Informed Beginnings Business Profile

Deb Lawrence, now President of Informed Beginnings, paid her first of many visits to the Illinois Small Business Development Center at ECC in October, 2011.  She needed a business plan for the shared services cooperative she wanted to start.  A shared services co-op is not a business structure we come across often.  I’ve only had one other person since or before then interested in starting a business using a similar structure.

Before explaining how a shared services co-op works, let’s first understand what Deb and others involved in the Informed Beginnings cooperative do:  as non-medical persons, they support families through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.  Deb specifically has been serving as a doula in Magic Hands Birth Services, a business she established as a sole proprietorship more than 16 years ago.

As a shared services cooperative, they are a group of independent business people (like Deb, many have sole proprietorships) who join together to support each other for their common good.  A little bit like an association in that they share a common interest and offer similar services.  In this case, the membership of Informed Beginnings shares several services that are offered through the co-op:  a certification program, promotional materials and information, networking, and training. 

Previous to starting Informed Beginnings, Deb and others joined other child birth organizations, but what was lacking most was the inability of the membership to fully participate in the direction and the profits of the organization.  She and others wanted something more participatory, and wanted to share in the rewards.  At this time, Informed Beginnings is the only child birth organization that offers part ownership.

Profits are shared as follows:  at year end, after all expenses and salaries have been paid, profits are divided and distributed according to each member’s contribution for the year.  It’s called a patronage dividend, and it can vary year to year depending upon the co-ops earnings and expenses as well as each member’s contributions (i.e., dues, purchases).

A very noteworthy point about starting this business:  membership is scattered across the United States.  Largely educators, the participants in the creation of this co-op were used to discussing curriculum and making decisions by committee.  In order to make continual progress, they had an initial Steering Committee to set the direction, meeting Monday evenings via GoToMeeting.  Deb served as leader for the group, working diligently at crafting a cohesive and predictive business plan.

Membership was initially limited to approximately 70 individuals, but as of June 1, 2012, the co-op is open.  Informed Beginnings expects at least 1,000 members within a year or two.

Frank's House of Steel Business Profile

In January of this year, Frank Hernandez finally witnessed the realization of his long term dream – to open a gym suitable for serious body builders.

Frank first came to the Illinois Small Business Development Center (ISBDC) at Elgin Community College (ECC) in June 2008, seeking assistance in developing a business plan appropriate to present to lenders.  It took time, several revisions of the plan, and contacting multiple lending institutions before everything fell into place three years later when Frank finally got approval for all of his funding requirements.  Throughout it all, Frank persevered, and would not be deterred from his goal.

The culmination of his dream, called Frank’s House of Steel, is located at 24 Tyler Creek Plaza in Elgin.  It’s bright and clean and has state of the art equipment. 

Frank has been lifting for 37 years, and was always disappointed in other gyms.  Their equipment never let him lift to his real potential.  It was typically inferior.  Now, Frank has remedied that.  In Frank’s House of Steel, there’s plenty of room, top notch equipment, and no more waiting in line to use the weights, because there is ample equipment, all brand new.

While Frank’s gym will cater to serious body builders, he welcomes everyone who is interested in physical fitness.  If you know Frank, you know he has a big heart.  He thrives on helping people better themselves.  It’s important to him to contribute to the community and his church.  He’s happy to help both the experienced as well as the novice customer.  His gym now includes cardio equipment, and Frank is experimenting with classes (he feels boxing will be a great offering).

The gym’s hours are 5AM to 10PM, Monday through Friday, 7AM to 4PM on Saturday, and 8AM to3PM on Sunday.   Call 630-479-2046 for more information.

Renewed Balance Health and Wellness Center Business Profile

Starting your first small business is exciting, but also very challenging.  John Schori will certainly attest to that.  John was just completing his chiropractic schooling in December 2011, and he was determined to open his own practice as soon as possible.  He came to ECC’s Illinois Small Business Development Center with business plan in hand.

Over the next few months, John visited the ISBDC to review his business plan revisions.  He revised, and revised, and revised that plan, looking for the best way to start his new enterprise professionally, yet economically.  He knew he needed some funding assistance, but finding a bank that would be receptive to a start-up chiropractic business was the challenge.  Still fresh from college, he understood, first of all, that writing an A plus business plan would be essential.  Second, he wanted to keep the start-up and recurring costs down.  And third, he did not want to inflate his revenue projections (a trap all start-ups fall into initially).

Once John had achieved the most realistic projections, he started visiting banks in the area.  By this time, he cognized that a small loan would not likely be in the cards, so instead he searched for a bank willing to offer him a business credit card that had a reasonable credit limit.  After shopping around, he found a lending institution he felt he could work with.  Having a strong relationship with a business banker should not be underestimated.  You are likely to use their other business banking services over time, so a strong working relationship is critical.

We can finally report that John opened his practice in May 2012.  It’s called Renewed Balance Health and Wellness Center, at 2175 Point Blvd, #170, in Elgin, near the intersection of Route 90 and Randall Road.  He will be hosting a grand opening celebration, open to the general public, on Saturday, July 21, 2012, 11am – 2pm.  Call 847-396-6584 for more information.

“Working with the SBDC has been a great experience! Their friendly staff, helpful resources, and knowledgeable guidance have been a vital part in starting my new business.”  - Dr. John Schori