New Statewide Network for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs hits Web Milestone

IASourceLink.com surpasses 10,000 unique visitors

April 3, 2013 (Des Moines, IA) – Five months after going live, IASourceLink has surpassed the 10,000 unique visitor milestone.  Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds joined small business leaders, the Iowa Economic Development Authority and UNI’s MyEntre.net officials to launch IASourceLink.com. The website is a statewide, online clearinghouse of up-to-date information and a network of resource providers that a start-up, expanding or relocating small business may need.

“We had been hearing from entrepreneurs and small business owners around the state that they really needed a “one-stop shop” where they could see the valuable resources that were available to them quickly and easily,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.  “IASourceLink.com does a great job of aggregating what Iowa’s many providers can offer a small business person searching for assistance in growing his or her company. From the traffic we are seeing on the website, it appears to be working.”

IASourceLink.com operates on the U.S.SourceLink web platform, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs and small business developed by the Kaufmann Foundation for Entrepreneurship.  IASourceLink, gives entrepreneurs and small businesses easy access to over 300 resource providers located across Iowa.  Services on the site include:

• Resource Navigator– an online, non-intrusive search engine that helps start-ups or small businesses identify technical and financial resources;
• Iowa Business Concierge– customized assistance from a live operator with specific knowledge and expertise about the network of providers, marketing and demographic information and trends that can help a small business to stay competitive; and
• Statewide Events Calendar– a comprehensive listing of entrepreneur and small business networking, educational and training opportunities.
• Business Licensing Center– an area that helps small business identify business registrations and licensing requirements.

IASourceLink is an initiative offered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in collaboration with MyEntre.net at the University of Northern Iowa.  Visit www.IASourceLink.com to join the list of statewide providers or to find resources to help start or expand a small business in Iowa.