Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center - Stitches Fashion Program

STITCHES FASHION PROGRAM

The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) understands the unique situation that fashion entrepreneurs face in business. Because of this, the CEC provides individualized assistance to fashion entrepreneurs in the Chicagoland region with the Stitches Fashion Program. Through advisory services, such as raising capital and business plan counseling, the CEC helps emerging fashion professionals make the right early-business decisions and growth preparations. The CEC provides a crucial component for fashion entrepreneurs to attain industry success and prepare for future development.

Fashion entrepreneurs challenges

Fashion entrepreneurs face unusual difficulties, including:

The entrepreneurs themselves Many are first-time entrepreneurs that have the design skills but not the basic business skills necessary to succeed.

Seasonality Fashion cycles and seasonality create immense cash gaps that arent attractive to investors. There is high perception of risk.

Barriers to entering the industry - There are essentially no barriers to entering the industry, making it hard to distinguish one business from another.

Investors/ lenders are skeptical of any industry that fluctuates based off trends and taste.

The CEC works with designers and boutiques that specialize in apparel, accessories and jewelry to overcome these obstacles. Past clients have gained substantial retail and market success.

The Stitches Fashion Program aims at fashion entrepreneurs in all stages of development. First, start-up entrepreneurs will receive information specific to fashion in the Midwest. This includes the Fashion First Steps packet and access to biannual seminars. Start-ups given the packet need to self-initiate their business, allowing the market to dictate who is successful before receiving CEC assistance. Only after the business has met the requirements will the CEC will offer those entrepreneurs individual services.

Services for fashion entrepreneurs

The CEC provides services tailored to entrepreneurs:

Preparing for and raising capital

Counsel and review of financial statements

Financial modeling

Assistance in identifying appropriate outside resources

Loan packaging and syndication

Company position and messaging

Channel and market analysis

Marketing and PR assistance

Retail and wholesale strategies

Resources & Events

Entrepreneurship Center Grant Award Program

Through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the CEC administers grants up to $5,000 to help high-growth entrepreneurial firms obtain professional services for strategic planning assistance. Program applicants are required to provide a cash match of 100% of the award amount.

Fashion Seminars

The CEC hosts two seminars biannually that focus on financing fashion businesses. The first seminar includes basics of financing a fashion business. This seminar is geared toward concept and start-up fashion entrepreneurs. The second seminar includes information on financing sources for fashion entrepreneurs. It highlights financial sources for all stages of business.

Fashion Focus

The CEC participated in Mayor Daleys Fashion Focus 2005 and 2006. This 12-day event held in September was created to highlight the blossoming fashion industry in the City of Chicago. It includes consumer events such as shopping events and neighborhood specials, retail involvement, such as Macys 47 designer showcase, and industry specials such as runway shows and industry seminars. The CEC will continue to be a part of this event for years to come. For more information on Fashion Focus, visit www.fashionfocuschicago.com.

Fashion Blog

The CECs fashion blog is a way for consumers and industry insiders to stay in the loop on Chicagos fashion scene. The blog highlights a new designer or boutique each update. Many of Stitches program clients are featured here. Visit the site at www.styleexpose.com.

www.styleexpose.com

One financial source that the CEC supports is www.styleexpose.com, a people-to-people lending marketplace that provides a platform for lenders to find investments and borrowers to find capital. Through a special Chicago Fashion Entrepreneurs group, individual investors can choose to support creative entrepreneurs in our city based on the quality or creativity of their work, in addition to the financial risk and return. Its an unconventional but vitally important funding source for creative industries.

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