Serial Entrepreneurs Are Good People

Dixon, IL

THURSDAY, January 25^th at 6:00p.m.

This month’s meeting will be held at Sauk Valley Community College, 173 IL Route 2, Dixon, IL.

Our guest speaker will be Chad Stamper from New Ventures Inc.

As Vice President of Business Development, Chad assists clients with business plan development and provides technical and strategic assistance that successfully leads clients in commercializing their business.

Chad has over 10 years experience in logistic and operations management as well as five plus years in business to business and business to consumer sales experience in a wide array of industry segments. Chad has co-founded three successful start-up businesses in Iowa during the past five years and has assisted businesses and community organizations in the development of their business models, marketing plans, sales programs, internet presence and strategic planning. Chad holds a BBA in Transportation and Logistics management from Iowa State University and serves as a committee member for the Iowa Entrepreneurial Formation Hot Team.

And as always, we will have our great NETWORKING TIME! So, bring your ideas, help others with theirs, gain new insight and perspective, partner up, and become a growing number of the club's successes!

PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING THIS MEETING!

See you there,

The E & I Club Steering Committee

Marketing is the Lifeblood of your Company

From the SBDC Vault

By Michele Miller
NW IL SBDC Director

To Market or not to market. That is the question. There is no question about it. Marketing is the lifeblood of our business. How will people find out about you and your business if you don’t tell them?

At the Small Business Development Center of Northwest Illinois (SBDC) we believe the top five reasons for business failure are:

1.Poor planning or poor preparation. Lack of a well-written business plan.
2.No working capital (money)
3.Poor choice of locations
4.Not understanding your market (customer needs)
5.No marketing (let people know you are here)

When most people think of marketing they think of advertising and the different medias there are for that. While this is true and a portion of what marketing is, it isn’t everything. One mistake owners make is that they chose one advertising media and repeat the same materials over and over. The message is lost on there customers.

The Small Business Administration gives the following information about marketing to help your business:

To succeed, entrepreneurs must attract and retain a growing base of satisfied customers. Marketing programs, though widely varied, are all aimed at convincing people to try out or keep using particular products or services. Business owners should carefully plan their marketing strategies and performance to keep their market presence strong.

Marketing is based on the importance of customers to a business and has two important principles:

1. All company policies and activities should be directed toward satisfying customer needs.
2. Profitable sales volume is more important than maximum sales volume.

To best use these principles, a small business should:

•Determine the needs of their customers through market research
•Analyze their competitive advantages to develop a market strategy
•Select specific markets to serve by target marketing
•Determine how to satisfy customer needs by identifying a market mix.

Here is what marketing is really about: The 4 P’s-Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion. Product is your product or service. How is it packaged, how is it sold, how attractive is it, is it easy to obtain, are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself about your product? The product, it’s design, the easy of it’s use, the value or perceived value of the product all help develop brand loyalty: The reason people keep buying your product or service.

Price=what’s it worth. A business can’t stay alive without profitability. Pricing a product or service to sell is a work of art. Price it too low and you loss money. Price it too high and no one buys, you loss money. Formulas, industry trends, buyer demands, supply available, are just a few of the ingredients that help you to find the right price to sell your product or service.

Placement-where do customers find your product or services? If your customers have to go on a hunt to find your products, it won’t be long before they loss interest and look to your competition. Where you sell your products and services makes a big difference. Here’s a good example: Your six year old sees a breakfast cereal they want. The shopping begins! But where do you look for that cereal at your favorite store? If your six your are looking at a level that matches you height, about 3 ½ feet high. That is you will find the kids cereal at the kids level. Watch out! Once that is discovered they will want it.

Promotion-how will you promote your product or service? Yes, advertising medias are one avenue, but there are many more. Other promotional avenues are: Trade shows, business expos, newspaper articles, brochures, flyers, posters, giveaways, wearable advertising, entertainment venues, and many more.

