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A Better Comfort Zone Inc. (attachment)

A Better Comfort Zone Inc. - Many people become entrepreneurs because they have a role model in the family, but husband and wife team Erica Krueger and Marko Sokacich started their new business out of economic necessity.

All Foam Products Company Inc. (attachment)

Buffalo Grove based, All Foam Products Company Inc.’s recent growth spurt has been fueled by selling to the military as a supplier on the federal GSA Advantage! web site.

Als Solutions Inc. (attachment)

ALS Solutions Inc. - ALS Solutions, Inc., a small manufacturing firm based in St. Marie, Illinois, was recently awarded the prestigious Consumer Digest "Best Buy" award for their signature product, The Dog Palace, an insulated dog house. Intended for outdoor use, The Dog Palace is made of polyethylene inner and outer walls for easy cleaning, and has up to four inches of recycled Styrofoam to keep your pet warm in winter and cool in summer. The Dog Palace looks like a small barn with a self-closing door with window and a raised sloped floor. Both the interior and exterior can be easily cleaned with a garden hose.

Bryton Technology (attachment)

Bryton Technology - Bryton Technology Inc., a Toulon Illinois based manufacturer of quality electrical cable and cable harness assembly equipment used by the aerospace and defense industries, is on a growth spurt assisted by the Illinois Central College Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
Since 2001, this 25 person manufacturing company has seen its sales increase by well over 80% or greater in each of the last three years, said Becky Ptashnik, President of Bryton Technology. "Last year our revenues topped $7 million" she added. Ms. Ptashnik attributes this spike in sales to the aftermath of 9/11 with the intensified need for both communication products and military products. The company, which was incorporated in 1989 and is privately held, sells to both defense and corporate clients. Their cables and cable harness assemblies are used in harsh environmental conditions such as satellite launch vehicles, airplane and helicopter engines, military radios, simulators, military trucks and tanks.

Bulldog Warehouse (attachment)

Bulldog Warehouse - Harrisburg High School teacher Jill Bonwell is the Program Coordinator for the Bulldog Warehouse, an in school store staffed and run by seniors that participate in the Jobs for Illinois Graduates (JILG) program. The program, was in the past funded by the Illinois State Board of Education and now affiliated with the Illinois Workforce Education Act, gives Harrisburg High School seniors real world, practical skills as both an employer and employee.

Carpentersville Mini Mall (attachment)

Carpentersville Mini Mall - Mexican grocery stores have become a profitable market niche for Jose Rivera, an entrepreneur based in Woodstock Illinois. Within the last two years, Mr. Rivera has opened two groceries in the Far Northwest suburbs of Chicago in McHenry and Boone Counties and has just received financing to develop a mini mall in Carpentersville anchored by a new 10,500 square foot Mexican grocery store.

CCE Technologies (attachment)

CCE Technologies - Severe fluctuations in sales can wreck havoc for any small business. But the Gilbert family has found that contracting with the government can even out unpredictable business cycles. According to Cindy Gilbert Pitts, president of CCE Technologies, government contracting has allowed her firm to ride out the recent recession and retain jobs. Government contracting is “steady work and reliable. It has allowed us to maintain the same amount of business” during uncertain economic times.

DJ's Repairs (attachment)

DJ’s Repairs - David Birkner is a young man with a passion for fixing cars. Just out of school, Mr. Birkner decided that he wanted to own his own garage and found the help he needed to achieve his goal from the Rend Lake College Small Business Development Center.

D's Polishing & Metal Finishing Inc. (attachment)

D's Polishing & Metal Finishing Inc. - Melinda Boyd has just made the great leap. In June 2004, she quit her day time job to join her partner Thomas Zinanni, full time at D's Polishing & Metal Finishing Inc., the business they purchased in February, 2004. Like most new business ventures, the company's initial cash flow was not able to support both partners at the beginning, so Ms. Boyd kept her day job until her own company's contracts could support both partners. Anxious to dig in, Ms. Boyd is excited to be working at her new business.

Elastec Inc (attachment)

Elastec Inc. a Carmi Illinois based corporation, is expanding its manufacturing capacity by 30,000 square feet and adding ten new jobs, thus boosting the Southern Illinois economy. Donnie Wilson and his partner Jeff Cantrell owned a tank truck business that hauls oil from the oil fields in and around White County in Southern Illinois. As part of their business, they saw oil spills regularly, and in the early 1990’s Mr. Wilson began experimenting to create a product to make their work cleaner and easier. Elastec Inc. began with one product, an oil skimmer, but since the product was patented in 1992, the company has grown to become the largest manufacturer of oil spill recovery equipment in the United States.

