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Lorri Feldt, Regional Director, NW-ISBDC and Jim Hubbard, SCORE District Director, explain the multitude of local resources available to business owners and potential business owners.

The Start-up Toolkit

NWI host to multiple resources designed to help entrepreneurs Cultivating communication skills, mentoring, giving sound advice and offering a collaborative environment are among the ways region organizations are fostering the young entrepreneurial community. “Starting a business isn’t easy. There’s a lot of risk associated with it,” says Lorri Feldt, regional director of the Northwest Indiana

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Valparaiso’s downtown has experienced a renaissance. Small businesses have flocked to the downtown filling it with a mixture of restaurants, retail shops, boutiques and more.

Community Comrades

Small business provides a sense of place Small business is the lifeblood of every city or town, regardless of size. A 2012 study by Civic Economics, a company that analyzes the impact of buying local, found that local businesses are known to have a “multiplier effect” on their communities; for every dollar spent at a

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Maximized Marketing

How marketing firms help businesses rise to the top In our increasingly digital world, the role of marketing looks drastically different than it did a decade ago. It’s never been easier for a company to market itself, but at the same time, the number of options to do so can be overwhelming. This is why

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Building Hope

Steel City Salvage initiative addresses blight, creates jobs in Gary A nonprofit hopes to spur economic development while addressing issues like blight, in hard hit Gary. The Chicago-based Delta Institute is committed to building both a resilient environment and economy through sustainable solutions. The Steel City Salvage initiative in Gary is a local example of its

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Navigating the Waterways

NWI Paddling Association combines community and conservation She’s the first to admit that the ancestral spirit of the French voyageur likely doesn’t breathe within her. Nor does that of the Olympic kayaker. Instead, Debby Stoit says she’s still a novice at this business of paddling canoes and kayaks along the waterways of Northwest Indiana, and

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Things to Do and See in South Bend

An update on arts and entertainment options across the region Summer entertainment abounds throughout Northwest Indiana. Here is just a sample. A new entertainment promotion is coming to South Bend from May 29-June 4. Titled “Best Week Ever,” the project’s plan is to blitz South Bend with a variety of non-stop activities for the full

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Stewart McMillan

Task Force Tips CEO innovates and inspires For Stewart McMillan, CEO of Task Force Tips, the Valparaiso-based, worldwide distributor of firefighting equipment, innovation is a profitable passion that inspires, saves lives, and provides an all-American way to do business and serve the community. McMillan jokes about testing 100 percent positive for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on

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“Students today come with a unique set of skills and ideas,” says Sandy Alvarez, whose agency works extensively with Indiana INTERNnet to promote internships in Northwest Indiana.

Young Talent

How to make the most of an intern Hiring an intern can be an easy decision but, as any manager knows, how to best utilize one can be tricky business. “Planning is key when embarking on an internship program in order for it to be successful for the employer and the intern,” says Janet Boston,

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Chuck Hughes

Choose Civility

Discourse should heal, not divide The Gary Chamber of Commerce had just concluded a very spirited meeting and immediately afterward the Chamber office received a contentious call regarding a matter that was clearly out of the authority of the Gary Chamber. That caused me to reflect upon the discord among our elected officials, within our

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