Name: The Franklin Business Incubator

Address: 601 N. Mechanic St., Franklin

Phone number: (757) 562-1958

Operating Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday

E-mail address: nparrish@franklinsouthamptonva.com

Nature of Business? Helping new and/or young businesses get started and ready to take their own places within our business community.

MANAGER and title: Nancy K. Parrish, manager (pictured)

Year Founded: 2005

Prior Location: In some of our city’s forward-thinking leaders’ minds.

Number of employees: 102 (counting full-time and part-time)

How’s business: Great. We are growing and have room to grow some more.

One thing you wish everyone knew about your business: The Franklin Business Incubator is actually here to help complement — not take away — from the businesses in the downtown area. We hope to help our businesses grow to the point that they too will take their places within the local business community. We offer a wide range of business services, literally from A (as in Accurid Pest Solutions) to Z (as in Zafacom Communications). Please call and/or stop by to see for yourself all of the good things happening under one roof in Franklin.

Something you offer that a customer won’t find elsewhere: At the Franklin Business Incubator, we really do care about our businesses. We offer a variety of workshops and seminars — at no cost — to help our young businesses learn more to help them grow and prosper. We offer networking opportunities with the wider business communities and we offer mentoring for those who need one-on-one assistance in getting their businesses started.

Advice to young entrepreneurs: Follow your dream … but, be ready to work long, hard and smart in order to make your dream a reality. Anything worth pursuing takes a great deal of time and effort, and starting a business is certainly no exception. But, the rewards are truly worth the effort for those businesses who succeed. After all, no large business started out that way. They started small, worked long, hard, smart and grew.

Your role model (in business or in life generally): My parents would be my role models, both in business and in life generally. My parents instilled a strong work ethic in me (and my sisters) that has served me well through the years. They also taught me to treat others as I would like to be treated and I have tried to live up to that rule (and expectation).

The key to a successful business is: “Be the job large or small, do it well, or not at all.” People must not only work long, hard and smart, but they also need to take pride in what they are doing. If you don’t respect what you do, how can you expect others to? Be sure to let your customers know how valuable they are to you — and show them that you really mean it.