Both public and private resource typically chambers of commerce, government, and small business associations are utilized to support incubators. These entities offer consulting services, business management advice, and a host of other value-added services. A major consideration for participating in an incubator is the low facility rental costs. With free or discounted business support services, an incubator is quite attractive to new businesses. To date, business incubators have been oriented towards avariety of different industries, including high technology, services, and biotechnology.
Specific businesses are as diverse as each community.
For example, the Cambridge, Massachusetts craft vendors market their handmade goods locally at Porter Square, while HandMade America in North Carolina works to develop local Appalachia arts and crafts and stimulate local economies with sale of their prod-ucts. In Hawai'i, business incubators are part of the State s economic development master plan. Emerging in the 1980s as an economic concept with then Governor George Ariyoshi, business incubation grew into reality. Governor s Partnership for Action whose mandate is to focus on high tech incubator development. HI-TECH Hawai'i includes members from the government, the university, and the business sector who share the common vision of securing the State s role as the hightech center of the Pacific.