ONE OF TEN WAYS UP
Barbers, landscapers, food trucks, clothing lines. This town runs on small businesses, and some of the most respected Black men in it own theirs. You don't need permission to start. You need a plan, a first customer, and somebody who's done it to check your math.
The Young Entrepreneur Program takes high schoolers from idea to pitch, with mentors, and the top prize is $5,000 of real startup money.
Cuts, cleanups, candy, design work. The lessons of pricing, showing up, and keeping money separate only come from doing it.
The Small Business Development Center gives free one-on-one advising: business plans, licenses, taxes. Every serious owner in town knows them.
The Black Chamber of Commerce connects you to men running real businesses here. Ask one how he got his first ten customers.
Nearly every owner on this site worked a job while the business grew. That's not failure, that's runway.
Free program that walks area high schoolers from business idea to a real pitch competition, with workshops and a matched mentor. Top prize is $5,000, with $2,000 and $1,000 behind it. Runs February to May; sign up in fall or winter.
Call 217-403-2000 or email librarian@champaign.org and ask for the Young Entrepreneur Program.
Free, unlimited one-on-one business advising backed by the SBA: business plans, marketing, money projections, licenses. Best once you have a concrete idea; a parent can join the meetings if you're under 18.
Request an advising appointment at cusbdc.org or call 217-359-6261.
The network of Black-owned businesses in the county: training, mentoring, and rooms full of owners who started where you are. Youth programming varies, but a serious young person who reaches out gets pointed the right way.
Call 217-552-3625 and ask who mentors young entrepreneurs.