Small Business Development Center 2013 A N N U A L R E P O R T T O T H E C O M M U N I T Y

Boone • Ogle • Stephenson • Winnebago Counties, Illinois

Small Business Development Center

Growing businesses. Creating jobs. Energizing our economy.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2012 2013

Clients 215 250

Loans 5 20

Loan Amounts $1,169,000 $2,064,020

Jobs Retained & Created 182 177

Business Starts 15 21

In 2013 the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College had the privilege of assisting 250 ambitious and determined entrepreneurs pursue their American Dream—to start or grow their own business in northern Illinois. This was a 16 percent increase over the 215 clients served in 2012.

Our assistance included –

• creating a professional business plan that financial institutions view as realistic and achievable,

• conducting the proper market research,

• introducing them to financial assistance sources that approved their loan applications,

• providing free, individualized counseling and low-cost training workshops,

• and other specialized business assistance.

On the following pages, you will meet six entrepreneurs who will attest that 2013 was a positive year. With their determination and optimism, plus some SBDC help, they made great strides. Most of them, after working at their day jobs, devoted countless hours and boundless energy to their dream. They started their own business.

Half of our clients are existing business owners. We helped them solve complex business problems. We helped them grow.

As you know, small business is big news. Small businesses created 66 percent of all net new jobs in the U.S.A. since the 1970s. The jobs improve and strengthen our community.

Thank you for your interest in and important support of the Small Business Development Center that serves Boone, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.

Brian McIntyre, Director Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College

Letter from the Director

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About the Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College

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The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps existing and startup entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed through free business counseling and low-cost training. The SBDC’s resources include one-on-one advising, financing assistance and statistical analyses of thousands of industries, bilingual Hispanic services, and more. This center is one of 900 service sites supported and networked by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Illinois SBDC at Rock Valley College is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Rock Valley College.

Judy Taylor is a U.S. Army veteran with 10 years of service, including a deploy-ment in Iraq. She helped the Iraqis rebuild damaged sports and youth facilities, and gained experience in contracts and other business functions.

“When I got out of the service I knew I did not want to work for anyone else. Family members had owned a bike shop, and there was no bike store in Roscoe. I’m very much into physical fitness, so my family encouraged me to do it. I opened Midwest Track & Trail in May 2013 and our first year has been better than expected,” said Judy proudly.

Judy Taylor is the proud owner of Roscoe’s first bike shop. “Banks loved the business plan that the SBDC helped me with,” she said.

Judy knew that the Small Business Administration had a loan specifically for veterans. She had tried to get the loan on her own but felt the banks gave her the runaround. She connected with the local SBDC office. “They were amazing. They helped me get my business plan into a format that showed graphs and numbers, and the banks loved that. Brian McIntyre went to every appointment with me and I got a loan! I think the banks felt more secure with him as the ‘middleman.’ I felt more at ease because he was steering me in the right direction,instead of running around in circles by myself. To this day I still stay in touch with them,” said Judy.

www.bikeroscoe.com

Meet Some Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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FEMALE VET OPENS ROSCOE’S FIRST BIKE SHOP

MEET THE LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR FOR A FUEL-SAVING PRODUCT

Say “fuel savings” and people pay attention. Winnebago County and the city of Rockford did. Larry Robertson is the Midwest distributor for the InterCharger, a product that breaks down unburned emissions, reduces emissions and increases fuel economy in vehicles. Both the county and the city have installed the units and are enjoying the benefits.

With the local SBDC’s assistance, Larry received two bank loans and is working on his third loan. “It was the SBDC the whole way. They found the bank and connected us to the SBDC people in the State of Washington as the manufacturer’s parent company is in that state,” said Larry. “Getting that first loan told people that we are a viable company. That was worth a lot. Now my goal is to become the distributor on a much larger scale,” added Larry.

www.intercharger.com

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Larry Robertson holds InterCharger (also shown installed). The SBDC helped him get loans to become the Midwest distributor.

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Teresa Pesina, CEO of ezHire Search & Placement, is a savvy businessperson who instinctively knows what to do. While working for another staffing company during the recent recession, she knew that she should be readyto open her own staffing business. “I established a dormant company. The out-of-town owners of the company I worked for closed the business without advance notice on a Friday. The SBDC worked with me over the weekend so that we opened for business on Monday morning as ezHire Search & Placement. We kept all our clients so the

The SBDC worked with Teresa Pesina over a weekend so she could open her new staffing business on Monday morning.

temps and my staff continued working. It involved 100 jobs!” Teresa exclaimed proudly. Her staffing firm works witha variety of industries and specializes in engineering.

“I am so grateful that they were there for me. Wherever I go, I have their business cards and I pass them out. I tell other entrepreneurs, ‘let them help you. They can connect you with the right decision makers,’” she attested.

www.ezhiregroup.com

ENTREPRENEUR RETAINED 100 JOBS AND KEPT GROWING!