Marketing is everything to your business. It is not cheap or easy. It takes a plan, time, and money to market your company. But it can be done well for a lot less then you think. To start, look at what you currently have as marketing materials. Take a good hard look at it. Does it give the whole message and image about your business or the products/services that you sell? If not it’s time for changes.

Next look at other businesses that are your competition and those that you visit as a consumer. What is attractive to you about their marketing efforts? What don’t you like? Why is it working?

The Small Business Development Center of Northwest Illinois (SBDC) has many helpful tools, ideas, and suggestions on how to market your business. For more details and how you can get your business marketing to the fullest give us a call at 815-599-3654.

A Grapevine of Current Info

The Small Business Economy: 2006

A new report issued by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration, "The Small Business Economy for Data Year 2005" examines the economic contributions of small business using data from a variety of sources. The report released before the National Economists Club in Washington, D.C, highlights some of the following:

• Business borrowing in 2005 was at an all-time high, and commercial banks expanded lending and eased lending standards in response to competition from non-bank lenders.
• Women’s contribution to business, using multiple data sources, the most recent show that women owned 6.5 million, or 28.2 percent, of non-farm firms. These firms employed 7.1 million workers with $173.7 billion in annual payroll.
• Three economic indicators key to an analysis of the economy’s performance—output, productivity, and unemployment—were up. To obtain a copy of the report visit: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sb_econ2006.pdf, and the research summary at http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs286.pdf. Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Chad Moutray at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov .

Regional Asset Indicators

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has recently unveiled an excellent resource to assess regional innovation and entrepreneurship assets. The web site hosts a variety of interesting tools for judging how your region is performing on key economic and demographic factors. It includes spreadsheets and maps that track important categories such as innovation, creative workforce, human amenities, wealth, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship. It also includes useful articles providing further information on each of the indicator categories. To access the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Regional Asset Indicators web page, visit http://www.kansascityfed.org/ RuralCenter/Indicators/Indicators_main.htm.

New IRS Fact Sheet on Depreciation of Business Property

The IRS has recently issued a new fact sheet relating to the depreciation of business property. You may find this information useful in working with your clients. This fact sheet can be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/ article/0,,id=164589,00.html

Small Business Advocate Newsletter

The latest issue of the SBA Small Business Advocate Newsletter for November 2006 can be found by clicking on http://www.sba.gov/advo/nov06newsletter.pdf The November issue of the Small Business Advocate highlights efforts to simplify regulatory compliance at the state and federal levels.

Grant Opportunities

National Trust Grants Encourage Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is currently accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations and public agencies for four grant programs: the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors, the Jeffris Family Foundation Preservation Fund for Wisconsin, and the Hart Family Fund for Small Towns (less than 5,000 in population). All four grant programs have a February 1, 2007, postmark deadline.

National Trust grants are designed to encourage preservation at the local level by providing seed money for preservation projects focused on preservation planning or education efforts. Support is offered for obtaining professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archeology, engineering, preservation planning and fundraising. Grant funds may also be used to support preservation education activities. Grants range from $500 to $10,000. In addition to nonprofit organizations and public agencies, individuals and for-profit businesses may receive grants from the Favrot and Mitchell funds if the project for which funding is requested involves a National Historic Landmark. For further information, please call the Midwest Office at 312-939-5547 or email to mwro@nthp.org.

Donnelley Preservation Fund Grant

The next grant round application deadline February 1, 2007.

This fund provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies matching grants from $500 to $5,000 (typically from $3,000 to $5,000) for preservation planning, education and fundraising efforts. Funds may be used to obtain professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, fundraising, organizational development and law, as well as preservation education activities to educate the public.

Many organizations have found that grants from our Preservation Fund provided the crucial boost to get a project off the ground and solicit matching funds from other sources.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential project, please contact Chris Morris, Illinois Program Officer at 312.939.5547 x231 or christina_morris@nthp.org. She can work with you to determine if your project is
eligible for the grant, assist with the application process, and review draft applications.

