Cincinnati Business Incubator: Small Business Legacy Comes To An End

The Cincinnati Business Incubator (CBI), which focused on women- and minority-owned businesses, closed its doors Jan. 31. I served as CBI president from 2002-2006 and enjoyed my time working with small business owners and entrepreneurs who had a dream of growing profits and employee local residents.

A decrease in funding from the city of Cincinnati contributed to the demise of the incubator, which had been struggling to maintain profitability during the recession, according to a statement posted on the networking site LinkedIn.

"As a result of the past year's volatile economy, in addition to the timeline to profitability interrupted by the decline in city funding, CBI has attempted to reorganize and modify its business model," read the statement posted by Tracey Hayes, former associate executive director at the CBI.

"Unfortunately, those attempts have not been significant enough to continue incubation services to the small- business community of Greater Cincinnati."

I'm sorry to see this incubator ending over 20 years of service to the small business community of greater Cincinnati. Do any of you have memories of CBI that you care to share?