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What I Wish I had Known Before Starting My Business - Part 2

August 31, 2026

Owning a business is often seen as a path to freedom, and while that can be true, my experience has revealed a more complex reality marked by significant time commitments, constant adaptation, and important trade-offs. The work is ongoing and encompasses managing daily operations, maintaining a...

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What I Wish I had Known Before Starting My Business - Part 1

June 30, 2026

Building Entrepreneurial Communities

Starting a business is often glamorized. You picture creative freedom, financial independence, and the pride of building something from the ground up. While those things can be true, there’s a side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets talked about — the unfiltered, behind-the-scenes reality. If I...

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Bring life to empty downtown buildings

July 27, 2022

Building Entrepreneurial Communities

I’ve noticed that many of our rural Illinois communities have a vacant or derelict building in the heart of their downtown or on main street. While the missed opportunities of a property sitting vacant seem basic, the concept is complicated. Intent, code, statute, and insurance classification may...

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Streator Incubator Feasibility Study

October 14, 2020

Streator is a forward thinking city. Successful incubation programs operate like the businesses they help launch, whether they’re located in rural areas or more urban areas. When budgets are tight, best practice programs identify efficiencies to conserve scarce resources. But they also develop new...

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Where Illinois restaurants stand

September 20, 2020

Local eateries, restaurants, cafes, pubs, and coffee shops are the social and economic lifeblood of many Illinois communities. Following the stretch of statewide shutdowns that began in late March, University of Illinois Extension, U of I Department of Food...

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Entrepreneurship Blogs

What I Wish I had Known Before Starting My Business - Part 2

What I Wish I had Known Before Starting My Business - Part 1

Bring life to empty downtown buildings

Streator Incubator Feasibility Study

Where Illinois restaurants stand