Giving a hand to small businesses; The Northfield Enterprise Center is encouraging small businesses in an offbeat way - which is what you'd expect fro

BYLINE: Ben Goessling, Staff Writer

Economics and eccentricity are something of a strange pair.

One relies on time-hardened theories; the other throws convention aside. While economists polish up their graphs, eccentrics wonder how to draw a straight line.

Or, for that matter, why one is even necessary.

But in Northfield, which may be the south metro's capital of quirkiness, they're turning eccentricity into a competitive advantage.

It's all thanks to an offbeat, yet shrewd, way of making small business work.

The Northfield Enterprise Center started five years ago as a nonprofit arm of the city's Economic Development Authority. It is the south metro's only business incubator, according to a study by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

It helps prospective businesses get organized, arrange loans, attract clients and even set up a board of directors, and it positions the city to benefit from anyone looking to turn a fresh idea into reality.

"For cities this size, it's pretty rare to have something like this," Northfield economic development specialist Deanna Kuennen said. "Businesses have gone from working in their garage to actually hiring employees. That's huge."

The NEC is funded by the Economic Development Authority and the U.S. Small Business Association, and executive director Lynda Grady worked as a vice president for several Fortune 500 companies before coming to Northfield.

She meets with prospective business owners to draft a business plan and takes those plans to the NEC's board of directors. If the plan is approved, the NEC can put business owners in touch with banks.

"The majority of them are brainstorms and business ideas," Grady said. "Some of what I do is counseling people out of starting a business. Once they see all the paperwork, they realize, `Whoa, I'm not ready.'-"

But for some, like Badbrain Computers CEO Rob Brown, Grady has been an integral mentor.

Brown's business, which does networking for other small businesses and computer repair, began five years ago.

It has doubled its sales every year, to about $200,000 this year, and now has three full-time employees and two contractors.

"My background is in literature, so I really had no idea what I was doing," Brown said. "Lynda is just an incredibly knowledgeable and powerful person. I sort of trust her innately. When I say naive things, she doesn't make me feel like I'm an idiot."

The NEC has a series of $5,000 micro-grants and can also tap into the Northfield Community Investment Fund, a $1.5 million pool funded by Carleton and St. Olaf colleges, as well as two city banks, for economic development.

It could also be a vital cog in Northfield's plan to reposition itself as a center for high-tech firms.

Kuennen said the city is attracting IT-heavy businesses such as Perkins Specialized Transportation Contracting - a company that moves large or heavy machinery and recently relocated its corporate office to Northfield.

It also plans to participate in the state's biological science zone and is looking at bringing several graphic design firms to town.

"We have big plans for the next couple of years," Kuennen said. "I see (the NEC) fitting in to help us attract these kinds of businesses."

If that happens, Northfield's business incubator will be living proof that quirks can mean cash, after all.

"You can make an impact here without having to be a big man," Brown said. "It's open to change and innovation."

Ben Goessling - 612-673-7252