Aiding Small Business Federal Subcontracting Programs

The Government's Role in Aiding Small Business Federal Subcontracting Programs in the United States was authored by Major Clark III, Chad Moutray, and Radwan Saade from the Office of Advocacy. The study discusses the importance of the small business sector to the overall economy and the policy framework for the federal government's involvement in requiring federal prime contractors to subcontract with small businesses. It examines the policy from 1958 to the present; and discusses steps needed to improve the American small business subcontracting program to accommodate greater participation by these businesses in new and emerging global markets.

To obtain a copy, visit: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs281tot.pdf . The research summary is located at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs281.pdf . Should you need further information regarding this report, please feel free to contact Major Clark at: advocacy@sba.gov or (202) 205-6533.

New Markets Tax Credit Pilot Loan

On October 4, 2006, SBA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Pilot Loan Program. Under this Program, certain Community Development Entities will be able to purchase a participation interest in a SBAExpress or Community Express 7(a) loan up to 90 percent of the gross loan amount as part of their investment in low-income communities under the New Markets Tax Credit Program administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury. You may access the entire text of the Federal Register notice at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont06.html. For information on the New Markets Tax Credit Program please contact the US Department of the Treasury, CDFI Fund at http://www.cdfifund.gov/.

Innovation Challenge Program Will Provide Critical Matching Funds and Technical Assistance

GOV. BLAGOJEVICH ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $1.3 MILLION IN SUPPORT OF COMMERCIALIZATION EFFORTS FOR HIGH-GROWTH, TECH-BASED FIRMS ACROSS THE STATE

CHICAGO – In his continuing efforts to support technology-driven enterprises, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced more than $1.3 million in funding towards research and development commercialization and technical assistance efforts to help young, tech-based firms better leverage key federal grants. Through the Innovation Challenge Matching Grant and Technical Assistance programs, companies across various technology sectors will be better able to tap into federal grants, like the Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, to develop technologies that can lead to commercial products. This funding comes as a part of Opportunity Returns, the Governor’s pro-active, comprehensive economic development strategy designed to spur more economic growth and create more jobs throughout the state.

“Illinois is filled with world-class research and promising new technologies, but, in order to successfully translate this research into viable ventures, companies need access to the critical dollars to get there. Through this matching grant program and technical assistance support, small technology companies and entrepreneurs will be better equipped to access larger, federal grants designed to develop cutting-edge research into successful new products. By creating a business environment that encourages innovation, emerging firms are getting the resources they need to build their businesses and create even more high-paying jobs,” Gov. Blagojevich said.

The Governor is providing $1 million toward the Innovation Challenge Matching Grant program, which provides a partial match on federal funding – either 50 percent or up to $50,000 – to assist with technology development and commercialization efforts. These dollars will help to secure Phase I SBIR/STTR federal grant awards, which provide early-stage R&D funding directly to small technology companies or individual entrepreneurs who form a company. SBIR and STTR provide more than $2 billion each year to small companies across the country developing leading-edge technologies of interest to eleven federal departments and agencies. These programs provide seed capital of up to $850,000 to develop technologies that can lead to commercial products. This matching grant program will better assist Illinois companies in receiving SBIR/STTR grants, while increasing their attractiveness to acquire additional investment.

An additional $332,000 is also available as part of the Innovation Challenge Technical Assistance program, which will help to increase the number of SBIR/STTR applications in Illinois through assistance with the grant writing process. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will work with the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to perform SBIR/STTR-related grant writing and assistance services for technology-based entrepreneurs, innovators and new venture start-ups to access federal funding opportunities, driving technology-based job creation and economic development.

“The support provided through the Innovation Challenge Matching Grant and Challenge Technical Assistance programs should significantly impact our ability to leverage federal dollars against high-tech start-ups spinning out of our research universities and federal laboratories. I commend the Governor and his team for stepping up to address this critical need for our young tech firms,” Illini ITEC Director James Weyhenmeyer said.

