The Entrepreneurship Center is funded by the Illinois General Assembly through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Matching funds are made possible through the SIUE School of Business.
An entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of profit. An entrepreneur sees an opportunity, makes a plan, starts the business, manages the business, and receives the profits.
There are several ways to protect your business. They include:
Patents - a property right granted by the government to the inventor to make, use and sell the invention for a given period of time.
Copyrights - protects your literary or artistic work, allows you to sell, give away or show your work, and copyrights must be tangible and physical.
Trademarks - name, mark, symbol or motto, legally restricted to the use of the owner or manufacturer, that identifies your company and/or its product.
Trade Secrets - information that you do not want known by your competition because your business would lose significant advantages.
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals and serves as your firm's resume. Its basic components include a current and pro forma balance sheet, an income statement and a cash flow analysis. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make the right decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan package. Additionally, it can tell your sales personnel, suppliers and others about your operations and goals.
The Entrepreneurship Center works with entrepreneurs who have business, business concepts, or an idea that would result in a high-growth, high-market business opportunity. The center can assist with providing services in market research, product development, R & D, business planning and identification of capital resources.
The Entrepreneurship Center has a pool of funds that can provide up to $5,000.00 awards for client projects. To access one of these awards, the client must complete an application that will be reviewed by the EC Management Board. If approved, the client must provide dollar for dollar cash match.
An application can be acquired by calling the Entrepreneurship Center at 618-650-2166. The application is also on line at www.siue.edu/business/ec
The Entrepreneurship Center deals with businesses that offer high growth, high-market potential. While all businesses are important, a hair salon would likely be referred to the Small Business Development Center for assistance.
Southwestern Illinois Entrepreneurship Center
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Campus Box 1108
Edwardsville, IL 62026
Tel. 618-650-2166
Contact: Kristine Jarden at kjarden@siue.edu