Ferretdepot.com (attachment)

Ferretdepot.com - Inspiration for a new venture can come from many places, but in the case of J and J Dog Supplies, inspiration came from the company’s bottom line. At year end in 2001 Mark Godsil, President of J and J Dog Supplies was reviewing the financial performance for his company, a 40 year old privately held dog training equipment supplier based in Galesburg Illinois. The company is headquartered in a 42,000 square foot facility where they manufacture and warehouse their products. In addition they operate a 5,000 square foot retail store on site where they sell a full line of dog and cat food and pet related products. The store has branched out in recent years, selling pet supplies and small animals, reptiles, aquatics, and birds.

Harrisburg and Eldorado Early Learning Centers (attachment)

Harrisburg and Eldorado Early Learning Centers - Like many new mothers, Patricia Ingram wanted to find a way to stay home with her daughter when she was a newborn. Realizing that she always liked being around children, the prospect of watching another parent's child, while she cared for her own, seemed like a good idea in 1986. Mrs. Ingram started small and cared for one other child in her home. Over the years, she began to watch additional children in her home and saw her income grow. After moving to Southern Illinois, she got in touch with the area Child Care Resource and Referral Agency and decided that it was time to license her home based child care. In 1993, she opened Miss Patty Cakes Day Care in her home in Harrisburg. At the time, her husband who had been working as a truck driver, was laid off and beginning a new career in the ministry. He was enlisted into the child care business as well.

H.C. Anderson Company (attachment)

H.C. Anderson Company - Five years ago Curtis Anderson worked for a large roofing company in the Rockford area, but dreamed of owning his own business. Before he and his wife decided to start their business, they took the self-employment training course taught by Bob Lowdon, a counselor with the Rock Valley Community College Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The Rock Valley Community College SBDC is supported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in partnership with the U. S. Small Business Administration.

Home Away from Home Adult Day Center (attachment)

Today about one person in every eight is an older American, and Illinois ranks seventh in total number of older residents in the United States. As the Baby Boom generation (those born between 1946 and 1964)
become caregivers to their aging parents, they are seeking new ways to allow their parents to remain at home and independent for as long as possible.

J and J Dog Supplies (attachment)

J and J Dog Supplies - Family owned businesses like the families themselves, go through many transitions as the founders and their children mature. Some businesses never survive into the second generation, but J and J Dog Supplies in Galesburg Illinois is an exception. The company founded in 1965 by Jack Godsil and a partner, is a privately held dog training equipment manufacturer and supplier. Jack Godsil, according to his son Mark, was "one of the top dog obedience competitors in the nation." People in the competition circuit wanted to know where he bought his equipment, so the elder Mr. Godsil saw a need to design a line of quality leashes for the sport. The company's initial product was a 6-foot long hand braided leather dog-training leash, and it is still one of the mainstays of the business.

JM Industrial Supply (attachment)

JM Industrial Supply - JM Industrial Supply is a Pekin based business that sells maintenance, repair and operations material to light and heavy manufacturing companies and other industrial markets. The company acts as a "hardware store" or mill supply house for the metals industry, especially large manufacturers. Most of the materials they sell are consumed in making industrial products. Ron Givens is the principal stock holder and company president and Dick Scovil is the general manager.

Knapp Jewelers (attachment)

Knapp Jewelers - Small towns that have shops owned for generations by local proprietors are fortunate, because these long-term establishments often become the very essence and character of the community. These shops have been successful over the years because they provide excellent customer service, offer unique merchandize specifically geared to local tastes and pocketbooks, and provide good value. But today these shops, so important to community life, are in grave danger of disappearing altogether, as so many of these local businesses are owned by retirement age folks. One local business that has made a successful transition to a new generation is Knapp Jewelers, on the square in Rushville Illinois, population 3,300, in West Central Illinois.

Kukulu Market (attachment)

Kukulu Market - Assefa Retta came to this country from Ethiopia in November 1999. Prior to leaving his country, he and his family ran a grocery store for several years. While waiting for the opportunity to immigrate to the United States, his family continued to operate the store back home. After arriving in the US, and preparing for his family to join him, Mr. Retta became involved with the Ethiopian community who provided him with advice and support as he settled on the north side of Chicago. Mr. Retta’s plan was to start a business like the one he owned back home.

Labelmaster (attachment)

Labelmaster - Labelmaster, a growing privately held company that makes products to help industry comply with regulations governing the safe handling and transport of hazardous materials, wanted to significantly expand their sales to government, but felt they needed assistance dealing with the confusing paperwork involved. They turned to the North Business and Industrial Corporation's (NORBIC) Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), where they received expert help and timely answers to their questions. Today, Labelmaster's sales to the government sector are approximately six percent of their overall revenues and growing.

