ECDI – Economic & Community Development Institute

I’ve held off on writing a review for ECDI until I got to go through their whole process and see what they had to offer and how they offered it. That being said, I wish I knew about this place two years ago. They are one of the best, if not the best, utilities you can use if you are trying to start your own business.
If you are unfamiliar with what these guys do, they focus on helping people start up their own business from the ground up. Their specialty is working with people starting a micro-​business (less than 10 employees) but they do work with small business owners too. Their process starts with a 6 week class on how to write a business plan, where to get financing, how to pitch your business idea to investors, how to get up and running, how to manage through your first few years in business, and so much more. The class is quite worthwhile and you make a lot of good connections with others who are going through the same process as you. Some of them may even be beneficial for your own business.
After you go through that class they help setting you up with needed faculties like CPAs, HR reps, marketing people, etc. Then they sit down one-​on-​one and work on how to go about getting financing. They offer some micro-​loans up to $ 100K and some other grants as well. If you choose to go down that path then they review your request, set you up with actually talking to a loan officer and helping you with other items like a location for you store.
Everyone I’ve worked with at ECDI has been very helpful and professional. They definitely are a great place to go to if you find yourself getting stuck on your business planning and don’t know were to turn to next.