TRAINING & EVENTS

The Illinois Small Business Development Center at
the Starved Rock Country Alliance

Image by Tyler Franta

Illinois SBDC at the Starved Rock Country Alliance educational and community events are great opportunities to build your network, connect to one another, expand your knowledge, spark ideas, and create collaborative possibilities.
 

All small business professionals and budding entrepreneurs are encouraged to get involved!

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December 2022

Grant Prep - GATA Pre-Award & NOFO Preparation Sessions
IMPORTANT! When grants are released we want you to be prepared! Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Pre-Award prep sessions will help you prepare so you can immediately take action on Notice Of Funding Opportunities.​

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How to Start Your Business in Illinois

Interested in starting a business, but have questions? Join us for the Starting a Business in Illinois workshop where we go over the basics of starting a business, legal structures, licenses & permits, financing, and more.

 

January 2023

Grant Prep - GATA Pre-Award & NOFO Preparation Sessions
IMPORTANT! When grants are released we want you to be prepared! Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Pre-Award prep sessions will help you prepare to so you can immediately take action on Notice Of Funding Opportunities.​

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How to Start Your Business in Illinois

Interested in starting a business, but have questions? Join us for the Starting a Business in Illinois workshop where we go over the basics of starting a business, legal structures, licenses & permits, financing, and more.

Powered for Growth

The IL SBDC at the Starved Rock Country Alliance is excited to be able to offer the GrowthWheel Masterclass. This GrowthWheel class meets virtually via zoom, Mondays-Thursdays, from Noon-1 pm, for 4 weeks.

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GrowthWheel is a visual toolbox and online platform used by business advisors, incubators, and entrepreneurship educators to help businesses make decisions and take action. GrowthWheel helps startup and growth companies build their businesses through a simple action-oriented process — one that stays true to the way most entrepreneurs think and work.

 

Topics covered will be:

  • Monday: Business Concepts

  • Tuesday: Organization

  • Wednesday: Operations

  • Thursday: Customer Relations

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Target audience: This workshop is for entrepreneurs and growth companies seeking to make strategic and organized decisions and actions in pursuit of their business idea. It is suitable training for all business life stages across all industries.

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February 2023

Grant Prep - GATA Pre-Award & NOFO Preparation Sessions
IMPORTANT! When grants are released we want you to be prepared! Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Pre-Award prep sessions will help you prepare to so you can immediately take action on Notice Of Funding Opportunities.​

How to Start Your Business in Illinois

Interested in starting a business, but have questions? Join us for the Starting a Business in Illinois workshop where we go over the basics of starting a business, legal structures, licenses & permits, financing, and more.

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March 2023

Turn Your Business Idea Into Reality

  • Date: March 8

  • Time: Noon-1 pm

  • Location: Virtual via Zoom or Streator Incubator

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Build a Better Business Plan

If you need to organize your business idea, this is the class for you! In this class we will introduce you to an easy-to-use, helpful, no-cost platform that helps you organize your business resources and build the path to your business plan. 

  • Date: March 15

  • Time: Noon-1 pm

  • Location: Virtual via Zoom or Streator Incubator

 

Grant Prep - GATA Pre-Award & NOFO Preparation Sessions
IMPORTANT! When grants are released we want you to be prepared! Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Pre-Award prep sessions will help you prepare to so you can immediately take action on Notice Of Funding Opportunities.​

​

How to Start Your Business in Illinois

Interested in starting a business, but have questions? Join us for the Starting a Business in Illinois workshop where we go over the basics of starting a business, legal structures, licenses & permits, financing, and more.

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IVAC Connect

  • Date: March 16

  • Time: 11:30am -1 PM

  • Location: Peru City Hall

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Brand Your Business with Canva

Create professional-looking graphics, including logos, social media posts, business cards, videos, and more using Canva! Learn how to make this powerful tool work for you during this introduction to Canva workshop.

  • Date: March 22

  • Time: Noon-1 pm

  • Location: Virtual via Zoom or Streator Incubator

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Create a Website Using Wix

Whether expanding your retail operation or launching a new offering, eCommerce is opening many opportunities for businesses to thrive. In this session, explain how eCommerce engines work and go step by step in building a website (and even a storefront) using Wix. We will talk about each of the different business models that can be built using this platform and how you can get started.

  • Date: March 29

  • Time: Noon-1 pm

  • Location: Virtual via Zoom or Streator Incubator

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April 2023

Strategies to Fund Your Business

This workshop discusses four funding roadmaps that your business could use to gather the capital needed to launch your business idea. Adding their perspectives will be area lenders, investors, and capital fund managers. Ample time will be given for questions and discussion.

  • Date: April 5

  • Time: Noon-1 pm

  • Location: Virtual via Zoom or Streator Incubator

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