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SCORE Women’s Business Roundtable

Are you a woman who operates her own business or is thinking of starting a business?  A new discussion group focusing on women entrepreneurs has recently started at the Library and we welcome you to attend.
Moderated by a SCORE Mentor and hosted by NaperLaunch staff, this is a lively open-discussion format where questions, ideas and topics are shared and participants provide the answers from personal experiences.  There is no pre-set theme or topic; rather, the focus is on issues proposed by the participants themselves.

This free event takes place on the first Wednesday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive in Naperville.

The next Women’s Business Roundtable will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 4th in the Nomura Room (Meeting Room C) on the first floor of the 95th St. Library.  We hope to see you there!
Posted: 
Thursday, September 14, 2017 - 13:45

Small Business Has Big Impact on U.S. Economy

Did you know that 99% of all independent businesses in the U.S. employ fewer than 500 people? This means that small business technically dominates the U. S. market, accounting for 52% of all workers. Here are a few more numbers from the Small Business Administration:
  • The 28 million small businesses in America account for 54% of all U.S. sales.
  • Small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs since the 1970s.
  • The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people.
Furthermore, the small business sector is growing rapidly. While corporate America has been "downsizing", the rate of small business "start-ups" has grown, and the rate for small business failures has declined.
  • The number of small businesses in the United States has increased 49% since 1982.
  • Since 1990, as big business eliminated 4 million jobs, small businesses created 8 million new jobs.
One of the reasons small businesses do so well in the United States economy is agility—their readiness to respond quickly to economic pressures and local community needs. Small businesses are also innovative compared to major corporations, though some of the tech industry's biggest corporations started out as “hobby” projects and sole proprietorships. In general, entrepreneurship provides and easier entry point into the economy, particularly for those facing disadvantages in the workforce, namely women and minorities. Building a business has always been part of the American dream.
New entrepreneurs thinking about the possibility of starting up should consider taking advantage of the many workshops, learning opportunities and resources available at NaperLaunch. NaperLaunch is a business startup center and coworking space at the Nichols Library in downtown Naperville. Find out more about NaperLaunch programs.
Posted: 
Monday, July 3, 2017 - 10:30

Top 10 Small Business Administration (SBA) Articles for 2016

The results are in!  The Small Business Administration (SBA) website has reviewed their blogs and tallied up the most frequently viewed articles of 2016.  Presenting a wealth of information, these articles cover topics such as marketing, cash management, taxes and business start-up. 

One piece on marketing, for instance, describes the essential components of a solid marketing plan, while another gives tips on identifying the appropriate target market for a product or service. The cash management article suggests ways to create a simple but usable spreadsheet for cash flow forecasting.  All of the articles are well worth reading, as might be expected based on their high viewership, and live up to the SBA’s reputation as a trusted site for business information.

For business owners and managers with a particular interest in financial management of a business, please consider attending the Naperville Public Library’s free program on financial statement analysis. Scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on July 19th in the Nichols Library Community Room, the program will cover the use of financial statement analysis to understand the sales cycle and its impact on cash flow, how to manage fixed and variable expenses to handle cash flow and how to build sales forecasts, manage inventory and prepare for the financial support of growth.  Registration is not required.

Posted: 
Monday, June 5, 2017 - 14:30
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