CLOTHING DESIGNER IS READY FOR NEXT STEP

Which of his three lines of clothing should he launch first? And what about supply chain decisions, trademarks and copyrights? These are the types of questions Daryl Joyner discusses with Brian McIntyre, the SBDC director. “He helped me do something I did not think I could do, build a business plan and a financial plan,” said Joyner, an aspiring clothing designer.

Over the years, he had designed urban wear for himself and friends, and had pursued clothing ventures. Urban wear includes jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps adorned with names of cities and other icons of exclusivity. Daryl is now ready to take the next step, thanks to the SBDC.

After the website is up for his line of RawDawgUrban clothes, Daryl will focus on marketing to wholesale buyers in Chicago so his clothes can be purchased at retail shops.

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Daryl Joyner will market his designer urban clothes to wholesale buyers in Chicago.

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“A bank loan officer actually referred me to the local SBDC office because the business plan I had bought online was terrible. It wasn’t providing the right information for the bank,” said Ken Banks. “Brian helped me create a better business plan, set up meetings for me, and a bank approved my loan! The SBDC office was definitely instrumental in getting loans approved and they continue to look for more funding for me,” Ken added.

After working for a national tire franchise for 20 years, Ken wanted to open his own tire business here. He opened Tire Guys, 1717 East Riverside, in August 2013 and sells new and used tires, custom wheels and wheel alignments with four employees.

“Without the SBDC’s help, all this may not have happened. They gave my plan a lot of credibility. Having them champion me carries weight with the banks,” said Ken.

www.tireguys.biz

The SBDC was instrumental in gettingloans approved for Ken Banks so he could open Tire Guys.

SBDC CHAMPIONED HIM TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

A BETTER, SAFER WELDING HELMET

Working on his invention at night and on weekends, after his day job, Edgar Marin-Ruiz is close to achieving his dream—selling a safer and more comfortable helmet for welders, one that blows away harmful metal fumes.

“The existing helmets often give welders headaches because of the fumes, plus they’re heavy and very uncomfortable,” explained Edgar. “Our Breeze Welding Helmet is lightweight at just three pounds. It has three-speed fans that blow away the fumes and keep the air inside the helmet cool. The people who tested these asked, ‘Can we buy this prototype?’”

Edgar credits the SBDC for helping him get this far. “We couldn’t have done this without them,” said Edgar. “They believed in us. They connected us with people who helped us with the financial side of starting a business, like how to forecast costs,” he added. Edgar Marin-Ruiz’s son, Edgar Junior, holds a Breeze Welding Helmet

and shows the inside of one.

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SBDC Tools & Services

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SBDC TOOLS & SERVICES FOR EXISTING BUSINESSES

• Growth Wheel is a decision-making software program taught by certified instructors at the SBDC.

• BizMiner tracks 9000 lines of business and provides granular statistical reports, benchmarks, market trends and market analyses.

• ReferenceUSAGov is an Internet- based reference service database on more than 14 million U.S. businesses, 89 million U.S. residents and more.

• C Team (commercialization) provides accelerated growth assistance through a team of top-level, experienced executives.

• Profit Mastery is a powerful financial and management training program available through the SBDC.

• Additional specialized and proprietary tools and services are available.

SBDC TOOLS & SERVICES FOR NEW BUSINESSES

• Liveplan, a licensed and proprietary plan that helps businesses write a complete and professional business plan.

• AdvancetoProfit, a step-by-step management tool that helps entrepreneurs succeed.

• Numerous workshops and training opportunities, both online and in-person.

PARTNERS OF THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

• EIGERlab This is northern Illinois’ one-stop incubator resource for new and existing entrepreneurs to lease space, participate in peer groups, access rapid prototyping services and other business services.

• Accion The only nationwide micro- and small- business lending network in the country, Accion champions small business owners. SBDC is a partner with Accion and is authorized to close loans at the local office.

• Illinois International Trade Center (ITC) The ITC helps businesses access international trade information, evaluate export potential and readiness, pursue trade opportunities and reach their international business objectives.

• Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) The PTAC helps small businesses and groups obtain and perform within federal, state and local government opportunities when doing business with the government.

Thank You For Your Interest and Support

We hope this annual report has deepened your understanding of what the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College does to help improve the economic vitality of our community. By counseling and advising small business owners, we retain and create jobs. We help entrepreneurs make their American Dream come true as they start and grow their own business here in northern Illinois.

If you know of an entrepreneur who could benefit from our free, one-on-one counseling and low-cost training, please ask them to contact us.

Brian McIntyre, SBDC DirectorB.McIntyre@RockValleyCollege.edu815.921.2081

Cari Fuller, SBDC Administrative AssistantC.Fuller@RockValleyCollege.edu815.921.2081

Illinois Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College605 Fulton Ave, Rockford IL 61103www.RockValleyCollege.edu/Business/SBDC