Nearwest News
In This Issue
Holiday Party
YWLCS
Thank You!
Internship L&L
Business in Turkey
Food Workshops
Membership Meeting
Member Spotlight
New Incubator Companies
ICNC Space Available
Training Funds
Development Opportunities
Member News
Alderman's Meeting
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January 2017
Annual Holiday Party Brings Out Hundreds!
We would like to thank the more than 300 people who braved the cold to make it out to ICNC's Annual Holiday Party on December 15th! The event was held at the festive Garfield Park Conservatory and was a great opportunity for all to network with ICNC incubator companies and community members. We hope that everyone who attended enjoyed it as much as we did! Head over to the ICNC website to see more pictures from the event!
Thank you to our sponsor MB Financial and  our in-kind donors: Armanetti's Badger Murphy , Clark Street Sports , Goose Island , Present Tense Fine Ales , Suki + Solaine , and   Whole Foods .
ICNC Hosts Women's Leadership Charter School
On Wednesday, December 7th, 90 high school students visited the ICNC offices and incubator to learn about entrepreneurship and what goes into running a successful small business. The Young Women's Leadership Charter School is the only all-girl public school in Chicago dedicated to helping urban girls graduate high school and continue on to higher education.
 
A special thanks to Chatto, Crockett Cookies, Exquisite Designs, Lucky Prints, Saltsox, Shoe Drop, and TGIN for providing the students a tour of their spaces and to Unah Choi, Chris-Tia Donaldson, Alexandra Jusino, and Cindy Magiere for speaking to the students about their business experiences! 
Thanks to Our Supporters!
A very special thank you to each person who made 2016 such a great year for us at ICNC! We are thankful for your support and generous donations throughout the year, especially on Giving Tuesday. 

We wish you success in 2017 and look forward to more opportunities to work with you in the upcoming year!
       Lunch & Learn: Internship Best Practices  
Do you want to hire an intern, but aren't sure how to do so? Join us on January 25th to learn the ins and outs of hiring, on-boarding, and managing undergrad and grad student interns to create a successful experience for all involved. The workshop will help you learn how beneficial interns can be to your organization and how to recruit them.
 
Wednesday, January 25th
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00PM
Location: ICNC - 320 N. Damen Ave.
Register here! Bring your own brown bag lunch.
Seminar - Business Opportunities in Turkey
The SBDC International Trade Center at ICNC invites you to attend a business seminar focusing on growth opportunities in Turkey. The program will feature presentations from the Consul General of Turkey as well as the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey, highlighting the Turkish economy and investment environment. There is no fee to attend. Please contact Molly BaƱuelos at molly@industrialcouncil.com to register.

Friday, January 20th
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Turkish Consulate General - 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive
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.
Technical assistance to food entrepreneurs made possible by our sponsors Bank of America and the United States Small Business Administration.
Save-The-Date - ICNC Annual Membership Meeting
ICNC's Annual Membership Event will be taking place on Thursday, March 2ndThe meeting is ICNC's premier issues-oriented gathering and your chance to shape the organization's advocacy priorities. We want your input and participation on matters like development, regulation, transportation, and infrastructure. There will be more details to come. 
       Member Spotlight -
Great Central Brewing Company
When the homebrewing duo of David Avram and Conor McFerran were not able to find a reliable, contract-brewing service in Chicago, they decided to open their own. After four years of planning, the Great Central Brewing Company officially started production in 2016. A tasting room at the brewery in the Fulton Market District to sample brewery-fresh beer is set to open in 2017.
GCBC is Chicago's first craft-dedicated contract brewery, solely focused on brewing and packaging other brewer's recipes. Craft brewers whether they are new, established, or are just looking for additional capacity in busy seasons, are able to make GCBC's brewery, their brewery. The 32,000-square foot space, with German imported and assembled equipment, is one of the larger brewing facilities in the city. When the tasting room opens, up to 24 beers produced in the brewery will be available on tap. Learn more about GCBC here.
Welcome New ICNC Incubator Companies!
Farmer's Fridge - Farmer's Fridge believes that good food that is good for you should be easy to get. Their kiosks, found all around the Chicagoland area in places like 7-11's, cafeteria's, and major building lobbies, are full of specially designed, recyclable containers of delicious, healthy food, such as salads, breakfast, snacks, and more. Local and organic food is used as much as possible.

Green Diaper Babies - Green Diaper Babies is a cloth diaper delivery and cleaning service that allows families to customize deliveries to fit their needs. They provide service in Chicago and 40 miles out to the Suburbs of Chicago. The company plans to expand their services to daycare programs in the area in 2017.

Purchase Point - Purchase Point is a creative advertising company that develops Point of Purchase display designs of consumer packaged goods, food, and other products for the U.S. retail market. They aim to create designs that will help sell products while consumer's are making purchasing decisions. 

WallPacks Direct - WallPacks Direct is an online distribution company for the commercial lighting industry. They offer quality lighting products, including those manufactured from Jarvis Corp., a former successful incubator company. Their advantage in a competitive industry comes with the above average customer service they provide, along with constantly updating their platform to meet the needs of the industry.
Available 25,000 Square Feet ICNC Incubator Space
From the high ceilings and natural light to the large open space with street access, the possibilities are endless! ICNC has a 25,000 square foot space available that would ideally be filled by a long-term anchor tenant like a brewery, distillery, restaurant, or a store.  
  
Click here to view other smaller available spaces.    
Employee Training Reimbursement Opportunity
Receive money back for investing in employee training! ICNC has received funds through TIFWorks 50/50, an employee training reimbursement program issued by the City of Chicago. Applications are currently being accepted. Applicants must be located within the Kinzie Industrial TIF District boundaries. All training must be pre-approved by the City. For more information, contact Hannah Jones at hannah@industrialcouncil.com.
Development Opportunities
10,000 Small Businesses: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a no-cost program that provides business owners with practical business education, a supportive network of advisors and peers, and access to capital. Through the program, owners will receive the tools and support to develop a customized growth plan to take the business to the next level. The application deadline for Cohort 18 is February 1st. For more information and to apply, click here.

 

RMUIL ICenter Program:  One of the core values of Robert Morris University Illinois is experiential learning. The ICenter program pairs student/faculty teams with businesses to work on real projects. Successful past projects have included accounting, marketing and social media plans, graphic design and videos, food business product development, and much more. For more information, click here or contact Deanna Ho at dho@robertmorris.edu.

Business Workshops:  The Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection (BACP) offers workshops every Wednesday and Friday. Workshops vary each month and are conducted by city officials, experts, and partner business organizations. All workshops are free and open to the public. To view the business workshop calendar, click  here .
Member Announcements
ICNC Newsletter and Website -  ICNC members who have an announcement such as a new product launch or a special promotion can have it included in our monthly newsletter. Members with media attention can have the article link included on ICNC's ' In The News ' section of the website. Send all relevant information and links to Michelle Collett at michelle@industrialcouncil.com  by the last day of the month.
Monthly Alderman's Meeting
Every month ICNC hosts a breakfast with 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. These meetings are an opportunity for area companies to discuss issues they have with crime, infrastructure, zoning, and other topics. For more information on ICNC's monthly Alderman's meeting, please contact Hannah Jones at hannah@industrialcouncil.com.
For more information, call 312-421-3941 or email   info@industrialcouncil.com .