University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

August 30, 2001

Contact: Jeffron Boynés (312) 413-8702; jboynes@uic.edu

SMALL BUSINESSES THRIVE WITH A LITTLE HELP

Small firms struggling to stay afloat in a shaky economy can find some much-needed assistance in a course offered by the University of Illinois at Chicago this fall.

The UIC Certificate Program in Business Administration gives owners of startups and established businesses the tools to raise their efficiency and build their businesses. People come to the program with specific problems and leave with practical solutions.

"Instead of spending your valuable time on tests and papers, you apply what you learn as you develop a growth and improvement strategy for your business," said Gerald Hills, director of the UIC Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

The non-degree program, cited by Fortune Small Business magazine as a "best bet" among executive education courses, is offered over eight weekends at UIC and in Oak Brook, Ill. It uses the Management Through Applied Planning® system, a proven, step-by-step methodology to build an overall management system for growth and performance improvement.

The primary audience is CEOs, owners and managers of small- to-medium-sized businesses. The curriculum covers issues like: Completing a Market Analysis, Developing a Marketing/Sales Plan, Incorporating an E-Business Strategy, Integrating a Website/Automated Sales Process, Succession Planning and New Leadership Development, and much more.

Joe Slawek, founder of the food additives company Flavors of North America in Carol Stream, Ill., found the program so valuable, he sent nearly a fourth of his 90-person staff.

"We learned how to measure performance," Slawek said. "As a result, our customer satisfaction and retention have improved, and productivity in many of our common processes has increased."

For more information, contact Cassandra Staudacher at (312) 355-3997.

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