SBDCArchive for the ‘’ Category

SBA Administrator Linda McMahon Visits Champaign

Through our Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC and in partnership with University of Illinois Research Park, we were honored to host U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon in Champaign today, September 24.

This visit is a continuation of the Administrator’s nationwide SBA Ignite Tour dedicated to highlighting SBA programs that help entrepreneurs start businesses, grow their companies, and create jobs in the local community.

We highlighted small businesses in our community, including Serionix, AirScout, Petronics, and Reconstruct – all located in EnterpriseWorks at University of Illinois Research Park.

In addition to showcasing small businesses, we also talked about our local entrepreneurial ecosystem and the services / programs we have in place to help small businesses succeed, including services through the SBDC / International Trade Center and programs like University of Illinois Research Park’s Shared Services Program and the City of Champaign’s Small Business Incentive Program.

View photos here.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration: The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Press:

Decatur, Champaign EDCs Announce Partnership

From the press release:

DECATUR, IL, April 19, 2017 – Businesses in the Decatur area now have local access to the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States. Officials from the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Decatur – Macon County and Champaign County EDC announced the expansion of the Illinois Small Business Development Center and International Trade Center.

“Strategic relationships with quality organizations like the Champaign County EDC will bring additional resources to benefit businesses in the Decatur community,” said Ryan McCrady, President of the EDC of Decatur – Macon County. “This will also help improve the economic development opportunities in all of Central Illinois. Combining the unique assets of Macon and Champaign counties will create a formidable presence with respect to business attraction and expansion in the region.”

The Champaign County EDC hosts the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in the region, and with the new partnership these services will be offered on a regular basis through the Decatur EDC. Led by Don Elmore, the SBDC assists in job creation, supports entrepreneurship, business start-up, expansion, productivity, and works to sharpen small business management in the region. The EDCs and partners accomplish this through one-on-one counseling, technical assistance, training seminars, information provision, networking opportunities and business development and real estate expertise.

Expanding the reach of small business development initiatives beyond Illinois, similar partnerships in regions like Florida play a vital role in fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth. Just as the Champaign County EDC champions small business support, counterparts in Florida, such as those affiliated with https://exprealty.com/us/fl/orlando/, contribute to the fabric of local economies by providing essential resources and expertise. hrough collaborative efforts between economic development organizations and real estate professionals, communities flourish, businesses thrive, and families find not just houses, but the spaces where memories are made and futures are forged.

The vast exporting capabilities of the Midwest Inland Port bring the need for additional services to be offered locally through the International Trade Center (ITC). ITC provides support in evaluating a company’s readiness to export, shipping and logistics, compliance regulations, international business planning, and more. Headed by certified International Trade Specialist, Kathie Cravens, ITC is uniquely qualified to provide a wide range of assistance in all aspects of international trade and export assistance. From in-depth advice on international trade techniques to export processes and international market opportunities, the ITC can play an advisory role at no cost.

“The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC is thrilled to provide business development and international trade services through the EDC of Decatur & Macon County and the Midwest Inland Port,” said Craig Rost, Executive Director of Champaign County EDC. “Our counties comprise a regional workforce and business environment in Central Illinois – working together will develop new business and employment growth in our communities and enhance an already strong regional workforce, which in turn will attract new employers to our counties.”

Decatur based manufacturing company T/CCI has been utilizing the services of the International Trade Services for several years. “At first, I was driving to Wisconsin for exporting seminars,” said Shirley Leevy, Inventory/Logistics Manager for T/CCI. “The requirements and forms to export are constantly changing and a company needs expert guidance to stay up-to-date on what you need to know and what you need to meet to export your company’s goods. Having accesses to these resources in Decatur will be a huge benefit to local businesses and will save the expense in both money and time from traveling elsewhere for the training seminars.”

An Illinois SBDC “Starting Your Business in Illinois” workshop will be held at the Decatur EDC office on May 11th from 9-11 AM, and on May 25th from 2-4 PM. Attendees must RSVP by contacting carly@champaigncountyedc.org or 217-359-6261.

Both the SBDC and the ITC will have regularly scheduled appointment sessions at the Decatur EDC office. The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC is funded through a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce, and the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation; with additional support provided by EDC of Decatur and Macon County and the Midwest Inland Port.

