Sean Jackson is the owner of a restaurant in Indiana who is looking to expand his business to Aurora, where he now lives.
“I’m the owner of Wings Cafe in Merrillville, Indiana, and we are interested in branching out here in Aurora,” he said Wednesday afternoon at the Small Business Resource Fair sponsored by the city of Aurora at Waubonsee Community College’s downtown Aurora campus at 18 S. River St. “We’re looking to expand. I moved out here to Aurora about three years ago and I’m looking to ease that commute a little bit.”
Jackson said he came to the resource fair to get “more information about the Aurora area and its resources with grants and all that so we can hopefully move out here a little faster.”
Beginning at noon, a number of legal and financial clinics were offered at the event, followed by the resource fair itself which began at 1 p.m. and ran until 3:30 p.m.
According to a press release from the city of Aurora, the fair was designed to “connect entrepreneurs with valuable resources to launch, grow and sustain their business” as well as “build relationships with the small business community.”
Jon Zaghloul, communications manager for the city of Aurora, spoke before the event and said the fair “continues to be run by the city’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Division” and it allows “business owners to be connected with valuable resources.”
“It’s been very successful and we have two 30-minute clinics in addition to the resource fair which helps business owners meet non-profits and business support agencies and even municipal partners who are ready to support small business owners on their journey in growing a small business,” Zaghloul said. “Really, it’s a phenomenal opportunity and a phenomenal resource for a lot of our small businesses to connect with people who can help them enhance their own business venture.”
A total of more than 30 vendors and organizations were on hand including non-profits that support local businesses.
“This is pretty much on par with what we’ve had in the past. The business equity team does a really good job at recruiting different vendors from all over the board,” Zaghloul said.
Some of those taking part in the business fair included the College of DuPage, Aurora Public Library, the Illinois Comptroller’s Office and the Aurora Regional Economic Alliance.
“It’s a great blend of vendors that come from banks, tax agencies, government, non-profit and business support,” Zaghloul said. “This event really provides a good tool kit for small business owners who just need help with the process of understanding how things work and what they can do to enhance what they do and their day-to-day operation.”
Jessica Price of Oswego was representing the city of Aurora at a booth at the fair and said the city is “trying to get more contractors involved” in bidding for Aurora projects.
“We give out information on how to sign up for our bidding to get more people involved in the process,” she said.
Kris Murphy of Aurora was among the more than 100 people who turned out for the business fair and said her hope “was to connect with more business owners.”
“I’m from the Chicagoland Green Chamber of Commerce and we’re just looking to help business become greener,” she said. “I’ve made some contacts and this has been kind of a networking opportunity for me. I think Aurora does want to grow businesses here and they are supporting the business community.”
Vernita McGee-Andrews of Aurora, the director of Stable Able Housing, said she wanted to come to Wednesday’s event “just to share some awareness.”
“We want to let people know what’s available. As far as what people looking to start a business can learn from me, I started from scratch with an idea,” she said. “That idea went to a vision. I wrote the vision and made it plain and then whoever reads it could run with it.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
