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Small Business Connections May 2013
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Welcome to Small Business Connections!
The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Waubonsee Community College is here to serve your small business needs. We offer free business counseling to entrepreneurs and business owners, as well as a variety of small business workshops. To stay up to date on events, happenings and general IL SBDC information, we invite you to click below.
Call us today at (630) 906-4143 to learn how we can help you start or grow your business.
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Small Business Spotlight
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Fresh Jewelry 
Leave it to enterprising entrepreneurs to turn a coffee house into a thriving jewelry business! Jen and Troy Bristow originally owned a coffee house in St. Charles, called Ragamuffin Coffee House. They found that it was crucial to augment coffee sales with retail, and began importing and selling jewelry from Mexico in the Ragamuffin. They embarked on the learning curve of retail and wholesale jewelry design, importation and distribution. Later, they transitioned to a small retail shop in Geneva, and ultimately shifted their focus solely to wholesale and online sales.
After a few years and a good dose of business council, Jen pruned the jewelry line to be very specific - botanical jewelry made from real flowers grown in Mexico and framed in sterling silver. Ragamuffin Jewelry LLC became Fresh Jewelry Company DBA, and is now blooming in both the wholesale and retail markets! Jen is the designer and creative mind behind the business. Troy communicates with production, as he regularly travels to Mexico.
In 2010, Jen and Troy came to the IL SBDC at Waubonsee for help growing their business. They put together a business plan and received financing through a micro-loan from Accion to expand their inventory and grow their marketing efforts. In 2012 Fresh Jewelry Company was featured in both Accion's annual report and Green Profit Magazine.
Meanwhile, Jen and Troy continued to meet with the SBDC, getting help with intellectual property, accounting, cash flow, wholesaling, and market positioning. They re-focused the business to concentrate on flower and garden venues, rather than the jewelry gift market. They now have a permanent showroom in The Gardens of AmericasMart in Atlanta, and also exhibit at the Independent Garden Center (IGC) Show and the Wild Birds Unlimited Vendor Mart, as well as major Flower and Garden shows.
Buyers ar e clearly excited about the Fresh Jewelry line, as sales have grown to 150 retail accounts in 35 states. In 2012, Jen and Troy's daughter, Toni, joined the business, and in November, 2012, they signed a contract with 1-800 Flowers.com to sell their jewelry. Fresh Jewelry Company was recently featured in their blog, Petal Talk.
Jen and Troy have a passion not only for business, but also for giving. Each year they donate a portion of proceeds to organizations that support orphans and widows. Last year, their donation went to Casa Hogar del Niņo de Acapulco. This year they are donating 5% of all profits from any sale of forget me not jewelry to Casa Hogar del Nino as a heartfelt reminder not to forget the fatherless and orphans, but to reach out a loving hand to help them.
As the business continues to grow and evolve, Jen and Troy continue to rely on the SBDC for ongoing advisory assistance. They schedule regular meetings to review and adjust the focus and direction of the business, and get feedback on new opportunities.
According to Jen, "I honestly don't think Fresh Jewelry Company would still exist if it weren't for the help and guidance we've received from Harriet Parker and the SBDC. Her steady guidance and practical advice, along with a wealth of resources from skill-specific professionals, has helped us make the adjustments necessary to survive in today's market and to start to enjoy the yield of all that we've worked so hard to create. Everyone should look into the SBDC!"
Fresh Jewelry is now sold across the country, and in Canada, as well as online at www.freshjewelrycompany.com. Retailers interested in carrying Fresh Jewelry can email sales@freshjewelrycompany.com to request a wholesale account.
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Biz Buzz
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It Takes a TEAM
If your basketball team had only point guards, or your football team had only quarterbacks, you probably would not find yourself in the playoffs. As in sports, it's hard to be successful in business without a well-rounded team. Even if you are a solopreneur, the team concept is still important to your success. Here are some things to consider when building a successful team:
Partners, employees or consultants?
A good team can take many forms. Collaborative partners or business alliances can fill gaps in your product/service offering or allow you to leverage sales efforts. Employees allow you to delegate while freeing up precious time to work on building the business. Consultants add expertise to fill in knowledge gaps or complete larger projects.
