As the Elk Grove business community works to recover and prepare for a post-coronavirus future, Village officials and staff are ready to answer questions, offer resources, and make helpful connections.

One new way we’re doing that is by going virtual with our popular Business Ambassador Program, which gives local business owners focused time to connect with Village officials and staff. Typically the Business Ambassador team visits business sites in person. But in keeping with social distancing, you can schedule a video call instead.

One Call. Many Connections.
Nick Radcliffe, Elk Grove Village Senior Management Analyst, says the objective of a virtual visit is the same as an in-person one. Call participants include Village board members and Nick, along with Josh Grodzin, Elk Grove Village Director of Business Development and Marketing.

“We’re here to listen and learn. We want to meet the faces behind Elk Grove businesses,” Radcliffe says. “We really want to hear what they do and how things are going, especially after these past months. Once we know more, we can offer resources for workforce development, training, or business leadership, plus the permit process and incentives for expansion and renovation.”

Peter Jackson, Managing Partner at Miller Industrial, had a productive visit with the Business Ambassador team last year.

“They made me feel welcome and proud that I'm leading a business based in Elk Grove Village,” Jackson says. “I gave them a tour of our facility with my three direct reports and led them through a strategy session, based on a presentation I prepared.”

During the visit, the Business Ambassador team encouraged Jackson to apply to Next Level Northwest, a not-for-profit business accelerator program founded by several Chicagoland municipalities - including Elk Grove Village.

“I was able to secure a spot in NLNW,” Jackson says. “I recently graduated from NLNW and had a super positive experience working with Coach Jeff Williams, who helped me put together a market research plan.”

Easy to Schedule. Easy to Do.
The same helpful feedback and networking is possible with a virtual Business Ambassador visit. It’s easy to set up a call, and you don’t have to be new in town to participate.

Here’s what you can expect:

• A 45-minute video call with Village trustees and staff (up to five people total).
• A confidential discussion about your business — what you do, who your customers are, any goals and challenges, and what you currently do to grow your customer base.
  
• Questions to help identify the kinds of vendors, suppliers, service providers, and potential customers might be right within the Elk Grove industrial park.
• An overview of Village resources and partner organizations that may be especially helpful to your business.

Longtime Elk Grove Village Trustee Sam Lissner has participated in Business Ambassador Visits since June 2016. “Josh and Nick do an outstanding job reaching out to our businesses and as Elected Officials, we want to be part of that process,” he says. “The main reason I enjoy visiting our businesses is it provides an opportunity to express gratitude for their investment in Elk Grove. Companies have a choice where they can locate. We want to show them they made the right choice by choosing Elk Grove.”

Schedule your Business Ambassador virtual visit today.

Questions? Contact the Business Development Team at 847-357-4006 or BusinessDevelopment@ElkGrove.org.