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Press:

Macon and Champaign County EDC Announce Partnership [VIDEO], Now Decatur

Partnership will boost Macon County businesses, Herald&Review

Decatur Businesses Working to Succeed Together, Fox Illinois

Decatur Businesses Working to Succeed Together, Springfield News Channel 20

Champaign & Decatur EDC’s Work Together To Expand Small Business Development Services, WILL

New project helps launch small business, WCIA 3 News

 

 

2016 Central Illinois Tour

Together with the EDC of Decatur & Macon County, Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC, and Midwest Inland Port, we hosted a Central Illinois Tour of the Decatur and Champaign-Urbana communities October 4-5, 2016.

Purpose: an opportunity for Chicago Consuls General and Trade Commissioners to tour the Central Illinois region to experience the rich resources, visit educational institutions, tour manufacturing companies, and view the Midwest Inland Port.

For the two-day event, we hosted 23 attendees, representing 14 different countries. Those countries included: Mexico, China, Finland, Belgium, Ecuador, Lithuania, South Africa, Philippines, Pakistan, Hungary, Canada, Macedonia, France, and Taiwan.

Caterpillar, Inc.

On Tuesday, October 4, attendees were in Decatur to learn about and tour the Midwest Inland Port, Caterpillar Inc., and Fuyao Glass Illinois.

  • The Midwest Inland Port is a multi-modal transportation hub that delivers both domestic and international flexibility for companies through a well-positioned transportation corridor, connecting the Midwest to the East, West and Gulf Coasts of North America. Strategically located, the port consists of 3 Class I railroads, an intermodal ramp, quick access to 5 major roadways and an airport equipped with a U.S. Customs Office and runways capable of handling wide-body aircraft. With a market reach of 95 million people within a 1-day’s truck drive, it’s no surprise Decatur was ranked 3rd in the nation as an Emerging Logistics and Distribution Center by Facilities Magazine.
  • Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For 90 years, Caterpillar has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. The Caterpillar Decatur facility was established in 1955. Their committed employees manufacture superior products including off-highway trucks, wheel tractor scrapers, large mining trucks (including the 797 – the world’s largest mechanical drive mining truck) and the 24M motor grader. In 2010, the Decatur facility produced its 10,000th large mining truck and that same year the facility realized a $300M capital investment.
  • A former PPG Industries plant, Fuyao Glass Group purchased the site in 2014 and has invested $200 million in the facility. Led by Chairman Cho Tak Wong, Fuyao Glass Group is the world leader of automotive glass production. Fuyao Glass Group’s expansion into the U.S. has resulted in $700 million in investments, 1,700 new manufacturing jobs in the Midwest and 1.5 million sq. ft. of unused factory space reclaimed.

On Wednesday, October 5, attendees were in Champaign-Urbana to learn about and tour the University of Illinois Research Park, Blue Waters at National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Taylor Studios, Inc. in Rantoul.

Blue Waters

Blue Waters

  • The Research Park at the University of Illinois provides an environment where technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research and easy access to University labs, equipment and services. UIRP is now home to more than 100 companies and growing, employing more than 1,700 people in high-technology careers.
    • EnterpriseWorks is owned and operated by the University of Illinois to help launch successful startup companies; the 43,000 SF facility is at the heart of the Research Park’s community building efforts. Its atrium is a hub of activity and its clients span from biotechnology, chemical sciences, software development, to materials sciences. Through the commercialization of leading research from across the University of Illinois, its startups are working to address challenges with transformative results.
  • Blue Waters is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and is the fastest supercomputer on a university campus. Scientists and engineers across the country use the computing and data power of Blue Waters to tackle a wide range of challenging problems, from predicting the behavior of complex biological systems to simulating the evolution of the cosmos. Blue Waters, built from the latest technologies from Cray, Inc., uses hundreds of thousands of computational cores to achieve peak performance of more than 13 quadrillion calculations per second. If you could multiply two numbers together every second, it would take you millions of years to do what Blue Waters does each second. Blue Waters is supported by the National Science Foundation and the University of Illinois.
  • The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an original land-grant university founded in 1867. It continues a tradition of excellence and innovation in its missions: education, research and public engagement. More than 1,800 faculty members lead nearly 45,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students in a process of discovery and learning in 16 colleges and schools and more than 80 research centers and labs. The campus covers more than 1,500 acres. The Class of 2020 is the largest class in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus history at 7,593 students, representing more than 33 countries and 42 states.
  • Woolly Mammoths. Giant Hawk’s Nests. Life-Size Northern Right Whales. What do they all have in common? They are all exhibits created by Taylor Studios. Every museum and nature center has a story to tell. Telling these stories through interpretive plans, exhibit designs, and fabricated environments in a way that engages their visitors is what they hire Taylor Studios to do. Through the exhibit design-build process, projects are kept on schedule and budget while provoking ideas become physical exhibits that spark visitors’ imaginations. Creating something that touches the minds and hearts of visitors and leaves a lasting impression is accomplished through the combination of the site staffs’ passion and TSI’s interpretive design-build expertise.

