Neigborhood Business Development Center (NBDC)
Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) is a Neighborhood Business Development Center as defined by the City of Chicago.(NBDC) as defined by the City of Chicago.
When to Contact Your Neighborhood Business Development Centers
Chambers of commerce and business organizations have a strong neighborhood network and coordinate efforts with local aldermen, the City, and other community partners. They help implement the City’s Neighborhood Small Business Growth Strategy. They can help businesses with:
- Information about a particular neighborhood
- Getting a new small business started
- Troubleshooting City-related issues for small businesses
- Connecting businesses to financial resources
- Business-to-business networking opportunities
- Employment and workforce development assistance
- Consumer marketing assistance
- Connecting your business to the local community
Visit us at on the Auburn Gresham Community portal under Businesses to find learn more about the local services we are offering to the businesses in our NBDC service area.
To find other neighborhoods supporting local businesses, click on link to go to the City's empowering businesses and protecting consumers site to get to Know Your City and Local Neighborhood Business Development Centers.
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BACP offers free business education workshops or webinars every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Due to COVID-19, all programs are currently being offered as webinars. Topics include business licensing, operations, financial resources, marketing, and more. Programs are free and open to the public and taught by industry professionals, not-for-profit agencies, and government agencies.
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BACP offers free business education workshops or webinars every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Due to COVID-19, all programs are currently being offered as webinars. Topics include business licensing, operations, financial resources, marketing, and more. Programs are free and open to the public and taught by industry professionals, not-for-profit agencies, and government agencies.
Wednesday, 2/17 Webinar at 3:00 PM
Effective Niche Marketing Strategies
Presented by Score Chicago
Niche Marketing can be an effective way to stand out from your competition. In this webinar will do a deep dive into niche marketing – what it is, the benefits and risks and discuss how to know if it’s the right strategy for you. It will also cover how to find your niche and provide examples of successful niche marketing strategies.
Topics to be covered:
- Benefits and Risks to a Niche Marketing Strategy
- Using Market Research and Competitive Analysis to Identify the Right Niche Market for Your Business
- Creating your Unique Selling Proposition for your Ideal Customer
- Determining How and Where to Most Effectively Reach your Ideal Customer
Register for the 2/17 Webinar
Thursday, 2/18 Webinar at 1:00 PM
Navigating Chicago’s New Indoor Dining Regulations
Presented by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer ProtectionOn Tuesday, February 16, the City of Chicago announced that indoor dining can expand to the lesser of 40% capacity or 50 people. Join this webinar for an overview of current regulations and the framework for continuing to ease guidelines.
Register for the 2/18 Webinar
Friday, 2/19 Webinar at 9:30 AM
Coronavation: A Simple Approach to Pivoting or Creating New Revenue Streams for your Business
Presented by Jason William Johnson, PhD(c) Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Chicago Urban League
In recognition of 'Black History Month' join us for a webinar that teaches business owners a methodology for identifying opportunities for new products, services, and business models. This process can also be used for new venture creation as well. Participants will learn:
- How to scan the environment for new opportunities
- How to effectively evaluate the viability of a new offering or business model prior to launching it
- The different forms of capital that they already possess and how to leverage them
- How to evaluate the performance of their new offering or business model.
Wednesday, 2/24 Webinar at 3:00 PM
Grow Your Small Business with Grants Up to $250K
Presented by The City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD)Staff from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will provide summary, timeline, and application information for the department's two biggest grant programs: the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF) and the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF), each of which offer cash assistance to businesses looking to
start or grow their operation.
Register for the 2/24 Webinar
Friday, 2/26 Webinar at 9:30 AM
Google Analytics 101
Presented by Francisco Ramirez, Chimbly ConsultantsIf you want to know where you're going, first you have to know where you are. This workshop will teach you how to get started with Google Analytics and give you a basic understanding of the metrics and tools it offers. You will be able to analyze how your website currently performs and generate actionable insights so that you can create SMART goals to move your business forward.
Register for the 2/26 Webinar
Please email BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org with any webinar questions.
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Reminders and Resources:
Winter Outdoor Dining Guidance
Chicago is committed to ensuring that bars and restaurants can operate outdoors safely and successfully during the fall and winter months. Please visit chicago.gov/winterdining for up-to-date guidance for safe outdoor service.
Chicago Reopening Guidelines
The City of Chicago has developed industry-specific guidelines for safely operating within Phase IV: Gradually Resume. These guidelines are part of the city’s Be Safe Chicago framework that will be used to guide Chicago’s reopening process amid COVID-19. Please review the guidelines to keep your business in compliance.
Tips to Protect Chicago's Businesses
Chicago-based chambers of commerce and business support organizations, often referred to as Neighborhood Business Development Centers (NBDC), assist in the development of small businesses in Chicago, serve as liaison between local businesses and the City of Chicago, and provide neighborhood business development services. They have have a strong neighborhood network and coordinate efforts with local aldermen, the City, and other community partners. They can help start-up entrepreneurs and existing business owners. Find your local NBDC by visiting chicago.gov/NBDC.
Extension of Business Relief
As a reminder, last month the Chicago City Council passed a law to extend critical regulatory relief into 2021. The following measures are now in place:
- Extension of License Expiration Dates: All licenses that expire between March 15, 2020 and June 15, 2021 will be considered active until July 15, 2021 and those businesses can operate during that time without renewing their license or paying a fee.
- Extension of Sidewalk Café Permit Expiration Date and Extension of Reforms: All current Sidewalk Café Permits will be considered active through May 31, 2021 and businesses with a Sidewalk Café Permit can operate their current Sidewalk Cafes until that date without renewing. Additionally, all Sidewalk Café Permits issued for the 2021 season will benefit from the temporary reforms implemented in 2020: permit fee reduction of 75%, the ability to extend in front of neighboring property and an expedited permit issuance process.
- Extension of Expanded Outdoor Dining Program: The Expanded Outdoor Dining Program, through which bars and restaurants can operate outside on private property or closed streets, has been extended to last through the end of 2021.
Business Education Resources:
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** 2021 **
The Year of the Small Businesses Comeback!
Chicago Reopening Guidelines
Please let us know how we can be of service to help you start, maintain, grow and connect you with financial resources, access to training to improve or start your business, trouble-shooting City of Chicago issues and connecting to local resources in the community. Your new business resource development contact, Norma Sanders and she can be reached at the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) office or via email at nsanders@gagdc.org:
As we continue to manage through these unprecendented times as we work to improve the local businesses in our service area remember safely socail distanced or virtually:
For more information on SHOP SOUTH and to see a list of services and resources offered as part of the GAGDC Neighborhood Business Development Center, click here