Start a Business

Unless you are retired, a move to Northwest Iowa to Get A Lakes Life means having a source of income. To earn an income, you either need to find a job, find a business to buy or start a business.

Resources are available to help new and established entrepreneurs to plan and grow businesses, focusing on serving clients with high growth opportunities. We start with a self-assessment of the prospective business owner’s leadership team, spotlight an understanding of the target customer base, provide focus on competitive advantage, assist to evaluate opportunities to protect intellectual property and support the prospective business owner through the building and polishing of their growth plan.

After the business is started and the business grows, we shift services to meet changing needs. Services for maturing companies include mentoring on methods to define achievement milestones, measuring progress against milestones, ensuring leadership team composition keeps in sync with changing needs during pressured growth periods and ensuring availability of advanced technical and professional advisory services to enable informed strategic and tactical decisions.

Networking and Educational Events

A major barrier to entry for prospective business owners is the lack of access to professional and social support. To overcome these barriers, we offer informal and formal opportunities for exchanging ideas:

  • Between business owner peers
  • Between Angel Investors and Iowa Lakes Capital
  • Between Angel Investors and business owners
  • Between institutional investors and business owners

Advisory Services Provided to Entrepreneurs

Human Capital Development

  • Leadership Team Composition
  • Board of Directors Recruitment
  • Advisory Board Recruitment
  • Production Staff Training

Growth Plan Development Consulting

  • Strategic Plan
  • Tactical Execution Plans
  • Milestone Definition and Measurement

Intellectual Property Training

  • Patent
  • Trademark
  • Trade Secret

Professional Referrals

  • Accounting
  • Legal
  • Insurance

Market Analysis Critical Evaluation

  • Market Research Planning
  • Sales and Marketing Plan Development

Financial Analysis

  • Cash Flow
  • Profit and Loss
  • Balance Sheet

Administration Systems Review

  • Bookkeeping
  • Information Technology
  • Shareholder Records

Referrals to Sources of Investment Capital

  • Private Lending (Banks)
  • Private Placement Angel Investment
  • Iowa Lakes Capital
  • Public Incentives
  • Strategic Institutional Investors
For more information on support to prospective business owners contact Brian Dalziel, Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, at 1-800-765-1428 or by email TODAY.