As part of their day in Champaign-Urbana, a luncheon was held at the iHotel and Conference Center and featured speakers included:

– Craig Rost, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
– Marissa Siero, IntelliWheels
– Tim Barnes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Illinois International
– Matt Rosenstein, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Illinois International
– Bill Hogate, Frasca International, Inc.
– Lee Ramirez, Litania Sports Group

  • IntelliWheels, Inc. is the innovation house for wheelchair technology, developing a line of products to meet the needs of today’s active and independent wheelchair user. IntelliWheels, Inc. continues to develop new products to decrease environmental, social, and physical barriers wheelchair users face on a daily basis. By working side by side with a variety of wheelchair users during the design process, development, and testing of new products, IntelliWheels, Inc. maintains an accurate view of the clients needs and works with wheelchair users to develop the solution.
  • Illinois International Programs is at the nexus of all global activities and international studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—simultaneously serving as the administrative, programmatic, and strategic unit responsible for the vast array of international activities that Illinois is involved in, both on campus and abroad. Illinois is a global university, some figures:
    • #2 for international students – among public institutions with 11,000+ attending the Urbana campus from more than 110 countries
    • 500+ institutional partnerships – to support education and research with institutions in 60 countries
    • 2,400+ students studying abroad – from the Urbana campus each year on 200+ programs across more than 60 countries
  • Founded in 1958 by Rudy FRASCA, an aviation pioneer with a passion for simulation, the company’s goal has always been to build the highest quality flight simulators available. Over five decades later, and with an installed base of over 2,600 products in 70 countries, FRASCA has become an established and trustworthy leader in flight simulation.
  • Litania Sports Group (LSG) is an employee-first company. With a team of over 130 employees, their top focus is providing coaches with innovative equipment for a number of different sports through excellent service.
    • Gill Athletics (since 1918), for track and field equipment, as well as other field sports
    • Porter Athletic (since 1868), facility equipment, including but not limited to basketball and volleyball

Our many thanks to The Whitehall Hotel for sponsoring the luncheon.

Link to photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.10154113022837807.1073741865.122833457806/

TINKER by IntelliWheels, Inc. Selected as National Finalist in SBA InnovateHER Business Challenge

From the January 21, 2016 press release:

SBA Names Finalists for InnovateHER Business Challenge

10 Game Changing Entrepreneurs Selected to Pitch Their Innovative Products and Services During Women’s History Month

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the finalists of the 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge, a nationwide business competition to highlight innovative products and services created and launched by cutting-edge entrepreneurs.

In making the announcement, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said: “From precision medicine to agriculture to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, America’s entrepreneurs are transforming society and creating businesses that promise to be game changers. The incredible talent and ability of these 10 finalists is boundless and their creativity sends a message that is loud and clear: American entrepreneurs are launching and growing businesses across all fields of endeavor that will disrupt the status quo and improve lives around the world. Finding and rewarding these visionaries is the message of InnovateHER. Entrepreneurship makes anything possible.”

An executive committee of SBA officials reviewed more than 180 semi-finalist nominations and selected 10 finalists whose products and services best met the competition criteria and presented the greatest potential for success.

