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ReNew Waterloo Small Business Retention and Expansion for North Waterloo

Award Winner

2017/2018 Veridian Community Engagement Fellow | James Hoelscher and Karla Organist

  • College/Unit: Institute for Decision Making
  • Project: Renew Waterloo Small Business Retention & Expansion for North Waterloo

Presentation Type

Poster (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Keywords

Small business--Iowa--Waterloo; Minority business enterprises--Iowa--Waterloo;

Project Summary

The North Waterloo Small Business Visitation Blitz is a project designed to identify the needs and issues facing small, often minority-owned businesses located in North Waterloo through business visits and surveying which was completed on March 1, 2018. The visits were conducted by teams that included local economic development professionals who were paired with students from the UNIEntrepreneurs organization and ReNew Waterloo volunteers. Eight students participated in the on-site retention and expansion visits with business owners. The visits involved thanking the business owners for their investment in and dedication to North Waterloo and discussing their business operations to uncover issues that may lead to business decline, closing or relocation as well as opportunities for business growth and expansion. A total of 112 small business were targeted for a visit and mailed surveys prior to the March 1st visitation day. On the visitation day, 57 business contacts were made, with a total of 38 surveys conducted. Business specific needs identified through the visits and surveys are being addressed through one-on-one consultations for the individual business owners with the UNI Small Business Development. Additionally, the information gathered from the visits and surveys is being used to enhance business and technical service offerings from area service providers specifically targeting the needs of North Waterloo businesses. The organizations participating in the visitation teams included ReNew Waterloo, the Institute for Decision Making, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, Center for Business Growth and Innovation, the City of Waterloo and the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. The North Waterloo Small Business Visitation Blitz is an extension of the Regional Entrepreneurship Project (REP) coordinated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) - funded UNI EDA University Center Project. The REP was a 2017 recipient of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Award of Excellence.

Start Date

19-4-2018 9:00 AM

End Date

19-4-2018 10:30 AM

Event Host

UNI Office of Undergraduate Studies

Department/Center/Organization

The Institute for Decision Making

Award Category

Social Justice Award (Theme-Based)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

File Format

application/pdf

Electronic copy is not available through UNI ScholarWorks.

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Apr 19th, 9:00 AM Apr 19th, 10:30 AM

ReNew Waterloo Small Business Retention and Expansion for North Waterloo

The North Waterloo Small Business Visitation Blitz is a project designed to identify the needs and issues facing small, often minority-owned businesses located in North Waterloo through business visits and surveying which was completed on March 1, 2018. The visits were conducted by teams that included local economic development professionals who were paired with students from the UNIEntrepreneurs organization and ReNew Waterloo volunteers. Eight students participated in the on-site retention and expansion visits with business owners. The visits involved thanking the business owners for their investment in and dedication to North Waterloo and discussing their business operations to uncover issues that may lead to business decline, closing or relocation as well as opportunities for business growth and expansion. A total of 112 small business were targeted for a visit and mailed surveys prior to the March 1st visitation day. On the visitation day, 57 business contacts were made, with a total of 38 surveys conducted. Business specific needs identified through the visits and surveys are being addressed through one-on-one consultations for the individual business owners with the UNI Small Business Development. Additionally, the information gathered from the visits and surveys is being used to enhance business and technical service offerings from area service providers specifically targeting the needs of North Waterloo businesses. The organizations participating in the visitation teams included ReNew Waterloo, the Institute for Decision Making, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, Center for Business Growth and Innovation, the City of Waterloo and the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. The North Waterloo Small Business Visitation Blitz is an extension of the Regional Entrepreneurship Project (REP) coordinated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) - funded UNI EDA University Center Project. The REP was a 2017 recipient of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Award of Excellence.