MACOMB, IL – After nearly six years since the City of Macomb held the inaugural Downtown Business Retail Competition event, the newly-rebranded Small Business Competition is set to return for 2024 in February with over $30,000 in prizes available for prospective entrepreneurs looking to open a business in Macomb.
This year’s competition, which was announced by Macomb Mayor Michael Inman in December, will see the City of Macomb partnering with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Western University to inspire, educate, and and assist potential small business owners seeking to launch their enterprises with a series of classes and workshops aimed to better teach them how to run a small business. Lessons for these workshops include writing a comprehensive business plan and creating individualized pitches for their prospective businesses, which will be put to the test and judged by a panel of local successful business owners and community leaders.
Past winners of the Small Business Competition include Forgottonia Brewing, The Crafty Coop, and Lakeview Medical & Psychiatric Healthcare.
This year’s event also has some new enhancements to help further the opportunities for the businesses with altered parameters including allowing service and industrial-based business ideas, and the expansion of existing businesses. Additionally, the entrepreneurs will have more options of where to open their stores as they will not be confined solely to the Downtown area in Macomb. The number of opportunities for growth has also been expanded, with three prize packaged being awarded for first, second, and third-place business ideas.
“We are looking forward to the 2024 version of the Small Business Competition”, said Mayor Inman. “We had at least two new businesses successfully launch from our 2018 Competition, and we look to have even greater success this coming year.”
The Small Business Competition will begin with an informal presentation to better explain the program that will be held on February 6th at the Spoon River Outreach Center at 2500 East Jackson Street in Macomb.
Workshops will begin on February 13th at 6 p.m., with 3 additional weekly sessions on February 20th, 27th, and March 5th. The participants will be making their business pitches to the panel for judging on March 21st at Park Place at 127 East Carroll St.
For more information about the Small Business Competition, email Savannah Ballard at [email protected] or call (309) 575-3015.