“I am honored to announce the finalists of the second round of the SBA’s InnovateHER Business Challenge, building on the success of our 2015 challenge where we engaged over 100 organizations and reached over 1,000 entrepreneurs across the nation,” added Contreras-Sweet.

The SBA congratulates the following finalists, who will have the opportunity to compete for the top three awards totaling $70,000 in prize money provided by Microsoft:

  • Dr. Agnes Scoville from Scoville & Company (Pacidose), St. Louis, Mo.: Pacidose allows mothers and caregivers to accurately dose and deliver medicine to babies through a soft pacifier nipple.
  • Anna Daily from Ascendant DX LLC (Melody), Springdale, Ark.: Melody is a simple and highly effective diagnostic to detect early stage breast cancer by identifying specific proteins present in tears.
  • Jennifer Shipp from Brilliant Inventors LLC (Knife Glider), Mission, Texas: The Knife Glider is a cutting shield that has been statistically proven to reduce the probability of being injured or cut when preparing food with a knife by more than 90 percent.
  • Sascha Mayer from Mamava, Inc., Burlington, Vt.: Mamava makes freestanding lactation suites and other design solutions for nursing mothers on the go.
  • Marissa Siebel-Siero from IntelliWheels, Inc. (Tinker), Champaign, Ill.: Tinker is the first ever 3D product configurator in the wheelchair marketplace that gives customers feedback and control.
  • Susan Leary Shoemaker from Undercare, Inc., Bronxsville, N.Y.: Undercare offers innovative undergarments that accommodate persons who have difficulty dressing.
  • Cassandra Curtis from Once Upon a Farm, San Diego, Calif.: Once Upon a Farm creates quality, eco-friendly and nutritious baby food products for children.
  • Dr. Pu Wang from Vibronix, Inc. (MarginPAT), West Lafayette, Ind.: MarginPAT is an intraoperative assessment of breast tumor margin using photo acoustic/ultrasound imaging system.
  • Dawn Dickson from Flat Out of Heels, Miami Beach, Fla.: Flat Out of Heels are a convenient way for women to relieve stiletto sore feet on the go.
  • Elizabeth Caven from UpCraft Club, Des Moines, Iowa: UpCraft Club is changing the way digital goods are found and sold using a patent-pending process allowing brick and mortar retailers to receive revenue from the sale of a digital good.

These 10 finalists are invited to the National InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge during Women’s History Month in Washington, D.C., where they will pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges.

The 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge was launched in August 2015 with over 200 local competitions across the country hosted by universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-up communities, SBA’s resource partners and other local community organizations. The SBA sought to unearth products or services that will fill a need in the marketplace and have the greatest potential for commercialization.

For details on the competition, visit www.sba.gov/innovateHER. This site will be updated as more information regarding the event is made available.

Press:

UIUC Startup IntelliWheels Selected As Finalist In A National Small Business Competition, ChicagoInno

SBA Regional Administrator Marianne Markowitz Presents $100,000 Boost to Champaign’s Small Business Opportunities

The U.S. Small Business Administration was in town this morning to present $100,000 total in awards, including $50,000 to the City of Champaign, one of SBA’s 28 Startup in a Day winners, and $50,000 to EnterpriseWorks at University of Illinois Research Park, one of Illinois’ four Growth Accelerator Fund Competition winners. These awards will help boost Champaign-Urbana-area small business growth and economic development by supporting the collaboration of government offices, educational institutions, and public-private partnerships.

SBA Check Presentation

The SBA’s first-ever Startup in a Day Competition was created to help U.S. cities simplify the licensing process so entrepreneurs can startup in a day. In total, $1.6 million was awarded to 26 cities, including Champaign, and two Native American tribes. The City is receiving $50,000 for its Virtual Incubator Program, which is a partnership between all local agencies providing entrepreneurship services throughout Champaign County. The Virtual Incubator is to be managed and coordinated by the local Small Business Development Center, which is supported by the SBA and based out of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.

EnterpriseWorks received a $50,000 to help fund its successful I-Start program, which accelerates the technology commercialization process for university startups with access to various resources in their ­first year. Since the Growth Accelerator Fund’s inception in 2014, more than 5,100 jobs have been created or sustained, more than 1,450 startups have been served and approximately $600 million of capital has been raised by the startups.

 

 

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