“We owe much of our success to SBIR funding, which has allowed us to begin doing real work developing products and moving our technology into the marketplace. Not only did receiving our first SBIR dollars convey a positive impression to our investors, but it helped us considerably to refine our strategy and focus our efforts,” said Neil Kane, Co-founder and President, Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc., a nanotechnology company based on research from Argonne National Laboratory, who has secured nearly $1 million in SBIR grants. “The Governor’s Innovation Challenge Program is an excellent complement to the SBIR programs to better help high growth companies secure technologies or market products.”

Advanced Diamond Technologies also has received $140,000 in Innovative Product Grant (IPG) program funding to create 10 new jobs and begin mass production and commercialization of nanoprobes made from UNCD for biomolecular imaging and biomanufacturing of sensors to detect weaponized pathogens such as anthrax. DCEO’s IPG is the nation’s first state-funded grant program focused on developing products to meet homeland security needs.

“The SBIR funding we have received has been a lifeline in developing our software and positioning our products for success in the marketplace,” said Dr. Stephen Eick, Chief Scientist of the SSS Research, Inc., a software research and development firm in Naperville, who has secured nearly $1 million in SBIR grants. “I commend the Governor for establishing the Innovation Challenge Program, which will help to increase tech transfer opportunities for more high growth Illinois firms.”

SSS Research also has received $175,000 in Innovative Product Grant (IPG) program funding to develop a commercial version of their DECIDE™ software, a hypothesis analysis tool used to evaluate the feasibility of potential terrorism scenarios and develop strategies to deter them.

Illinois’ performance in capturing these SBIR/STTR grant awards ranks 17th overall, behind other Midwestern states such as Michigan and Ohio. In 2004, Illinois submitted approximately 532 proposals and received 63 SBIR Phase I awards for a total of $7.5 million. In comparison, the average number of applications submitted for these awards for the states in the top ten was 1,829 with an average total of almost 297 SBIR Phase I grants awarded. While Illinois’ clearance rate in accessing these funds is similar to the top ten average, the total number of applications submitted significantly trails other states, therefore a goal of the Innovation Challenge Program is to increase the number of these applicants in Illinois to increase the number of total awards.

In his efforts to continue helping young, tech-based companies have better access to critical early-stage capital, the Governor created the Illinois Seed/Angel Fund, which is investing in other seed stage venture funds across Illinois. Through this program Gov. Blagojevich has provided $1.7 million towards funds, including the ARCH Development Fund and Tri-County Venture Capital Fund, which are already investing in promising companies throughout the state. These investments in Illinois funds not only work to help small businesses grow and create jobs, but will also help to keep these companies in the state.

“Gov. Blagojevich and I strongly believe that in order to create more good jobs we must be strategic about providing our young, tech-driven firms with the resources they need to develop into economically viable and sustainable companies. This investment will continue the state’s progress in further developing a vibrant tech industry statewide,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.

Illinois led the nation in monthly job growth this year in both April and July, which has never happened twice before in one year in recorded history. The total number of new jobs created this year is 77,300, which is the best start to a year since 1999 and best in the Midwest. Since January 2004, Illinois has gained more than 152,000 new jobs, which is also best in the Midwest.

The Illinois unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1 percent, which is its lowest level in recorded history. It has remained at or below the national rate for six consecutive months, which is the first time this has happened in seven years. The state has dropped below the national unemployment rate for the fourth time this year, which is the first time this has occurred in eight years. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security compiled these statistics.

Site Selection Magazine also ranked the Chicagoland area the top metro region for new and expanded corporate facilities in 2005, while Illinois was ranked third in the nation. Business Facilities Magazine named Illinois the top state for biotech growth last year.

For more information about the program, contact Scott Henkel in the Technology and Industrial Competitiveness Bureau at DCEO, 217/557.6880 or scott.henkel@illinois.gov.

2007 Small Business Development Center Schedule

Happy New Year!

I just got back in the office after a little vacation and one of the first things that I need to do is post some links to the SBDC class schedule. Michele and Russ look like they are going to have a packed 2007. If you are interested in starting a business or improving your current business, please follow the links below to find class schedules.

Highland Community College Classes - click "Small Business Development Center" then click show classes. Here you can find times, dates and even register online.