Small Business Development Center

SBDC Services

Register for advising

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

Overview

The Illinois SBDC at Elgin Community College provides free counseling services to support the success of local small businesses. 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 create a detailed business assessment to identify key areas needing improvement and provide a follow-up action plan.

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

• 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. Our business success team has delivered over 5,000 client consultations, leading to 1,500 new jobs and over 2,000 retained jobs. We've also supported 300 start-ups and 100 business expansions 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

SBDC Stories

Learn more about our partners.

• Illinois Department of Commerce
• Illinois SBDC
• U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

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.