Lisa's Movin' and Groomin' (attachment)

Lisa’s Movin’ and Groomin’ - Providing cheerful and attentive personal service is a watchword for many businesses, and it appears it is no different for the pet grooming business. Meet Lisa Alvernia, owner of Lisa’s Movin’ and Groomin’ a mobile pet grooming business in suburban Chicago.

Midwest Garden Co. (attachment)

Midwest Garden Co. - Don Thien grows hydroponic tomatoes in his greenhouse in Fulton Illinois. He and his family have always been farmers. Growing up in Tipton, Iowa, he learned that farming is hard work and a hard business. During the farm crisis in the late 1980’s he attended a successful farming seminar where the presenters spoke about other ways to continue farming without planting the usual Midwest crops of soybeans and corn or raising cattle and pigs. The presentation sparked an interest in hydroponic farming, and Mr. Thien and his wife began to look for greenhouses that might be suitable for a new business venture.

Mother Plum Tree's Playhouse (attachment)

Mother Plumtree’s Playhouse - Parents who work non-traditional hours, often have difficulty finding quality child care for their children, as many established child care centers only provide services from 6:30AM to 6:00PM. Carol Aka, who started Mother Plumtree’s Playhouse in May 2000, knew that offering “off hour” child-care would give her business a competitive advantage.

Radio Flyer (attachment)

Radio Flyer - Radio Flyer, famous for the” little red wagon” known to generations of children across America, has been made in the Austin west side neighbor of Chicago for 85 years. The company, founded in 1917 by Antonio Pasin, is still family owned and is now managed by the family’s third generation.

Safe Effective Alternatives, Inc. (attachment)

Safe Effective Alternatives, Inc. - Jim Rompel wants to change the world and he is starting in Canada. Mr. Rompel is the founder and President of Safe Effective Alternatives, Inc. (www.s-e-a.net), the Belleville, Illinois manufacturer of Lice-B-Gone, a safe, non-toxic, 100% pesticide-free lice, nit and scabies treatment. Lice-B-Gone effectively removes lice and their eggs (nits) without harmful pesticides or irritating chemicals. The product is also effective on body lice and crab lice. The product is safe for pregnant women, nursing mothers, young children and people with asthma, who cannot tolerate other pesticide-based products. SEA also makes Flea ‘n Tick B Gone for pets, and it, too is 100% pesticide-free. The company’s mission is “to offer safe, effective alternative products that enhance the lives of people and pets and help protect the purity of our environment.”

Safeway Products Inc. (attachment)

Safeway Products Inc. - Rockford-based employer Safeway Products Inc. has recently added to their staff because of increased sales through the federal General Service Administration (GSA) Advantage! Web site.

Skyline Decorating Inc. (attachment)

Skyline Decorating Inc. - Getting recruited to play for the Chicago Cubs or any professional sports team, is an arduous process: skill, talent, practice and perseverance are all hallmarks of great players who make it. The same seems to be true for a woman-owned commercial painting contractor that sought commercial painting work at Wrigley Field.

Solaris Tanning Salon (attachment)

Solaris Tanning Salon - Becoming a new business owner is hard work, but that has not deterred Kim Ashley from owning her own shop. Ms. Ashley, 47, has always wanted to run her own business. Even though she has had her share of success working for others over the years, she decided that it was time for her to go out on her own and follow in her father's footsteps. Prior to starting her business Ms. Ashley had 15 years of experience in
sales and sales management.

Susan Yama's Day Care (attachment)

Susan Yama’s Day Care - America has long been called a land of opportunity, because individuals with a good idea and plenty of patience, tenacity and a little money can create a viable business to support their family. Susan Yama, a refuge from Nigeria, is a budding entrepreneur, with an expanding child care business, and this is her story.

US Radar Inc. (attachment)

US Radar Inc. - Much has been written about Illinois' small manufacturing companies having difficulty competing in a global economy, but Decatur-based US Radar has decided that exporting can increase their sales, after receiving assistance from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. US Radar Inc. founded in 1984 by Keith Millard, produces and sells speed radar for law enforcement and sports uses. In 1995 Mr. Millard developed the "Phantom" line of speed radar, a hand held gun type of device for use in law enforcement situations, as well as a mobile unit to be placed in police cars, mounted to the dashboard. The speed radar products can gauge the speed of a motorist within one tenth of a mile per hour and are highly reliable and well priced.

Windhaven Bed and Breakfast (attachment)

Windhaven Bed and Breakfast - Rose and George Kaseeska are proprietors of Windhaven Bed and Breakfast, a new Victorian-style country inn located in Freeport Illinois, in the Northern state line area of Illinois. After raising their five children, Mr. and Mrs. Kaseeska retired and decided to devote their time to establishing a warm and welcoming country inn.