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Members' Event
Kinzie Corridor
SBDC Workshops
Make City Mentions
HR Corner
Thank You CFW
Make City Available Space
Hatchery Workshops
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The Illinois Small Business Development 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.

February 2019
Network with us at The Hatchery!
Annual Members' Event - March 14th
Opening a new facility, The Hatchery, and retaining the PMD are two major successes of ICNC's past year. Join us at The Hatchery for our Annual Members' Event where you will enjoy high level networking, hear about ICNC's neighborhood planning initiatives and advocacy priorities, and how you can get involved with making a difference. 

For current Make City tenants and ICNC members, there is a code for FREE registration.  Please contact Hannah  for more information.

Thursday, March 14th
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Location: 135 N. Kedzie Ave.
Register here! 

What's Next for the PMD?
Our neighborhood, the Kinzie Corridor, is Chicago's home to modern urban manufacturing. The Kinzie Corridor has a 93% occupancy rate, compared to the Loop's 90% occupancy rate. What may look like open, empty spaces in the neighborhood actually serve as shipping and receiving hubs, storage yards, and in some cases future expansion space - all vital for the industries that operate here. 

Kinzie is home to a few industry clusters, the major one being the breweries that make up the Chicago Brewing District. Goose Island was the first brewery to put down roots in the Kinzie Corridor - but they weren't the last! Kinzie is now home to seven breweries, all with taprooms open or under construction and within a half-mile of each other, including Great Central Brewing Co., On Tour Brewing Co., and Finch Beer. The breweries, along with brandy distillery Rhine Hall, help us advocate for infrastructure improvements, like better lighting and sidewalk repair, while bringing newcomers to the neighborhood! 
Entrepreneurship Education: 
Export Compliance & Woman Owned Business Financial Management
The Illinois SBDC and International Trade Center are hosting FREE entrepreneurial education workshops! Keep up with our calendar of upcoming events here.



The Fundamentals of U.S. Export Compliance
This workshop aims to help you understand the legal and regulatory landscape for exporting from the U.S., and give you the tools you need to be able to navigate them in a compliant way. 

Wednesday, February 27th
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM


Winning: What Will Really Determine Whether Your Business Succeeds or Fails
In this workshop, you will learn how to build a strong, healthy team, how to get your entire team aligned, accountable, and focused on results.

Thursday, March 7th
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Financial Management for Woman Owned Businesses
Come and engage with lenders and women leaders who will be on-site to share challenges you might be facing as a female founder.

Thursday, March 21st
11:30 AM - 1:30 AM


Make City Mentions
Chicago Comb Co., the newest Make City company, manufactures timeless, metal combs fully made in the United States.

Netizen, a nonprofit organization created by Make City companies studiothread and Branger_Briz , is hosting a series of conversations entitled D.R.E.A.M. (Data Rules Everything Around Me) about the systems and data that rule our world. The next conversation is February 28th at Make City, with Melody Haas and will focus on the data that is stored on our devices, even long after we discard them.  Learn more .  
The HR Corner 
- Are you ready to hire staff but lack the time to screen resumes? Our workforce development department can assist you!  Learn more.

- Succession Planning: Why it's important
In a new report, the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago surveyed the 363 family-owned manufacturing companies it identified in Chicago's six collar counties with between 20 and 250 workers - a group that collectively employs more than 22,000 people - to gauge how well they were planning for the future. Read more.

- Employee Handbook: Have you reviewed it lately?
Handbooks are a key asset for communicating company policies and promoting fairness and consistency in the workplace. Ever-evolving federal, state, and local laws make routinely reviewing and updating handbooks critical for employers. Read more  

- Managing the Workplace for Optimal Performance presented by Six Flex Training
As they grow, most business owners struggle with driving their passion for what they do to the front-lines. In this coaching series, you'll learn how to engage your workforce in taking ownership of your organization's mission and vision, resulting in greater productivity, customer service, and a culture people are proud to be a part of. Learn more and register here.

- Your business can receive money back for hiring full-time Chicago residents through the TIFWorks 50/50 Program! For more information, contact Hannah.
 
To discuss the above amendment, and more, please contact Nancy or Priscilla in our Workforce Development Department!
Chicago Foundation for Women's Support of ICNC's EMT Training Program
ICNC's charitable organization, the Kinzie Industrial Development Corporation, expresses its gratitude to the Eleanor Network at Chicago Foundation for Women for investing in the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Training Program as a component in the "Pathways to Economic Self-Sufficiency model."

Now, in its 11th  year, the EMT program will provide comprehensive classroom, ambulatory, and hospital training to 65 female heads of households from the Chicagoland area in order to prepare them to earn their EMT-Basic license. The EMT-basic license will allow the program graduates to gain employment as EMTs, patient care technicians, and more. Thank you again to the Eleanor Network at Chicago Foundation for Women for the unwavering support of women's economic self-sufficiency. Learn more about the program here
Available Make City Space
Enjoy a thriving entrepreneurial community and immediate access to ICNC's advising, export, and advocacy services.
  
Click here to view the available spaces.    
Upcoming Food Workshops
The Hatchery, a collaboration between ICNC and Accion Chicago to bring education, capital, and support to the Chicagoland food entrepreneur community, has upcoming food workshops.  

Hatchery Networking - February 28
*Workshops are free for members of the West Side communities (Austin, Garfield Park, North Lawndale, and West Humboldt).
For more information, call ( 312)421-3941 or email   info@industrialcouncil.com .