Chamber partners with SBDCs to boost support for minority entrepreneurs
To ensure the region’s small and medium businesses have the support needed to grow, the Quad Cities Chamber is enhancing its partnerships with fellow business service providers and devoting resources to expand assistance for minority entrepreneurs.
Key partners that provide a variety of services for clients include:
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) and Western Illinois University – Quad Cities (WIU-QC)
- SCORE Quad Cities
- Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers – Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) at Iowa State University and Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC)
“We evaluated how to best provide additional services, and we thought it would be most productive to partner with existing experts to enhance and expand their services,” said Paul Rumler, Chamber President & CEO. “We have a business and economic growth ecosystem in the region that works best when we all collaborate.”
If a business needs help, they are encouraged to start by contacting the Chamber, which has the formal relationships and resources in place to help firms of all sizes and industries navigate the barriers or opportunities in front of them.
"This collaboration will allow us to provide quicker responses and manage the interplay at various junctures within the business growth process," said Julie Forsythe, Senior Vice President, Business & Economic Growth, at the Chamber. "The Chamber continues to provide project management, financial assistance options, resource connections and introductions to business opportunities and the broker community."
See the Chamber’s core services.
Increased support for minority-owned businesses
As a result of the partnerships with the SBDCs, the Chamber is devoting resources to expand assistance for minority-owned businesses with the goal of increasing their growth potential. Both the Illinois and Iowa SBDC offices are in the process of recruiting and hiring new staff to fulfill these services and address “longstanding unmet needs in our community,” Rumler said.
Although minority business enterprises accounted for more than 50% of the two million new businesses started in the U.S. over the last 10 years, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship reports there are disparities when it comes to access to capital, contracting opportunities and other entrepreneurial development opportunities. Furthermore, while minorities make up 32% of the U.S. population, they represent only 18% of business owners.
“As we look at providing equitable services for entrepreneurs and businesses, it’s clear there’s a gap in minority business ownership, and we want to make sure there are resources available to help them succeed,” Rumler said.
Entrepreneurs, Forsythe said, are both those with an idea just starting a business and those who have an established enterprise and are at any stage of the business lifecycle: development, startup, growth, expansion or maturity.
Staff dedicated to minority entrepreneurs
The Illinois SBDC at WIU-QC is in the process of interviewing candidates for its new advisor position. The office has employed Spanish-speaking graduate assistants to help Hispanic business owners in recent years, but this hire will be the center’s first official full-time employee dedicated to supporting minority entrepreneurs.
"This exciting collaboration illustrates a shared vision to connect our diverse community to the opportunities provided by the SBDC at WIU-QC in partnership with the Quad Cities Chamber," said Kristi Mindrup, assistant vice president for academic affairs and interim administrator in charge at WIU-QC.
The SBDC at EICC is seeking qualified candidates for its open Minority Business Coordinator position and has the capacity to hire more than one person, said Joel Youngs, SBDC Regional Director.
“Our minority business coordinator will be providing workshops as well as working hand-in-hand with business owners to enhance their profitability, access to capital and ability to create jobs that allow for a strong and vibrant community,” Youngs said.
In conjunction with the Iowa SBDC State Office, the SBDC at EICC also has the capability to offer all of its workshops in Spanish.
Minority business spotlight
For Alan Spears, a successful Black entrepreneur in the Quad Cities, the single biggest barrier he faced after launching his plumbing business 30 years ago was gaining access to capital.
At the time, he and his wife, Martha, who had two small children at home to feed, struggled to secure a loan to get A+ Plumbing off the ground. This prevented them from bidding on big projects, which required additional workers and money to pay them on the front-end of the job. But everything changed when they received their first loan.
“Once we got the funding, we were able to get some of those opportunities, including government jobs,” said Spears, who now has three full-time employees and is turning down work for a different reason – a packed schedule.
The goal of having more of an emphasis on assisting entrepreneurs like Spears, Rumler said, is to increase minority business ownership in the Quad Cities.
Core services provided by key partners
In confidential advising and training sessions, Chamber partners provide a range of services, including financial assistance, management guidance and technical support, many of which are available for free.
SBDCs: Regional SBDCs are equipped to advise small business owners, including minority entrepreneurs, on all aspects of operating their business. They specialize in connecting businesses to sources of capital; federal, state and local resources; and other service providers, such as financial lenders, accountants and attorneys. Services are free for eligible clients.
“Eastern Iowa Community Colleges has proudly hosted the SBDC on our downtown Davenport SCC Urban Campus for years and are particularly proud of its outreach to and work with minority business owners in the community,” said EICC Chancellor Don Doucette. “As a family of colleges with one of the highest percentages of minority students in Iowa, EICC is committed to working to achieve equitable outcomes in all that we do, and we are pleased to join with the Quad Cities Chamber, WIU and other partners to support this initiative.”
Connect with the SBDC at EICC.
"Our goal is to increase the capacity of the WIU-QC campus to serve as an essential catalyst for economic development," said WIU President Guiyou Huang. "Working with such partners as the Quad Cities Chamber, the City of Moline and many other organizations, our Quad Cities campus is positioned to drive business development, contribute to workforce development, recruit students, create partnerships to further educate our students and serve as a means for our graduates to remain in the Quad Cities region to pursue careers and invest in the region."
Connect with the SBDC at WIU-QC.
SCORE Quad Cities: SCORE Quad Cities mentors focus on helping startups with business plans, accounting practices, marketing, early-stage financing, credit, taxes and more. Services are free for eligible clients.
“The Chamber and SCORE share the same community development goals. SCORE’s focus is on entrepreneurs and small businesses who seed local economic growth with innovation and job creation,” said Tom Trone, SCORE Quad Cities Chairman and SCORE Iowa District Director. “SCORE’s focus and role is a perfect complement to the Chamber’s focus on established businesses. We succeed together.”
Connect with SCORE Quad Cities.
CIRAS & IMEC: CIRAS and IMEC help companies in the manufacturing and defense sectors find the right solutions to a variety of challenges, from protecting their workforce during the coronavirus pandemic to complying with federal cybersecurity requirements and navigating complex global trade issues.
"The MEPs are embedded in our outreach to manufacturing and defense businesses, listening and providing expertise and solutions that will help grow their business, improve operations and overcome challenges with recommendations of an action plan," Forsythe said. "They can also make additional connections to specialized expertise, depending on the need."
“CIRAS was founded on the proposition that we can help Iowa communities succeed by helping their local industry succeed,” said Ron Cox, CIRAS Director. “We accomplish this through partnerships with high-performing organizations across Iowa, and in the past five years, CIRAS and our partners have created $2.8 billion of financial results for Iowa businesses.”
“When we work together with the Chamber, we’re able to provide business leaders with a single solution that blends the local needs with the depth of statewide resources and our national networks,” said Mike O’Donnell, CIRAS Associate Director. “We can make sure that industry in the Quad Cities has access to the right solutions at the right time.”
“The Quad Cities Chamber is deeply committed to finding and making available the resources needed for businesses to thrive,” IMEC President David Boulay said. “At IMEC, we are committed to this same mission by providing manufacturers the resources to plan for the future, implement strategies to grow and excel, and in turn, create quality job opportunities for the Illinois manufacturing workforce.”
Learn more about the technical assistance provided by our partners.
