Illinois Small Business Forum

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) (800)

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) IEN Business Information Center Illinois Entrepreneurship Centers (EC) – 18 Illinois Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) – 40 Illinois Procurement Tech. Assistance Centers (PTAC) – 12 Illinois International Trade Centers (ITC) – 6 (NAFTA) – 2 Illinois Small Business Environmental Assistance Program Illinois Manufacturing Extension Partnership (CMC, IMEC) – 13 Illinois Technology Enterprise Centers (ITEC) – 6

Entrepreneurship Services IEN Business Information Center  Toll free Business Helpline, 800/  Provides assistance with business permits and regulations.  Provides information on public and private business assistance programs.  Provides access to census and market data. CY 2006 IEN Business Information Center performance:  Phone calls: 7,341 (86 in Spanish)  s: 6,410  Startup packets mailed: 3,734

Entrepreneurship Services Regulatory Flexibility Program – CY2007  Conducts impact analysis of proposed rules and regulations affecting the small business community and suggests ways of making the rules more flexible, cost effective or less restrictive for small businesses. Reviewed 370 proposed rules. Commented on 101 rules, by sending small business impact analyses to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).  Publishes Regulatory Alert, a weekly summary of proposed rules that have a potential affect on small businesses. Regulatory Alert to over 400 businesses trade groups associations, industry groups and chamber of commerce.

Entrepreneurship Services Entrepreneurship Centers assess, assist and accelerate the high- growth potential of entrepreneurial ventures. Services include:  Access to Capital: Provides a business development infrastructure that can help researchers and entrepreneurs connect to business resources and funding in order to produce new products in the marketplace. ECs establish a source that connects ideas and implementation, patents and products, money and markets.  Product Licensing: For companies with products that do not have sufficient resource allocation, ECs provide cost-effective marketing and positioning strategies that offer the necessary support to drive product growth.  Access to Technology (transfer): Customized help for developing new or improved products and manufacturing processes. ECs facilitate dual- use technology development arrangements with no exchange of funds.  Access to Networks: Encourage local entrepreneurship by considering policies and programs that help create and nurture support networks for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship Services Illinois SBDCs provide assistance to new and existing small businesses. Services include:  One-on-one business counseling and management assistance  Assistance with the development of business plans  Help accessing marketing information and the development of marketing plans  Access to business financing programs  Assistance with financial analysis and planning  Access to business education and training opportunities

Entrepreneurship Services Illinois PTACs provide one-on-one counseling, technical information, marketing assistance and training to existing businesses that are interested in selling their products and/or services to local, state, or federal government agencies. Services include:  Help targeting appropriate government agencies  Assistance with bidder applications  Automated bid lead matching services  Access to government specifications and standards  Guidance with quality assurance issues  Specialty Services: Homeland Security

Entrepreneurship Services Illinois SBDC ITCs provide information, counseling and training to existing, new to-export companies interested in pursuing international trade opportunities. NOCs provide specialized assistance to those firms seeking to take advantage of the trade opportunities in Mexico and Canada made possible by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Services include:  Evaluation of company’s readiness to export  Access to foreign market information  Documentation assistance  Automated trade leads  Linkages with trade representatives

Entrepreneurship Services Illinois Small Business Environmental Assistance Program is located in a non-regulatory agency and provides businesses with help in understanding environmental obligations. Some of the services include: - toll-free helpline ( ) - recordkeeping calendars and quarterly newsletter - industry-specific workshops - advocacy with Illinois EPA - Web site includes: - permit applications - environmental consultant directory - fact sheets - links to state & federal resources

Entrepreneurship Services IMEC and CMC offer these services:  Assessment, where an on-site team provides an objective analysis, identifying a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Steps are suggested to improve performance.  Benchmarking, an inexpensive way to compare performance to that of similar businesses. A customized report is created showing current performance based on more than 50 indicators.  Projects are clearly defined up-front, based on needs and priorities. A project manager qualifies the service providers and manages the project hands-on to ensure satisfaction.

Entrepreneurship Services ITECs serve technology-based entrepreneurs, innovators and small businesses by assisting them with critical business startup and marketing needs. Services include:  Assistance with locating pre-seed and early stage financing  Help innovators in high growth and high technology sectors further their technical and/or managerial skills  Assist with new product development and marketing

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) Illinois SBDC/ITC/NOC – FY 2007 Accomplishments  Counseled: 10,148  Trained: 21,782  Financing Assisted: $173,900,000 (SBDC – debt & non-debt financing)  Trade Sales Assisted: $190,100,000 (ITC & NOC)  Jobs Created: 4,805  Jobs Retained: 8,245

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) Illinois PTAC – CY 2006 Accomplishments  Counseled: 1827  Trained: 4438  Contract $s Assisted: $682,400,000  Jobs Created:786  Jobs Retained: 2,176

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) Illinois EC ‘07 Accomplishments  18 Entrepreneurship Centers Established  66 High Growth Companies Awarded Grants  $402,000 awarded through Challenge Grants  Clients: 564  Jobs Created: 291  Jobs Retained 48

Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN) ITEC – State FY’06 Accomplishments  Engagements: 35,748  Assessments: 693  Referrals: 225  Enrollments: 814  Total # of Firms Served: 1,114  New Venture Startups: 63  Financing Secured: $137,000,000  Jobs Created or Retained: 874

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