SmallBusinessExecutiveInforming, Inspiring and Connecting Businesses
Panzanzee incubator targets social enterprises
One of Chicago’s newest incubators is aimed at social enterprises. Panzanzee offers co-working spots in its 2,200-square-foot space as well as the opportunity for social entrepreneurs to address a group of professionals with a specific problem and receive advice, according to a Forbes story. Unlike startup accelerators designed to prepare young technology firms for venture [...]
Family Business Council migrates to DePaul
Submitted by the Chicago Family Business Council The Chicago Family Business Council will begin operating under the umbrella of DePaul University’s College of Commerce starting March 1, bringing its myriad programs and services to DePaul students, alumni and the local business community in the heart of the city’s Loop. The council helps family-owned and closely held [...]
MBX’s employee focus leads to satisfied customers, new sales
By Ann Meyer Zach Mitchell didn’t know how lucky he was to work at MBX Systems in Wauconda until he took a job at another company. After just a few weeks, he was having breakfast with MBX’s chief operating officer Jill Bellak to ask for his old job back, which he received. Mitchell is just [...]
SingleHop named Chicago’s fastest-growing firm by Inc. magazine
Chicago-based SingleHop Inc. is the fastest-growing Chicago-area business with three-year sales growth of 7,305 percent, according to Inc. magazine, which ranked the company No. 25 on its 2011 Inc. 500 list of fast-growing firms. SingleHop, a provider of dedicated servers and web hosting, was the top-ranked web hosting company on the list and the second-fastest growing IT services [...]
Companies find ready market for IPOs
When Northbrook-based Nanosphere has needed capital, it has been able to find it, including on the open market. The company, which makes advanced molecular diagnostic systems, has raised $300 million to date, including government grants, private equity and $103 million from a 2007 initial public offering after paying $10 million in related expenses. It closed [...]
Jones Lang LaSalle’s results show signs of real-estate recovery
By Robert Wile Medill News Service Earnings of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. rebounded more than 500 percent in the first quarter as the pace of commercial real estate transactions picked up throughout the world, suggesting signs of recovery. In the quarter ended March 31, 2011, the global real estate services firm reported net income of $1.5 million, or [...]
Waukegan gaming company reports lower third-quarter sales, income
By Dave Cassilo Medill News Service – Waukegan-based slot machine maker WMS Industries reported third-quarter net income of $24.2 million, or 41 cents per share, down 27 percent from $33 million, or 55 cents per share, from the year-ago period. While the results were lower than the company’s projections, they were on par with analysts’ [...]
Growing European e-commerce market presents opportunity
Europe’s e-commerce market surpassed the U.S. market last year by generating $182 billion in sales, up 12.5 percent from the prior year, Chicago-based Internet Retailer reports. American-owned businesses generated about 12 percent of Europe’s e-retailing sales. The U.K. market, which is the largest in Europe, saw e-commerce sales climb 23 percent last year from 2009, [...]
“Buy American” provision aims to level the playing field
A military authorization law that President Obama signed on Friday included a “Buy American” provision aimed at boosting manufacturing in the United States instead of sending orders to China. The provision, which bars the Defense Department from buying solar panels made in China, could help the United States gain market share from the Chinese, which [...]
