| Platinum & Gold Partners |
Charleston Area Charitable Foundation
& Forsythe Family Farms
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| Silver Partners |
Agracel
Citizens National Bank
City of Charleston
City of Paris
The Cromwell Group, Inc.
East Central Illinois Development Corporation
Edgar County Bank
Effingham County Board
First Neighbor Bank
In Memory of Jack Clifford
Journal Gazette/Times Courier
Karen Wolters, Ignite, USA
Moultrie County Board
Paris Community Foundation
Paris First
U.S. Bank |
| Other Partners |
Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce
Eastern Illinois Education for Employment Systems
Flesor Family Confectionary, Inc.
Fifth Third Bank
Frank and Cathy Brummer
Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Lake Land College Tech Prep
Lorenz Supply Company
PEDCO
Schultz Investment Company
State Bank of Arthur
Terwilliger Agency
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| Entrepreneurial Endeavors |
Greetings!
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in a square hole, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of the rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who'll do it."
Apple Computer Advertising 1997
Apple continues to innovate and change the world around us because they embrace the entrepreneurial mind and the change it brings.
Business counseling is in high demand and the BSC and SCORE counselors hit a record month in February by doubling the number of clients counseled in February 2009! To date, we've helped businesses raise $347,000 in capital to start or expand their businesses. Great information about the Effingham County CEO Class is now found on the updated BSC web-site. Watch an interview with teacher Craig Lindvahl, read the complete 2010 CEO Class Report conducted by the BSC and learn about the CEO Angel Fund that has been established by an anonymous donor by going here. What advice would you give to teens who want to start a business? I would like to compile a Top 20 list for Camp e3 students that answers the question,"What I wish I would have known before I started my business." Email me your thoughts at jcdau@eiu.edu.
Jeanne
Jeanne Dau
Director
Business Solutions Center |
Seizing Spin-off Opportunities with
The FutureGen announcement should be made within the next month. This could create various spin-off business opportunities for the region.
According to Angela Griffin, President of Coles Together, "It's likely FutureGen would result in spin-off activity for many sectors. In order to support construction estimates of four years and at least 2,000 construction workers, there would be considerable need for hotel and restaurant services, in addition to other retails sales that would occur as a result of temporary residency. There are opportunities for industrial sector co-locators -both the kind that might be suppliers to FutureGen and those that might take some of the by-products from FutureGen. Since the plant is a research and demonstration project, it is likely research firms will locate operations in the region as new, developing and slip-stream technologies emerge from and are tested at the plant." |
Learn to Limit Your Liabilities at Consultant Connections
Thursday, April 1st
noon - 1 pm
What's Cookin' Restaurant
409 7th St., Charleston
Alan Singleton, Attorney with Singleton Law Firm and Bob Oetting with Oetting Insurance Agency will discuss how to limit your liability. If you are a consultant or have thoughts about starting a consulting business or if you are a business owner that wants to learn, then come join us for our next meeting of the BSC's Consultant Connections Peer Networking group. The meetings are held the 1st Thursday of every month so pencil it in your calendar. All are welcome but please click the link below to register by March 31 to reserve your spot.
Click here to learn more about Consultant Connections
Click here to register for the event by March 31st. |
Ignite Entrepreneurship in Your School
We're bringing entrepreneurial events to many junior and senior high schools in the region.
March 29th - Dieterich Freshman Orientation
April 6th - St. Anthony Freshman
April 30th - Clark Co. Youth Entrepreneurship (Casey, Marshall and Martinsville)
If you would like to develop a customized a 50 minute class or a 3 hour experiential training to your middle school or high school presentations, please call Jeanne at 581-2913 or visit our website for more information. |
 How to Start a Business Workshop
Learn where to begin to start your own business. The workshop is from 6-9 pm at the following locations. Cost is $25.
Thursday, March 25th - Casey-Westfield High School
Thursday, April 8, - Sullivan - First Christian Church
Tuesday, May 4th - Paris - First Bank of Paris
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Jack Schultz at Camp e3 closing.
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Now is the time to start identifying entrepreneurial, creative teens ages 14-19 that would like to learn more about starting a business and gain prize money and regional friends along the way.
Midland States Bank is sponsoring Camp e3 - energizing emerging entrepreneurs, a 3 1/2 day camp held at Eastern Illinois University July 11-14, 2010. Local entrepreneurs share their experience while EIU staff and students help facilitate a business pitch competition that answers the question, "If you had $50,000, what business would you start to make your community a better place?" The registration fee is $395 and includes lodging, meals, t-shirt, recreation and all materials.
Sponsor a youth. Please consider sponsoring a camper. What a great gift for your child or grandchild. We can also work with the schools to help identify interested students. If you would like to provide a scholarship, please contact Jeanne at jcdau@eiu.edu or call 581-2913.
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High School Teachers get the "Buzz on Biz"
The Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education hosted a day-long training for teachers and administrators that answered the question "Why e-education and why now?" on February 24th in Springfield, Illinois. The Business Solutions Center participated in the panel discussion that highlighted resources and activities available to teachers to help embed entrepreneurial thinking the classroom.
Mark Williams with the Illinois State Board of Education said, "Entrepreneurship is a unique way to draw students into the rigor of their own education. They focus on their talents that are useful to the world outside (the classroom)."
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Click link to go to website
 | Book Discussion
The Energy Bus:
10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy
Tuesday, Apr. 13th
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Helen Matthes Public Library,
Effingham, IL
Begin reading now and join us either at the library or virtually.
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Financial Statement Training
Understanding Business Financial Statements What They Mean, How to Use Them!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
6-9 pm
2020 Lumpkin Hall at EIU
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Stan Thurman, BSC Counselor, "Hot Links"
Maintained by a trained professional librarian, this website aspires to provide links to various internet content for businesses. Go to the site, pick a subject and click on a source.
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Spotlighting Chestnut Family Music
In the last e-blast, we highlighted five of the 22 businesses started, but attached the wrong link to Chestnut Family Music profile. We're sorry for making that error, but have corrected the problem for this e-blast. Please click on the link for a summary of Chestnut Family Music and the products and services that they offer.
is located at 121 West Jefferson in Effingham, Il. The phone number is 217-342-1016.
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As always, if you have any questions or suggestions on how the BSC can assist entrepreneurs, please don't hesitate to call us at 581-2913.
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