Business

Small business owner meeting with SBDC staff member

Welcome to ECC! We’re glad you’re here.

Whether you're a local business owner looking for advice, an employer hiring graduates, a district resident who needs career advice, or help writing a resume, you'll find a warm welcome at Elgin Community College.

Due to the extremely high volume, we recommend that you register as a client for the quickest response using the Register for Advising button. We look forward to assisting you.

Advising and support for small business owners

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  • Start-up Services
  • Financing
  • Business Planning
  • Low-Cost Workshops

Overview

The Illinois Small Business Development Center (Illinois SBDC) at Elgin Community College offers counseling services at no cost to help small businesses succeed. Entrepreneurs and small business owners can obtain management, marketing, finance, and operations advice. We offer tailored, one-on-one advising and workshops to assist with business development.

Our training and advice are available for new and existing businesses. Our grant funding requires that you register your business with us. We'll help you build a comprehensive business assessment to identify critical areas needing attention and provide a follow-up action plan to address them.

If you own a small business or are considering starting one, the Illinois SBDC can help with:

  • One-on-one business counseling for businesses from pre-venture through maturity;
  • Access to capital and identifying funding options;
  • In-depth financial analyses and budgeting;
  • Developing sales and marketing strategies;
  • Business plan review;
  • Low-cost training workshops, seminars, and courses; and
  • Referrals to other sources of information and industry professionals.

About Us

The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Elgin Community College has helped businesses grow for over 30 years. Back by popular demand in 2020, our business success team has provided over 5,000 client consultations, 1,500 new jobs, more than 2,000 retained jobs, incubated 300 start-ups, and 100 expansions for companies located in District 509.

"The free Comprehensive Business Assessment gave me an incredible opportunity, allowing me to work on pieces of my business with someone who understands the multiple perspectives you need as a business owner, from very detailed to the big vision." - Kimberly Elam, Owner, Kimmer's Ice Cream, St. Charles, Illinois

Contact Us

The Illinois SBDC is located on ECC's campus in Building E, University & Business Center. The campus is located at McLean Boulevard and Spartan Drive, one quarter-mile south of U.S. 20 and one half-mile east of Randall Road in southwest Elgin.

Learn more about our partners

Illinois SBDC

Elgin Community College
1700 Spartan Drive, Building E, Room E105
Elgin, IL 60123-7193
Phone: 847-214-7488
Fax: 847-931-3911
Email: sbdc@elgin.edu

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and Elgin Community College and the support of legislators, chambers of commerce, and the business community. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its contents, and it in no way constitutes a contract with the college.

 

Americas SBDC Illinois
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