CITY OF CHICAGO LAUNCHING ‘SMALL BUSINESS CENTER ON THE ROAD’ BUSINESS EXPO SERIES
The First Expo Will Be Held at Malcolm X College on March 14
March 13, 2015
The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Small Business Center, the Office of New Americans (ONA) and Western Union have partnered to present the 2015 “Small Business Center on the Road,” series of five small business expos in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. The series, which is free to attend, will kick off on Saturday, March 14 at Malcolm X College, 1900 West Van Buren Street, Chicago, and include a keynote from author and former White House Director of Events, Laura Schwartz.
“We have been working hard to implement as many free resources as possible for the 2015 Small Business Center on the Road series, one being Chicago business leader Laura Schwartz delivering an inspiring keynote speech,” said Commissioner Maria Guerra Lapacek of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. “I believe offering free professional resources is a catalyst to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and established businesses grow.”
During the expos, entrepreneurs and business owners will be able to consult, network and gather information from more than 40 government and non-profit agencies including the City of Chicago Department of Buildings, IRS, and U.S. Small Business Administration, that will provide information about licensing, taxes, finance, business planning and much more.
Business consultants from the Small Business Center will be on hand to help attendees apply or renew for a business license, walk people through the steps of obtaining a business license or make an appointment for additional counseling at City Hall. The Center for Economic Progress will provide a free tax clinic with representatives providing 20-minute consultations, and a photographer will take free professional headshots for attendees to use on their social media sites, marketing materials and more.
The first event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At noon, Accion Chicago and the Greater Englewood CDC will present the workshop “Microlending: A Tool for Starting or Expanding Your Business,” and the Women’s Business Development Center will present a workshop on “Leveraging Social Media to Boost Your Brand.” Dates and locations for the series are:
- March 14 at Malcolm X College, 1900 West Van Buren Street
- May 9 at the Arturo Velasquez Center/Westside Technical Institute, 2800 South Western Avenue
- July 18 at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive
- September 19 at 1871, 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza
- November 14 at Wilbur Wright College, 4300 North Narragansett Avenue
As the White House Director of Events during the Clinton Administration, Laura Schwartz created events that represented a nation and inspired the world. Today, as the author of Eat, Drink & Succeed! Climb Your Way to the Top Using the Networking Power of Social Events, Laura shares the secrets to building powerful, effective partnerships in our companies, communities and beyond, adding color with personal anecdotes from her life and White House years as she empowers, motivates and inspires each audience.
The Small Business Center on the Road series is sponsored by Western Union and all of the events are free and open to the public.
For more information about the City of Chicago’s Small Business Center and the business expo series, visit www.cityofchicago.org/sbc.
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