Chicago’s changing industrial climate today is reflective of a crucial transformation that had been shaping the city through these years. It has been a collective action of a multitude of factors working in tandem that made Chicago one of the hottest entrepreneurial destinations not just in the United States but in the world also. Immigrant entrepreneurs seem to be accepting the city’s improved industrial ecosystem, which is providing them immeasurable opportunities to grow and prosper. According to KPMG’s 2017 Global Technology Innovation Survey, Chicago made a significant jump in terms of being a technology innovation hub. The survey asked 841 industry leaders from around the world before reaching this conclusion.
It was not long ago when a critical mass of people in Chicago began realizing that the city’s entrepreneurial caliber will have the potential of producing successful businesses. These business models could then be leveraged for social benefit. Today, the world is noticing that there is a full-fledged grown ecosystem in support of the entrepreneurship in Chicago.
Part of the reason for this growing entrepreneurial landscape in Chicago can be attributed to its colleges and Universities that stepped in to play a leading role. The other major role of helping Chicago entrepreneurs to grow their companies was actively played by advancements in technology tools. These powerful tools helped startups and small businesses save time, money, and resources due to which they easily started to achieve their break even and registered growth relatively fast. Whether it is manufacturing sector, energy sector or software startup companies, certain tech tools are revolutionizing their way of functioning. In the Chicago startup scene, these software tools can transform companies towards becoming the unicorn.
A powerful tool is the one that differentiates between menial and productive tasks, and that ultimately goes on to achieve major business goals. Every entrepreneur, therefore, should be familiar with bigger, smaller, specific, and impactful tools that could give their business an edge – as is the case with many startups and small businesses in Chicago. A pertinent example of this is “mHub” – Chicago’s latest innovation center. This company is the shining illustration of entrepreneurism that helps other technology entrepreneurs develop products and speed up manufacturing.
The various areas in which tech tools are helping Chicago companies in terms of decision-making, time-saving and properly utilizing resources. These areas are:
- Organization
Organizing and monitoring of various processes are very important aspects of a company. Businesses have to reduce risks, maximize gains and achieve short-term as well as long-term goals. An effective project management in a company ensures that whatever is being delivered to customers or clients is right. It is also important that goals of projects should closely be aligned with strategic goals of the business. So, project management, collaboration and organizing tools are important at this juncture. Tools like Evernote, Basecamp, and Asana are helping Chicago companies in this regard.
- Finance
In any organization, finance is a very important aspect that takes care of cash-flow management, billing and invoicing, revenue management, and tracking of incomes and jobs. Improper management of finances could lead to liquidity shortages and if finances are restricted, the risks could negatively impact the business funds. A number of startups in Chicago use Quickbooks and FreshBooks to create professional looking invoices and tracking their clients. On the other hand, many companies are using powerful HVAC software in order to get rid of complicated scheduling and manual invoicing.
- Data Storage
Data storage and cloud storage are the buzzwords in today’s business and startups are increasingly realizing their importance in terms of storage and synchronization. Businesses can now store files in the cloud, synchronize them across various devices and share them within or outside the organization. Like many Silicon Valley startups, Chicago businesses are using clouds for storing large volumes of information and accessing it almost instantly. This is enabling entrepreneurs to work virtually anywhere and anytime. Some of the most widely used platforms for this purpose are: Google Drive, Dropbox, and Apple’s iCloud.
Final Words
Chicago startups, small businesses, and bigger organizations are expanding their footprints and making a greater impact in the business world. In addition to a favorable entrepreneurial ecosystem, Chicago companies are utilizing certain important tech tools that are surely helping them to succeed.
