Illinois Small Business Development Center at Harper College

Tony has been giving great business advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners for 25 years. His experience includes a broad range of industries, including: real estate, wholesale distributors, trucking companies, retailers, contractors, education, chemical companies, contract manufacturers, farming, and business services.

Schedule a phone call with Tony Baldassano.

Business Coaching from a Sales Perspective! Every decision you make in business can have a profound effect on your ability to sell your product or service! I can show you how each decision you make can affect your sales efforts. After all, if you can't sell your product or service, what is your business worth? Dennis is "start up" friendly.

Cheri can help with digital (email, social media, content) and traditional marketing, viability and commercialization analysis, budgeting, forecasting, P&L management, pricing, packaging and developing a marketing plan. Cheri will assess your current needs through a SWOT analysis, and review of your current branding and positioning. She specializes in consumer products, especially food.

Please note, this session will be conducted over the phone so that we can offer you additional times to fit your schedule. Cheri can help with digital (email, social media, content) and traditional marketing, viability and commercialization analysis, budgeting, forecasting, P&L management, pricing, packaging and developing a marketing plan. Cheri will assess your current needs through a SWOT analysis, and review your branding/positioning.

Book an appointment with Jennie Johns if you need assistance with your website, email service, and/or other technology issues. Jennie specializes in web functionality, usability and customer experience. She can assist with your technical questions regarding website creation, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. Jennie has over 20 years experience in developing websites along with 8 years teaching website usability, programming, and Microsoft Office applications.

Tom Cassell has provided one-on-one business coaching to many businesses across different industries. Tom specializes in SBA lending (7a, 504), and buy/sell.

Founded in 1989, Lavelle Law Ltd. is one of the most respected law firms in the Chicago area. Their expertise includes business and entrepreneurial law, estate planning, divorce and family law, criminal defense, commercial and residential real estate law, banking and securities law, law practice management, bankruptcy and more. The firm generously donates time to clients of the ISBDC.

Do you have an idea for a product and need help with prototyping, engineering and development? EIGERlab is an award winning full service prototyping and product development agency specializing in engineering, reverse engineering, computer-aided design (CAD),3D printing, manufacturing, commercialization and project management. If no dates are available, call 815.965.3522 or sales@eigerlab.org to schedule.

Do you have the personal characteristics, the financial fitness and the business readiness skills to own a business? Find out if entrepreneurship is right for you. Learn about the critical steps to opening your own business including viability, business formation, financing, and more. Class is offered every month.

Intellectual property is a part of modern life. From clever inventions to art, photographs and blog posts, trade names and catchy advertising jingles, we encounter – and create – intellectual property every day. However, there are a lot of misconceptions about intellectual property. Patent Attorney Brie Crawford will explain what patents, copyrights, and trademarks actually are, how they function, and how to stay out of trouble when you encounter someone else’s. FREE. April 30. 8:30am-10:00am.

You know your prospects are on LinkedIn, and you've heard the success stories, but how do YOU reap the benefits of LinkedIn to get more leads, more business, and more referrals? In this seminar you will learn:
How to create a LinkedIn profile that attracts quality prospects,
How to surround yourself with ideal prospects,
How to build your online reputation as the "GO-TO" person in your field,
How to combine it all with an effective email marketing plan.
Thursday, May 9, 2019. FREE

Joe Skibbie of JRS Marketing Communications will help you make sure your business has a strong online presence. Learn about the importance of mobile responsive website design and social media’s growing importance and connection with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Your website needs to convert visitor traffic into customers. What key elements are needed to do this? We’ll also discuss how to track and analyze how well your website and social media tools are working. Free. Thursday, May 16, 9:30-11:00a

In this session Vanessa is going to help you connect the dots on how monetize your social media efforts. And it begin with creating the perfect opt-in your potential clients are WAITING FOR YOU TO OFFER! You'll learn: What is an opt-in, lead magnet, freebie and why you need one, The 3 key elements that make for an irresistible opt-in, Knowing what your ideal clients want, Different types of opt-ins you can use for your business, Using your opt-in to grow your list. Thursday, June 6, 2019. FREE.

Ever ask yourself, "What the heck am I going to send to my email list this week?" In this training you'll learn: How to structure your emails so they'll get read, the easiest way to get engagement by adding just one little thing to your emails, inspired content strategy that will position yourself as the expert, How to structure your emails so they'll get CLICKED on, How it's not killer sales copy that will have your readers taking massive action. Much more. Thursday, June 13, 2019. FREE.

In this introductory class, Joe Skibbie of JRS Marketing Communications will go over different social media platforms and teach you about this free form of advertising where you control the message and can promote any of your products or services. FREE. Tuesday, June 18.

Email automation can be a confusing and overwhelming concept for any small business/solopreneur to master. Perhaps you don't know what to say in these emails or you just never found the time to get these automated systems set up. By the end of this session, you'll not only have a clear understanding of how email automation works, you'll also be given EVERYTHING YOU NEED to finally create that automated welcome email series you always wanted to! Thursday, June 20, 2019. FREE.