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What is the Small Business Develpment Center?

Built on passion and ingenuity

The Small Business Development Center at Rock Valley College takes pride in the fact that we help the local community with their business needs at no cost. The lifeblood of our cities comes from the small businesses that choose to stay in the Greater Rockford community, so it's important we serve them.

Business Planing & Start up Assistance

Get expert guidance on what legal entity is right for your businesses as well as help registering it with the state.

Financial Planning & Analysis

Our expert advisors can help with financial modeling for your expansion needs, and also help walk you through mergers & acquisitions.

Marketing & Brand Strategy

Our center has an expert marketing and brand strategist on staff to help assist with your business needs.

Expertise = Outcomes

1.4k+

Satisfied clients

10M+

Debt & Non-Debt Financing

6k+

Advising Hours

165

Jobs Created

Illinois SBDC at Rock Valley College Success 2017-2022

Trusted by clients

Our clients trust us with their business.

Get to know amazing people

Meet our team of business experts

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Nate Jordan

Center Director

Nate Jordan is an ambitious business professional and SIUC alumnus who holds a B.S. in Plant Biology and is a proactive member of the SIU College of Marketing's External Advisory Board.
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A firm believer in social impact and innovation, Nate founded Sprekk Technology Services in 2018, an on-demand phone repair company committed to community philanthropy. He also co-founded Sprekk Supply Group in 2020, a medical device distribution firm specializing in cutting-edge non-invasive pain management solutions for chronic pain patients.

His expertise in creating and executing robust business plans, optimizing processes, and navigating commercial real estate transactions make him an invaluable asset for companies looking to scale and succeed.
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Nate's consulting capabilities are further bolstered by his Go-To-Market experience at Cleo.com, a leading SaaS B2B EDI & API integration provider, and at ToroTMS, a SaaS company focused on streamlining operations for logistics organizations.

His background in diverse industries enables him to apply best practices and innovative solutions to meet the unique challenges faced by companies, ensuring they thrive and accomplish their strategic goals.

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Edward Caceres

Business Advisor

Edward is an experienced advisor who specializes in working with entrepreneurs and start-up businesses to help turn their business ideas into a reality. His expertise lies in creating business plans, developing actionable marketing strategies, providing financial education to secure financing, and building a solid business foundation that leads to long-term success.

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Mike Rogers

Business Advisor

Mike Rogers is an expert advisor that solves problems in business, engineering, and research & development using a wide range of management, consulting, analytical, and development skills in Information Technology.
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Mike's experience as a business consultant and custom software engineer spans more than 30 years covering more than 20 industries, over 12 programming languages, most operating systems and development technologies in the last 20 years, and also includes the use of AI and machine learning to solve practical business problems for more than 15 years.

Over 15 years of Mike's career was spent working for professional consulting companies providing the full gamut of business IT solutions ranging from support and software selection to major custom developed software systems. He has also worked in the fortune 500/100/50 global enterprise environment.

Mike has a wealth of experience in Info Tech as a result of his roles as a computer scientist, software engineer, R&D engineer, industrial engineer, recognized inventor and world-class innovator, certified Blackbelt, systems analyst, business analyst, program manager, change agent, and technical team leader - and his journey is far from being complete.

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Ian Voigts

Business Advisor

Ian has been designing since an early age. Watching his Father start his own design practice in the early 80's, Ian learned two important skills: creating artwork and building relationships. In 2017, Ian founded Neighbor to create a better experience for clients needing branding and design services. A key part of Neighbor's philosophy is being there for clients through thick and thin.

With 15 years of experience in the design industry, Ian has seen trends change, shift, and all but disappear. The importance of committing to your brand and letting the brand carry you to where you want to be is baked into every business that Neighbor works with.

Along with his expertise in branding, Ian is an avid basketball fan
(Chicago all day, every day!), has two dogs, and 5 chickens. He and his wife Christina have been married for 16 years and have 3 children.

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Megan Wright

Administrative Assistant

Megan Wright joined the IL SBDC at Rock Valley College in May of 2023, and she provides administrative support for the team.

She is an alumnus of DePaul University, having a Bachelor of Arts in history and minor in the history of art and architecture, and is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.
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In growing up locally in Roscoe and having the privilege to work for some locally owned, small businesses in the Greater Rockford area, Megan recognizes both the importance of and need for small businesses in our community, and the importance of and need to support them and nurture innovation and growth.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Megan enjoys spending time with her hound mix, Gracie, and having a passion for shopping locally, enjoys exploring local farmers markets.

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Nancy McDonald

Executive Director Grants & Small Business Development

Nancy McDonald is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and a Rockford native.  
Her professional background includes several years of economic and fund development in Illinois and Wisconsin municipal government.

Included in this experience is administration of local US Department of Housing and Urban Development Homeless Assistance grant programs, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District development and administration, Small Business development, Brownfields management, and municipal and nonprofit strategic planning.

When she isn’t working or volunteering, Nancy enjoys writing, reading, and crafting humorous cross stich creations which are given to unsuspecting recipients to enjoy or regift at a later date.

She lives with her husband, Doug, children Nathan and Megan, and cat, Fat Dave in Rockton, Illinois.

“We have invested in a newer, nicer truck, have opened a line of credit, bought a second brand-new trailer, and have been able to afford a ton of advertising! Without the SBDC, we may have never even started this journey”

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John Cantu

815 Junk Removal

"Edward has helped me tremendously with my business. Since working with Edward I am more confident than ever, and my business is becoming everything that I’ve imagined. He’s always there when I need him for help or any questions I may have. I am so blessed that he is a part of my journey! Thank you, Edward. SBDC rocks!"

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Keayonia Starks

Kellie Cheree Candles

“Our banker mentioned the SBDC and we met with them to help us write a business plan and dig through the P&L’s. By doing our due diligence with the SBDC It was definite plus knowing that we could be profitable and run a self-sustaining business.”

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John & Amy Randolph

Cherry Valley Garden Center

“The SBDC brought us so much value. There was content creation, ideas, scheduling, and the SBDC really helped us develop that and get it out to our social media platforms. As a result, through the first 16 weeks of 2021, we've had more sales than all of 2020.”

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Schscha Lofquist

Crandall Stats & Sensors

“I'm so grateful for Edward and the SBDC for being able to assist us in our journey."

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Brisa Berumen

SeaBreeze Non Emergency Medical Transportation

Easy way to build your dream.

The term startup refers to a company in the first stages of operations. Startups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs who want to develop a product or service for which they believe there is demand.

  • A startup is a company that's in the initial stages of business.
  • Startups must also consider where they'll do business and their legal structure.
  • Starting a company can be a difficult venture but a rewarding one.

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