IASourceLink Blog

Applications for the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Venture Competition are now being accepted. The fourteenth annual statewide competition will be awarding $100,000 in cash prizes!

Brad and Angie Barber dreamed up the idea for Cabin Coffee back in 2001. They knew Brad’s current career would likely transfer them out of state soon, but the Barbers wanted to stay in Clear Lake, Iowa. They started Cabin Coffee in 2002 with a single retail location in Clear Lake and have steadily and sustainably grown Cabin Coffee over the last 17 years, going from a start-up business with no employees to having sales of $5.5 million and 140 employees in 2017.

FedEx Corp. has launched its seventh annual Small Business Grant Contest. The contest offers a collective prize pool of $220,500 that will be awarded to 10 winning small businesses. Winners will also receive an additional dollar amount in credit to use toward FedEx Office print and business services to help run their businesses. The contest is open to U.S.-based for-profit small businesses with 99 or fewer employees and operating for six months or more.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) is partnering with StartupDubuque to offer an Entrepreneur Certificate, starting this year. The new Entrepreneur Certificate at NICC will teach participants how to build a successful business plan, prepare financial statements, and marketing and selling on social media platforms. The certificate is open to all students, as well as current or future business owners in the Dubuque area, who want to develop, enhance or grow their business.

Iowa small business owners who are looking for ways to broaden their operations will want to consider a new training program being offered by Iowa's community colleges, in conjunction with one of the largest U.S. financial services firms.

Last Saturday, was my own mini version of “Shop local Saturday” (though the real one is coming up at the end of this month, so mark your calendars!). I ate lunch at a authentic Mexican restaurant in downtown Waterloo, shopped the local vintage shop in historic downtown Cedar Falls, and spent the rest of the afternoon at of our own gem of a mid-century-modern-themed coffee shop with a friend.

Jason and Brook Craig, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, had always felt that they should own their own business, but for years never pulled the trigger. It took a traumatic, near-death experience – as well as some help and advice from a banker at Northwest Bank – for Jason and Brook to decide it was finally time to make their dreams a reality.

When it comes to starting, growing, or even sustaining a business, there are a lot of building blocks. There’s the business plan and financials. The physical or online location. Determining your business structure and managing employees. But unfortunately, a very important piece of that is often not clearly defined in the beginning - the customer.

Generations of immigrants come to America in pursuit of a better life and the dream of small business ownership. Blanca Plascencia, owner of El Fogon Mexican Grill in West Des Moines, is now living hers after years of hard work and perseverance.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already thinking about 2019, but the U.S. Small Business Administration just announced they’re accepting nominations for the 2019 National Small Business Week Awards.