January 1, 2003
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Entrepreneurial center helps
Chicagoland startups |
By Brian Pelletier
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Chicagoland small and emerging businesses have a friend – four in fact, all courtesy of state funds – to provide the counseling and resources necessary to help them grow.
The four full-time employees of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center are dedicated to helping companies answer the many questions that arise as a business first gets off the ground. Little surprise, then, that the group’s website can be found at wehaveanswers.org.
The CEC is funded by more than 20 different companies, universities and government entities, including the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and was founded by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce in 1999. The Center is one of 42 small business development centers (SBDC) in Illinois.
“We’re unique because we have close ties to the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, so we have lots of access to many different businesses,” explains Jason Felger, marketing director for the Center. “That’s important because many businesses just need simple questions answered, or are looking for a better way to involve themselves in the business community. We can leverage our business community ties and provide a very strong program and connection for our clients.”
The Center focuses its resources on companies between two and five years old, although the group also works with companies that are earlier in the startup process, even as early as the “idea” stage. Services include individual consulting and group seminars and events.
One of the more popular seminars is called FastTrak NewVenture, which was originally developed by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in Kansas City. The eight-week course takes entrepreneurs through the development of a business plan, examining the strengths and weaknesses of the business from every angle. FastTrak Planning, an 11-week course for more developed companies, helps business owners expand their business and develop a new or stronger business plan.
“The FastTrak courses are very popular, taking people through the critical steps in building a business plan,” says Felger. “We cap the group size at 12 because we’ve found a smaller group gets as much value from the dynamic of the group itself as it does from the facilitator. It’s exciting to see what happens when you stick a dozen entrepreneurs from different industries and types of companies together in a room.”
The Center also offers We Have Answers workshops, which provide information and resources that help small businesses increase sales, enhance productivity and improve the bottom line. Topics include access to capital and finance, professional and business growth, business energy efficiency and information technology, which addresses some of the most common technology issues from creating a web site to utilizing e-commerce solutions.
Twice monthly the Center sponsors free educational sessions for area entrepreneurs to help them identify the latest trends and technologies in an informal roundtable format. The second Tuesday of every month the Center holds Experts for Free roundtables, providing experts in business strategy, workplace violence, finance and other topics to share their wisdom with the group. Technology Tuesday is the third Tuesday of every month and features similar roundtables with experts in Internet marketing, public key infrastructure and search engine optimization.
Through its seminars and workshops, the Center reaches about 500 clients a year, introducing them to the membership and resources of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
“The Chicagoland Chamber is different from other chambers – and keep in mind there are about 200 in the northern Illinois area – in that we focus at the very highest level,” says Felger. “Smaller chambers might address parking regulations, but we’re involved with larger issues like the proposed city-wide smoking ban. We’ve also been very strongly pursuing the proposed city tax on small businesses, which would levy a tax for each employee in a company. Whatever the issues are, at a city, state or even a federal level, we’re looking out for our member companies.”
According to Felger, the Chicagoland Chamber has 2,600 members, but about 83 percent are small businesses with 150 employees or fewer.
“That’s why we can do so much to help small and growing businesses,” says Felger. “With our resources and expertise, we can cut down on the time it takes to find whatever they’re looking for. You might not end here, but this is the best place to start.”
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Brian Pelletier is a freelance writer specializing in
high-tech and business-to-business communications. He can be reached
at blp@chi1.com.
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