In honor of 30 years of small business development throughout the region, the Small Business Development Center is celebrating with an event which features entrepreneurship awards, client success stories, and a trade show highlighting a wide array of SBDC clients, to include a "Taste of Southern Illinois" food and beverage showcase on Friday, November 14th from 3:00 to 6:00 PM.

Created by The Small Business Development Act of 1980, the Small Business Development Center Program was launched, and in 1984, the SIU SBDC was among the first of the Illinois-designated centers.

To participate in this celebration as a vendor at no cost, please contact Robyn Laur Russell at 618/536-2424 or at [email protected].

Small Business Facts (as defined by the State of Illinois):

CARBONDALE -- An Internet-based business in Carbondale is helping teachers and businesses design bulletin boards.

 

Classroom and Board is owned and operated by Christine O'Dell. She said the business is an online retailer which sells bulletin board components, completed bulletin board sets, wall and door decorations and more...

START UP TV SHOW is a television program that offers its viewers an up-close and personal look into the world of the modern American entrepreneur. As complicated as starting a business may seem, START UP attempts to demystify the process by sharing the real life experiences of average Americans who are taking control of their own destiny. With a hip, modern style and a unique approach to traditional interview-based television, START UP is a truly original show that intends to inspire, educate and entertain viewers in a way that is neither dramatized nor exaggerated. It offers a sense of integrity that the producers feel is missing in mainstream reality television today.

Catch it on WSIU on Sundays at 2:00 PM and Tuesdays at 10:30 PM. Learn more here.

Each staff member at the SBDC has a particular set of skills which make him/her uniquely capable of being a great advisor.  Each month, one advisor will be highlighted so that you can get to know everyone better. 

This month's SBDC Staff Spotlight focuses on Aimee Wigfall.  Apart from all her work with clients, she is the one responsible for the Success Stories videos.  Let's learn a little more about Aimee:

Aimee Wigfall earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Management from SIU in 2002 with a specialization in Management Information Systems, and has been a Certified Business Specialist with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at SIU since 2007. She greatly enjoys advising local entrepreneurs in all areas of starting and expanding their small businesses, specializing in policies and procedures, work flow efficiency, data management, as well as traditional and social media marketing. In addition to her role at the SBDC, she is a wife and mother of two and the owner and operator of her own photography business, Aimee Wigfall Photography.