Cover key disciplines
Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations are key disciplines in any business. It is rare that a business owner is expert in all of them. Weakness in any one of these key areas will surely thwart growth, and can even cause a business to fail if not addressed in time. There are many ways to build a team to cover these disciplines (see above.)
Know thyself
Entrepreneurial "gurus" like Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, and Joe Abraham, author of Entrepreneurial DNA, preach that not all business owners are the same. In addition to the key disciplines above, entrepreneurs also have strengths and weaknesses in how they approach growth, conflict, planning, management and other aspects of owning a business. Do you excel at high level strategy, or are you a get-it-done detail person? Are you a creative whiz who prefers to move on after each new invention, or someone who thrives on the negotiating the deal? By identifying your entrepreneurial makeup, you can avoid building a team of all quarterbacks.
Visualize your organization
Entrepreneurs like to be in control. As a result, we tend to fill every role on the team for far longer than we should. If you are having trouble letting go, create an organization chart with all the roles for your business, then put your name next to each one that you fill, and how many hours per week you spend in that role. Consider how your business could grow if you could remove yourself from some of those roles and assign them to someone else.
What's the plan?
The type of team you build, and how you construct it, depends on how you want your business to grow. Take time to create a plan before your build the team.
Not sure where to start? Take the Entrepreneurial DNA test or check out this article
on building a successful team. Call the IL SBDC at Waubonsee at (630) 906-4143 for no-cost one-on-one assistance. We'd be happy to be a part of your team.
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Biz Bitz
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Business Foundations Workshop 
This workshop is designed to help your business with the essentials to being a successful company. We have gathered professionals from the fields of law, accounting, banking, insurance, marketing and finance/investment to help guide you on a path to success.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
6-9 p.m.
Aurora Campus, Room 244
$20
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SBDC Client News We wanted to share a You Tube video submitted by the 13 year-old daughter of our client Ken Blazer, owner of Rogue Partners, for a Small Business Administration contest for new exporters. We applaud her home-made entrepreneurial approach compared to other professionally made videos submitted for the competition. Way to pass on the entrepreneurial spirit, Ken! You can view the video here: http://youtu.be/PqJPkevdc_E. Professional mixing not included - keep your finger on the volume control! Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream: Speed Coaching Chicago
Are you a food, beverage or hospitality small business owner? Are you looking for marketing, packaging, legal, financial or sales and distribution advice? We can help!
The event will kick off with a networking reception at 6:00pm. During the reception you will sign up for the consulting stations that are most relevant to your business such as:
- Marketing and E-Commerce Packaging
- Sales and Distribution
- Business Financing
- Legal Advice for Your Business
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And more!
For more information and to register Click here.
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Get Smart: Small Business Workshops at Waubonsee
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 Starting Your Business in Illinois ($30)
Wed., May 8, 6-9 p.m. (Aurora)
Wed., June 5, 6-9 p.m. (Aurora)
Tue., July 16, 6-9 p.m. (Plano)
Thu., Aug. 1, 6-9 p.m. (Sugar Grove)
Marketing for Small Business ($30)
Wed., June 19, 6-9 p.m. (Aurora)
Social Media Marketing for Small Business ($30)
Tue., July 30, 6-9 p.m. (Sugar Grove)
Google for Business ($30)
Tue., June 25, 6-9 p.m. (Aurora)
Business Foundations ($30)
Wed., May 22, 6-9 p.m. (Aurora)
Facebook for Business ($15)
Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Law ($30)
Tue., May 7, 6-8 p.m. (Aurora)
Retail Merchandising ($35)Thu., May 2, 8:30-9:30 a.m. (Aurora) Register at Waubonsee TicketsBusiness Plan Boot Camp - #1 Markets & Marketing ($30)Fri., May 10, 1-4 p.m. (Aurora) Register at Waubonsee TicketsBusiness Plan Boot Camp - #2 Forecasting & Financing ($30)Tue., May 28, 1-3 p.m. (Aurora) Register at Waubonsee Tickets
Check seminar details for the full list, class descriptions, locations, ticket numbers and pricing. To sign up, complete and submit the registration form. For additional information call the IL SBDC at Waubonsee office at (630) 906-4143.
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A variety of QuickBooks and Excel classes are available to meet your small business accounting needs. Click here for complete class descriptions, locations, dates, times and costs.
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Illinois SBDC at Waubonsee Community College
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). All opinions conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA or DCEO.
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