July 2021
Make City Mentions + Hatchery Headlines
The entrepreneurial atmosphere in the halls of Make City and The Hatchery is always apparent. Here are some of the innovative ways small businesses working out of Make City and The Hatchery are growing and supporting their employees and their communities.
Product Launch
Aged & Infused
News Feature
Iya Foods
Make City tenant Aged & Infused has released new summer flavors of their all-natural alcohol infusion kits! The mango Out of Office and the sweet and spicy Parrot Head are available now to purchase on their website.
Iya Foods, a Hatchery Bloom Member, was recently featured in the Chicago Sun Times! Toyin Kolawole started the superfoods company selling easy one-pot mixes, baking mixes, and spices, based on the foods she grew up with in Nigeria.
News Feature
Cocoa Chili Foods
Available Classes
Sew Anastasia
Cocoa Chili Foods, a resident of The Hatchery, creates delicious Afro-Caribbean-soul food. Cocoa Chili Foods and Niquenya Collins, owner and Executive Chef, were recently featured in the Chicago Tribune. Read more.
Anastasia Chatzka, a fashion designer and sewing educator based out of Make City, now teaches sewing classes! Sew Anastasia's Sewing 101: The Basics, denim upcycling, and pattern drafting are a few of the available classes. Learn more.
The Illinois Small Business Development Center International
Trade Center at ICNC
The Illinois Small Business Development Center at ICNC has a calendar filled with upcoming no-cost entrepreneurial education webinars! Learn more about the Illinois SBDC at ICNC here and the IL SBDC International Trade Center here. Follow the Illinois SBDC at ICNC on LinkedIn!
Workforce Hazard Recognition | 2 Part Series
Thursday, July 15th and Friday, July 23rd at 1 PM

In this two-part series, you will learn how to recognize workplace risks and how to identify and eliminate risky actions and conditions that can turn into safety problems or expensive incidents. Part 1 will cover Hazard Recognition and Part 2 will cover Hazard Elimination.
How Do I Price Products/Services for My Business | 2 Part Series
Friday, July 16th and Thursday, July 22nd at 1 PM

One key aspect of running a successful company is setting your prices. How do you price yourself and your products and services to be both competitive and profitable?
Bookkeeping Basics
Monday, July 19th

This class that will provide entrepreneurs with the bookkeeping basics needed to effectively run their business will be led by Attorney Julia Ferguson.
Accounting Basics for Entrepreneurs | 2 Part Series
Tuesday, July 20th and Tuesday July 27th

This class will help you feel comfortable talking with your accountants, bank, investors about what your accounting records reflect about your business or a business you may want to invest in.
Federal Contracting Application + Training Support

Ruffin Consulting, in partnership with the Small Business Association (SBA), is offering a no-cost comprehensive (8) week training program that will assist eligible firms interested in obtaining 8(a) Federal Contracting certification. The training will focus on the process of making your business Federal
Contracting ready. Come see how obtaining 8(a) certification can catapult your company to the next level!
ICNC's HR Corner
Are you ready to hire staff but lack the time? Our workforce development department can assist you!

The Workforce Development Team at ICNC works every day to provide quality and streamlined services that connect a skilled and qualified workforce with employment, as well as a variety of labor market services to meet the needs of local businesses.
​To discuss your HR needs, please contact Nancy or Priscilla in our Workforce Development Department!
Illinois Transportation Law Update
Laws in Illinois have changed and starting July 1, 2021 Illinois will no longer suspend licenses for any ticket debt, fines, or fees. The SAFE-T Act ended suspension and holds of driver’s licenses for failing to pay red-light camera tickets, speed camera tickets, traffic tickets, and abandoned vehicle fees. Licenses also cannot be suspended and held due to parking tickets, and vehicle compliance tickets. The Act also reinstates driving privileges for those who have already had their driver’s license suspended/revoked for failing to
pay red-light camera tickets, speed camera tickets, traffic tickets, and abandoned vehicle fees. Reinstatement is free, automatic, and will occur by July 1, 2021. The law does not eliminate any outstanding ticket debt. You must still pay off your tickets, but your license will no longer be suspended due to the debt. 

Upcoming Virtual Food Workshops with The Hatchery Chicago
The Hatchery, a collaboration between ICNC and Allies for Community Business to bring education, capital, and support to the Chicagoland food entrepreneur community, has upcoming food workshops.

Grow Your Business @ Make City + The Hatchery
Make City - 320 N. Damen Ave.
The Hatchery - 135 N. Kedzie Ave.
ICNC's Make City incubator offers a thriving entrepreneurial community and immediate access to ICNC's advising, export, and advocacy services alongside 100 other small, modern urban manufacturing businesses. ICNC supports small businesses and the West Side community through incubation, advocacy, and advising.
The Hatchery is a non-profit food and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build and grow successful businesses through cutting-edge kitchen facilities, entrepreneurship curriculum, partnerships with generous corporate sponsors and foundations to create local job opportunities and accelerate local economic growth.
The Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC). Reasonable accomodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Please contact the center at (312)433-2373.