Entrepreneurial Development Center

Articles

Entrepreneur's Corner: Budgeting for Success

By Curt Nelson, CEO, Entrepreneurial Development Center Just like a complete business plan allows you to project actions and reactions into ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Networking for Success

By Curt Nelson, EDC President & CEO With all the talk of social networking, I wonder whether the art of face-to-face ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Tip for Increasing Your Sales Management Effectiveness

By Curt Nelson, EDC President & CEO The sales discipline is probably the most misunderstood area in any given company, yet ...[ read more ]

Eastern Iowa Council of Governments

By Tracy DeKoter, Economic Development Coordinator, ECICOG The East Central Iowa Council of Governments is a public agency that provides planning ...[ read more ]

Entrepreneur's Corner: Testimony of Richard Bendis

Testimony of Richard A. Bendis, President and CEO, Innovation America Before House Committee on Small Business - Subcommittee on Contracting ...[ read more ]

New Fund and Area Groups Boost Economic Recovery

The economic recovery process from last year’s natural disasters, and the national economic downturn, makes one thing painfully obvious; economic ...[ read more ]

Making Great Decisions about Shipping and Transportation

by Angela Miale, District Sales Manager, FedEx Services Iowa Nebraska District I love being a sales professional in small package transportation, ...[ read more ]

The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom

Excerpts from The American, The Journal of the American Enterprise Institute, by Dane Stangler, Senior Analyst at the Ewing Marion ...[ read more ]

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Changes for the SBA

Information below submitted to EDC by Dennis Larkin, SBA On February 17, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Top Business Questions

By Curtis Nelson, EDC President & CEO When running a business, many business owners tend to work “in” the business, not ...[ read more ]

Entrepreneur's Corner: Economic Incentive Grants & Loans--How to Be Prepared

By Jane Burroughs, VP of Operations In the process of growing a successful business, most companies end up seeking capital at ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Supporting Entrepreneurs and the Corridor’s Economy: Vitality 2014

By Curtis Nelson, EDC President & CEO In the last Edition, I wrote about the importance of embracing entrepreneurs. I asked ...[ read more ]

Business Rental Assistance Materials Now Available

The Iowa Department of Economic Development will provide financial assistance to eligible businesses located in or planning to locate in ...[ read more ]

Unlock Credit for Small Businesses

By Jane Burroughs, EDC VP, Operations "Unlock Credit for Small Businesses" is part of the Stimulus Bill that was signed February ...[ read more ]

Entrepreneur's Corner: Why You Need a Business Plan

By Peter Fry, EDC Entrepreneur in Residence The entrepreneur who gets funded without a plan is like the yeti. There are ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: The Importance of Embracing Entrepreneurs

By Curtis Nelson, EDC President & CEO The increased unemployment due to the impact of last year’s flood, as well as ...[ read more ]

Segmentation: Seeing Differences in Consumers

By Julie Zielinski, EDC Consultant What I love about Disney is that in the market of entertainment, they definitely know their ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Entrepreneurial Development Center Celebrates Five Years of Assisting Area Entrepreneurs

Since the founding of EDC five years ago, our organization has grown from a local one-man operation to a state-wide ...[ read more ]

Work Space Solutions, Having a Tabula Rasa Mindset

By Philip Wasta, President, Pioneer Workspace Solutions    One of the many challenges that small business owners face as their businesses grow ...[ read more ]

How to Attract Impact Players to Your Company

By Sarah Fare,  Certified Senior Account Manager of MRI of Cedar Rapids, a franchise of Management Recruiters International, an executive search ...[ read more ]

Trade Shows 101: Why Trade Shows Work

By Barb Lindstrom, Skyline Exhibits— In today’s economy, many people are debating the value of their marketing efforts. So how do ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Managing Your Business Through Economic Downturns

By Curtis Nelson, EDC President & CEO Managing through tough economic times becomes a greater burden on entrepreneurs who are already ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Hitting the Reset Button on Your Business

By Curt Nelson, EDC President & CEO— Businesses that were seriously damaged by the tragic Flood of 2008, whether they sustained ...[ read more ]

Marketing that Breaks the Rules

By Nancy Garberson, President and CEO of Marketing and Communications Strategies, Inc. Non-traditional marketing is now the third largest category of ...[ read more ]

New Laws & Rules Aimed at Solving Patent Problems

By Ryan N. Carter, registered patent lawyer with Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, Iowa In order to ensure that the ...[ read more ]

Keep talented workers at your company

By Cindy Lyness,  owner and managing partner of MRI of Cedar Rapids, a franchise of Management Recruiters International, an executive ...[ read more ]

A Company's Brand Builds Trust that Builds Sales

By Steve Merrick, Director of Business Development at Metro Studios Branding is much more than a logo, an image or even ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Developing the Entrepreneur

By Curtis Nelson, EDC President and CEO When asked what the EDC does, the explanation generally comes down to growing new ...[ read more ]

Two EDC Clients Make Inc. 5,000 List

Inc. Magazine expanded its list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies and has created the first-ever Inc. 5,000. According to ...[ read more ]

Curt's Corner: Five Key Ingredients for a Successful Business

By Curtis R. Nelson, President & CEO, Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc. As the EDC moves full throttle midway through its fourth ...[ read more ]

The New Economy

By Jack Schultz, Agurban e-zine (4/24/07) The past two Agurbans have focused on The New Economy, What It Is and the ...[ read more ]

Keep the Corridor Momentum Going

By Lee Clancey, President & CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce The Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor is a ...[ read more ]

SBIR/STTR Funding for Research and Development

By Kris Johansen, Ph.D., Iowa State University Are you looking for funding to develop your technology or idea? Did you know ...[ read more ]

The Importance of Written Contracts

By EDC Guest Columnist William T. McCartan, Attorney with Bradley & Riley PC Young businesses are often faced with the pressures ...[ read more ]

Marketing Plans...A Map for Marketing Success

By EDC Guest Columnist Nancy Garberson, CEO of Marketing Communication Strategies A marketing plan is an important aspect of every successful ...[ read more ]

Customer Satisfaction Studies: Profit Workhorse

By EDC Guest Columnist Monica Vernon, President of Vernon Research Group At Vernon Research Group, we see regular customer satisfaction studies ...[ read more ]