and it could be better odds with the proper support and education,” he says. The center is focused on advancing agricultural-based products and developing value-added products, largely made from Michigan’s array of raw commodities.

Another myth, Steiner says, is that money isn't’t available.

“I’m not going to say financing is easy, but if you have a good product and a plan, the money is there,” he says. One problem with financing, Steiner admits, is banks want to see a track record. “That’s a problem for a lot of people that are just getting their feet wet with commercial production. They are called ‘startup’ for a reason, but that’s why we’re here.

“The incubator kitchen helps to fill that gap giving them time and the equipment to develop a product without a lot of initial costs, while also allowing them to build customers, cash flow and the track record that banks are looking for.”