Download CONTRACTOR`S ACADEMY - Black Chamber of Commerce of Lake

SMALL BUSINESS AND CONTRACTORS’ ACADEMY
WHAT?
Due to the increase of Black-owned businesses and Construction Firms, the Black
Chamber of Commerce of Lake County, the BCCLC will be offering a Small Business
and Contractor’s Academy. This Academy will initially be held once a year. Black
business owners have one of the lowest Business Participation Rates in the United States.
It is the belief of the BCCLC that the one-size-fits-all approach to economic development
just doesn’t work. The BCCLC seeks to become the principal voice of the Black business
community and we are committed to increasing the participation of Black and other
minority owned businesses in all commercial and economic areas.
The concept of the Small Business and Contractor’s Academy came to fruition as part of
Mt. Zion Baptist Church’s Economic Development Ministry. In January 2005,
inaugurated before a congregation of over 200 worshippers at the Mt. Zion Baptist
Church, the idea was launched using a start-up firm; Integrity Developers, Inc. The firm
has proven to be a dedicated leader with a commitment to our community. Their efforts
represent the higher standard that Mt. Zion strives to achieve with respect to our
neighborhoods by promoting the excellence of God in all that we do. Through this
initiative, Mt. Zion provided direct services, guidance, and support to a high-growth
potential firm; Integrity Developers, Inc., and assisted them in reaching their full
potential. The direct activities revolve around the basic proposition that the success of
high-growth potential firms can be accelerated by ensuring that they have ready access to
the following four essential business elements:
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Knowledge
Capital
Markets
Networks
Integrity Developers, Inc. (Three-Principal Owners) is a Full Service Construction Firm
located at 2835 Belvidere Rd. in Waukegan. They have a full-time staff of 5 employees,
and growing. As a result of their success in being awarded several lucrative contracts,
they are able to offer their employees competitive wages. They will end the year of 2007
with over $500,000 in incremental revenue to the Lake County economy, which is a
proven success story.
This training initiative marks a historic moment for Black and other Minority businesses
in this county. It is the first program of its kind and will enable us to reach out to and
provide training to Black and other Minority businesses to make them more competitive
and enable them to gain more access to business opportunities in the form of government
grants. As part of our own commitment to the Black business community, we are proud
to work in partnership with other Black Chambers and community development groups to
ensure the success of this program.
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Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the Illinois economy. Minority
businesses and contractors are an important constituency of the small business
community and play a vital role in helping our local economies flourish. This
learning/training grass-root initiative will act as a great tool for these firms in helping
their businesses become more competitive and prosperous.
By targeting businesses with high growth-potential, the training will help increase their
productivity and create more jobs in Lake County. This initiative is about upgrading the
skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets,
improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs in Lake County. The innovative
strategy to develop the Small Business and Contractor’s Academy is in direct alignment
with the State of Illinois Opportunity Returns initiative. The Opportunity Returns
initiative is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large
and small, to help all of Illinois, especially our targeted population to reach its economic
potential. The Opportunity Returns initiative contains tangible actions to make the Black
community more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial, and more attractive
for business.
The primary tenant in the success of our initiative; is training. We envision a sixteen
week course and a twenty-four week course for Construction Contractors will help to
facilitate the development of Black-owned businesses, and Construction-related firms in
Lake County.
What are some of the topics to be covered at the SBCA?
Course Topics includes:
Session 1: Entrepreneur Evaluation
Session 2: The Entrepreneur Myth
Session 3: The Business Plan
Session 4: Functions 4 Entrepreneurs
Session 5: Business Organization
Session 6: Entity Structuring
Session 7: Location and leasing
Session 8: Accounting and Cash Flow
Session 9: Finance options
Session 10: E-commerce
Session 11: Buying/Selling
Session 12: Sales/Marketing
Session 13: Hiring/Training
Session 14: Growth
Session 15: Profitability
Session 16: Final Exam
In addition to the classes listed above, each construction class will cover different topics.
Some of these topics include: Construction field management, construction law
(contracts, claims and disputes), reading/reviewing plans, construction costs and
estimating, accounting, risk management, bonding and insurance, minority certifications,
marketing, bidding, banking and financing, among others.
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WHO?
The program is prepared and offered by BCCLC in partnership with the EBS Worldwide
Business Solutions a specialist in the academic field of business and construction
principles. The combination of operating support and leadership training helps strengthen
the capacity and infrastructure of the selected organizations and promotes the
professional development of their leaders.
Under this Initiative, each corporate participant could assist by providing financial
resources, mentoring, relationship building and support to area businesses and individuals
who are making a difference in the growth of the Lake County economy. This
commitment of investing and deploying an array of philanthropic resources will help
neighborhoods grow and prosper, thereby creating thriving environments where your
customers, associates and shareholders live, and work. This is a value proposition that is
worth the investment.
WHEN?
The Academy’s first Seminar was held Saturday, January 26, 2008 from 9:00 to 4:00
p.m. at the Marriott Courtyard, Waukegan. The other sessions will be offered every week
upon an agreeable day from current attendees. The Small Business and Contractor’s
Academy, SBCA begins February 25, 2008 –June 2008. Attendees will meet on a
weekly basis for two hours for 16 weeks. Construction Contractors will meet for an
additional 6-8 weeks for specific contracting principles.
WHERE?
The BCCLC promotes a philosophy of utilizing resources that are available to us.
Therefore, we are considering partnering with one of our local churches to utilize their
educational classrooms which will provide a learning environment conducive for the
Academy. All classes will be held at the Shiloh Baptist Church Educational Building, 800
South Genesee St. Waukegan, Illinois 60085.
HOW TO REGISTER?
Black Entrepreneurs and other Minorities who want to participate in the Small Business
and Contractor’s Academy can register by contacting BCCLC at 847-244-5548.
Participants must attend all sessions in order to receive a certificate of completion at the
end of the program.
FOR GENERAL INFORMATION:
847-244-5548 [email protected]
www.bccoflakecounty.com
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The Follow-up Focus
How We Do It?
The BCCLC Strategic Business Process is comprised of eight Major Components:
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Define and establish goals
Assessment of current performance measured against established goals
Perform GAP Analysis by benchmarking the results from the assessments
Design GAP Remedial Solutions
 Profile Potential Mentors
 Establish the right mix of Mentor Profiles
 Define training objectives for both Mentors and Mentees
Match Mentees with right Mentors
Train on the objectives established
Implementation of the program
Program management, control, tracking and reporting.
It is the belief of BCCLC that this follow-up process would last approximately 2 years
before they are released from the program follow-up.
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