Fal Grunt, not sure I follow the point here. I couldn't find a small business organization to help me either, but it sounds like neither of us really looked that hard. Relative to all of the labor involved in getting started, how much work is a day or two of phone calls and emails? Most of us are probably more interested in getting to work making things than pitching our business to strangers.
That said; there are good businesses that get a head start from incubators. If somebody else can navigate that system, and get some value out of it, good for them! It certainly doesn't hurt me when somebody else succeeds.
My point was, incubators are available for a
few categories of business, and are very dependant on demographics.
The closest to getting help was from my city, they were willing to give me a small business loan to build a building and buy machinery. I was shocked! Then I was told the minimum was $500k, I had to hire a minimum of 5 employees the first year, and they would dictate the building I built and the machinery I bought. Then as we got further into the discussions, they found out I had not owned or managed a business before, and I did not have an income to support a $500k loan. So they said I would not qualify. But if I had a business and if I had an income to qualify for the $500k loan, I would not qualify.
I spent a better part of a month, while working a full time job, calling and talking to various private, state, and federal groups that are supposed to help businesses start up. Everyone had a reason that I did not qualify, and if I met the qualifications for one, but missed one qualification, almost guaranteed for the next group that qualification I did have, would disqualify me at the next group.
So I feel like while I only contacted 5 or so of those organizations, and my county and my city, I tried pretty damn hard. In a way I am glad it did not work out, because I spent the last almost 10 years slugging it out in a tiny 2 car garage with worn out old machinery. I did not have some bureaucrat staring me down questioning what and why.
About the same time I purchased my Brother, a friend of mine was making a large capital investment in his business. We were both lamenting how hard it is to get financed when your an individual business owner. I again contacted some of these small business groups, who all said because I have an existing business there was no way for them to help. I wound up getting a 7yr, $100k loan, at 6%. My friend got a 10yr, $70k loan, at .2% because he owns a hobby farm and was putting in a grain silo and some other improvements. No, I did not mis type that. POINT 2 percent. He walked into an office that referred him to another for that type of farm loan. They typed up the paperwork, and the only leg work he had to do was going to the office and signing the paper work. He has an entire support network to ask questions, recommended suppliers, technical analysis, etc, all free at no cost to him.
So, in a way, I disagree, you and I do get hurt when someone is artificially propped up. When resources are provided preferentially to anyone, I think it is detrimental. There are certain cases that this is OK, but they are few and far between.