In a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony, local leaders and members of the public gathered for the official grand opening of the Paducah Kentucky Innovation Network office. The new facility will offer office-space, internet service and other business tools to help small businesses get their ideas off the ground.
The Paducah KIN office, located at 3229 Coleman Road, is the first "small business incubator" in the area. It offers work spaces at economical prices, which start at $150 a month for use of shared office space, and go all the way up to $500 month for an office suite. Utilities and wireless internet are included in every case. The new facility also has a conference room, and clients will have access to business experts to help guide them through the process of getting their businesses set up.
KIN Director Dan Lazarevic said the space will help remove some of the burdens new businesses face when first starting out. "Really what this space is for, is for anybody who is starting a business to come in and get help with business overhead, because we know that anybody who's starting a business anywhere needs to pay rent, and needs to pay all the utilities," Lazarevic said. "That's what we're trying to cut here for them, so they get cheaper rent at a flat fee each month."
Paducah City Commissioner Sandra Wilson attended the ceremony, and spoke about how KIN offices have opened in other communities across the state. She said there are plans to eventually expand the Paducah office. I can't stand for other communities to have things that we don't have here in Paducah. A lot of things have come out of that trip that we took last summer. We did see this in Bowling Green, and we've come back and I think we've done it much nicer. It's not as large right now, but it will be. I know it's going to grow." Wilson said.
Lazarevic said anyone is welcome at the new office, whether or not they are clients. "This space is not just for our clients, we want to invite anybody to come here. If you just want to come here and meet somebody, the conference room is always available for you." Lazareveic said.
