Everything is Information
The last thing entrepreneurs need is all the information they can get. There are infinite ways to launch or grow a business, each with different starting and turning points along the way. It’s easy to get lost in an endless internet of websites, organizations and investor opportunities. Confused by a world of friends, colleagues and second cousins offering their own version of advice. It can all lead to overwhelming overload with no idea what to do or where to go next. How do you find a clear path that produces less anxiety and more success?
Yet information is everything from the Turner Center
Information is just information. Unless it’s the right information from the right source at the right time. Then it’s everything. Especially when it comes to planning, starting, and growing your business. The right information turns an idea into a launch. Takes small to scalable. Gives all that entrepreneurial drive some real direction.
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship and the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Bradley University are here to help you plan, start, and grow your business.
Attend “Starting Your Business in Illinois”
We strongly encourage everyone to attend our once-monthly workshop “Starting Your Business in Illinois. A common sentiment we encounter is that if you have never started or run your own business, you simply “don’t know what you don’t know!” Attending a Starting Your Business in Illinois workshop is a common sense way to investigate the responsibilities that come with being a small business owner. Learn alongside other budding small business owners in an informal setting where your questions are welcome. Visit this page to read the workshop outline and upcoming dates/times, and to reserve your spot at the next live and in-person workshop.
Draft a Written Business Plan
A business plan is a roadmap for organizing, managing, and growing your business. It is commonly required when an entrepreneur applies for a commercial loan or seeks an equity investment in their new venture. Regardless of capital funding needs, creating a business plan is an often underestimated step on the entrepreneurial journey—and it can be accomplished prior to committing valuable time, effort, and money.
Our office can provide you with a business plan template that outlines the information to gather and include and additional details to consider. We also have tools to help you visually represent your business model and identify key components for your company to succeed.
Building your customer knowledge and understanding the value proposition of your product or service in the marketplace may require additional guidance. Crafting a plan to create a positive customer experience and implement a profitable revenue model takes time and effort. Let us help. The advisers at the Turner Center are here to assist you in defining your business concept, developing client relationships, building your organization, and creating a productive and profitable operation.
Assess Your Readiness
Before you commit your valuable resources of time, talent, real estate, equipment and ongoing effort, we advise you to evaluate your preparedness to enter the world of business ownership. Please take the time to download this assessment.
Feel free to write down your answers and review them with an adviser from our center. Our feedback is confidential, and we are here to encourage you in your new endeavor when the timing is appropriate to your situation.
From your Organization
Launching a new venture and contributing to the community’s economic growth is exciting!
Before you launch, you may want to consider what organizational structure makes sense for your business. Should you operate as a sole proprietorship? Or a partnership? What about incorporating or forming a limited liability company (LLC)? Conversing with an Illinois SBDC adviser about this topic can help you make this important decision.
Remember that a new small business owner is also responsible for regulatory compliance. This means you should prepare to interact with the appropriate organizations in your city or town, your county, and, of course, the State and Federal governments.
Register your business
Common agencies you will encounter include your city and county clerk’s office, the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois Department of Revenue, and the Internal Revenue Service. New Beneficial Ownership Interest regulations from the Treasury Department also may require you to register with their division of Financial Crimes Enforcement (FinCen). The rules are not complicated, but we can answer questions and assist you as needed.
Depending on the nature of your business or industry, you may also need to engage with your local City/County Health Department, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
This list is not comprehensive, but the Turner Center’s advisers can help you create a checklist of logical and sensible steps to accomplish your business’s launch.
Technology Commercialization
The SBDC helps individuals and companies identify, evaluate, and pursue technology commercialization projects that lead to innovative products and services. This includes making connections with Bradley University resources, local partners, and capital providers to support related funding.
Create an online presence and promote your business using social media
The Turner Center offers guidance in website development, comprehensive advising in social media marketing, and even the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for small businesses. Our dedicated Social Media Adviser is available for one-on-one consultations to help you take practical steps to improve your visibility and drive customers to your business.
Be sure to watch the calendar of upcoming training events, both in-person and online, to add to your knowledge in this vital area of business development.
Please do not forget that your engagement with the Turner Center is not a one-time event! Our advising is meant to be collaborative, supportive, and available at no charge as you continue to grow your business. Besides attending our training events and our ongoing advising sessions, here are three ways you can continue to come back and tell us about your progress:
When we say the success of the Turner Center depends on your success, we really mean it. To fulfill the requirements of the state and federal grants that fund the operation of our Illinois SBDC, ITC, and APEX Accelerator, we must seek your responses to periodic surveys on economic impact. Rest assured that the information gathered is anonymized and aggregated.
The impact of our advising is measured to help us improve our services and to keep us aligned with the standards of our host organization, Bradley University, and as well as the strategic goals of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
We are proud to help you contribute to the economic success of our community. Thank you for participating in this vital information gathering that allows us to continue serving Central Illinois!
We always like to hear from you and would love to feature your growth as a “Success Story.” Let us help you tell the community about your business. Upon your request to be featured, we will schedule an interview for an article written by a Bradley University journalism student highlighting the milestones along your entrepreneurial journey. Our clients have made wonderful use of these articles to amplify the impact of their companies in their respective markets. These stories are shared statewide and even nationwide!
Bradley University is a pioneer in higher education in that, for decades, a significant requirement for graduation is the completion of a Senior Capstone or Senior Consulting Project by every single student. The Illinois SBDC at Bradley University assists this process as the first point of contact for small business clients seeking to enlist the help of students from the Foster College of Business. To learn more about the Senior Consulting Project program and to apply for consideration, follow this link: (to the Senior Consulting Project page).