Monthly Archives: May 2018

Small Business Strategies in Chicago: Part I

Local businesses grow and thrive via their communities, making them a different organism than their larger-scale counterparts. In Chicago, small businesses are doing especially well due to the efforts of numerous professionals and the local residents. According to members of Forbes Chicago Business Council, there are several approaches that have made small businesses in Chicago so successful:

  1. Partnerships with other local startups. According to Ben Margolit of Rentgrata, Inc., networking and exploring partnerships with other businesses cultivate relationships that have the potential to stimulate significant growth, especially when both organizations share a similar target customer base.
  2. Transit advertising. Seemingly old-fashioned, advertisements places on trains and other means of public transportation generated a lot of traffic for Augmented Retail Company, according to Anne-Marie Kovacs. She also listed social and influencer marketing as impactful tools.
  3. Joining the local tech scene proved valuable to Devbridge Group, according to Aurimas Adomavicius, allowing the company to generate organic referrals and efficiently meet their clients’ needs.
  4. Showcasing stories. An alumni blog series captured the essence of Victory Lap’s graduates, allowing their story to stand out and their content to be seen by a wider audience, according to Brian Bar.
  5. Events and relationships. Nothing beats natural interactions and personal referrals when it comes to building up a reputation. According to Bobby Goodman of Truss, attending events and meeting other startup teams helped the company cultivate strong relationships and generate new business.
  6. Organizing events and tours. According to Ross Freedman of Rightpoint, sponsoring and speaking at industry-focused events and summits grants immeasurable exposure and legitimacy to a company as well as invaluable insights and knowledge into different business ecosystems.

WOW Opens Chicago-Delhi Flight

Chicagoans now have access to a new, more affordable flight to Delhi thanks to WOW Air. The airline, which has been offering cheap flights to Iceland from all over the U.S., has begun to expand beyond Europe and North America, opening a whole new world of travel options. WOW’s new flight to Delhi starts at $199, and will also be departing from Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C., among others.

WOW Founder and CEO Skúli Mogensen said: “I am thrilled to broaden WOW Air’s offerings and bring low-fare international flight service to India.

We are passionate about continuing our mission of enabling everybody to fly by making international travel accessible and affordable for all, and look forward to expanding our global service to provide travelers with the opportunity to see many parts of the globe, whether for business or pleasure.”

Every WOW flight has a layover in Reykjavik, which, while possibly inconvenient, gives travelers an opportunity to see a bit of WOW’s native country. The airline also offers a stopover feature to help make your delay more enjoyable.

 

West Chicago Business Park Expects New Business

Chicago mayor Ruben Pineda recently revealed that efforts to boost a business park in West Chicago are finally paying off.

According to Pineda, the city is teaming up with park owner DuPage Airport Authority and Choose DuPage to encourage additional growth on the 800-acre campus and “develop incentive plans for new development.”

“These efforts have led to several exciting prospects already bubbling to the surface,” Pineda said during his State of the City address.

The details of the plan have yet to be revealed, but Pineda shared several hints, including a plan to build 800,000 square feet of warehouse distribution space, as well as another 750,000 square feet of manufacturing and distribution.

“For the first time in over 10 years, I have been informed that we might be running out of available property in the DuPage Business Center,” Pineda said during the address. “That, my friends, is a great problem to have.

“We are committed to our pledge to our residents and businesses to  provide exceptional service and transparent government while focusing on doing what we can do to relieve the financial burden on our customers.”