Officials from Austin along with other groups from southeastern Minnesota came together with staff from Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office Thursday, to focus on combining government assets with those looking to either start or build on existing businesses.

The roundtable discussion focused on aligning resources to help stimulate business, especially small business.

“Small businesses really are the economic engines of our state,” said Drew Halunen of Sen. Klobuchar’s office.

The roundtables are an effort to help curb a downward trend in the area of small businesses. Start-up rates have recently fallen to near 30-year lows according to Klobuchar’s office. It’s a slump officials are hoping to turn around.

The roundtable was held at a LAUNCH Co-working Space in Austin, a place developed specifically for those striking out on their own.

The site, developed and situated at 109 First Avenue SE, acts as an important first step forward for entrepreneurs and acted as a representation of what was being talked about Thursday.

“It’s a middle ground for those working from home, working in the coffee shop,” Sean E. Williams, co-owner of Comicker Press, which was launched in 2015. “Having an office space that’s all your own, being able to have a business address is huge.”

A big emphasis of Thursday’s meeting landed on not only making these resources available, but how can these resources be brought together.

The answer was connection.

“It’s challenging work,” said Neela Mollgaard, executive director of Red Wing Ignite. “It’s about being stronger together.”

Halunen echoed this thought after hearing similar ideas at an earlier meeting in Winona.

“A lot of previous entrepreneurs said it’s really about connections,” he said.

Ultimately the round table focused on a number of areas that directly impacted entrepreneurs, including networking and those things that might be stopping people from taking that next step.

Some of that comes from those individuals that don’t have all the information they would need, especially when it comes to funding.

Pam Bishop, vice president of economic development for the Southern Minnesota Initiative touched on that topic as being a roadblock toward getting a business off the ground.

“Funding is important, but if you don’t know what to do with the money, then the money is for nothing,” Bishop explained. “That technical assistance is key.”

As the roundtable progressed, talk turned to those things that might be hindering the progress of people outside of those core details needed to fund an enterprise.

Like so many things, that talk landed on healthcare.

“Affordable health care,” Williams stated. “That’s the largest risk in starting your own business. Having affordable health care is a safety net.”

Ultimately, everything tied back to resources. How can they be made more available and how can people be brought to those same resources.

Once that connection is made, the sky is the limit.

“That’s like winning the lottery,” Bishop said.