Charlotte County Economic Development Office proudly presents the region's virtual incubator-accelerator!

The economic development partners of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties, together with a regional consortium of educational institutions and business organizations, have launched a "virtual" business incubator and accelerator which offers information, insights and inspiration to business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators in Southwest Florida.

Its free content provides on-demand answers and insights that are fully flavored by the experiences, ideas, challenges, successes, and failures of movers and shakers who 'have been there; done that.' Content is personally provided by accomplished venturers and is supplemented by commonsense wisdom which is gathered from other business leaders by an army of volunteers, including practicing entrepreneurs and high school and college students. Additional proven "recipes" for success are contributed by authors, educators, journalists, consultants and historians.

This is your wall-less incubator and accelerator, thanks to technology. You may learn about:

• Becoming an owner. The virtual incubator offers tips and tools on cash flow management, building a business model, self assessment, how to develop your idea into a thriving business via a process called technology transfer, and many more.

• Leading your team. Successful businesses are typically run by a fully functional team. Lee Iacocca once said, "I've always found that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team." The virtual incubator covers topics such as: avoiding indecision, why doubling your failures is good, changing stinky behavior, dealing with unsuccess, and many more.

• Growing your business. Once your business plan is in place and working, and your team is formed and working well, you will want to focus your efforts growing your business. Key actions include: keeping good employees, knowing your key numbers, dealing with angel investors, and others.

• Cashing out. The endgame for an entrepreneur calls for getting the gold. Select your contingency plan to maximize your pay out.