Author: Benji Nichols of Inspire(d) Media

On episode 6 of Rhymes With Decorah we welcome special guest and Executive Director of the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce, Jessica Rilling! 

Jessica and her husband Justin are both NE Iowa “Boomerangs” (as we like to call them), having graduated from ISU, followed pursuits across the state, and returned to the Decorah Area in late 2020. Most recently, Jessica served as Executive Director for the Iowa Valley RC&D (Resource Conservation & Development), before finding the opportunity that would help bring her family back to NE Iowa – The Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce.

In 2024 the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its 100th year in existence, providing support and promotion of businesses across Decorah and beyond. The Chamber is a trusted resource in the local business community for advocacy, collaboration, and education.

We talk programs and programming new and old with Jessica, recent awards and accolades that our town has seen, the power of great board members, and much more.

Many thanks to Jessica for being on RWD, and for all of her work, as well as the work of many members and partners of the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce who help make Decorah the great place it is. 

 

“Rhymes With Decorah” is a companion project of Inspire(d) Media.

Original music heard in this podcast performed and recorded by Nick Zielinski of Decorah. Find him on Instagram @indicative_of_drumming

 

 

On Episode #07 of Rhymes With Decorah we welcome Jacki Boldt, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Iowa Executive Director, alongside Inspire(d)’s Aryn Henning Nichols. 

​Jacki is the Executive Director for 10,000 Small Businesses Iowa and has been at Des Moines Area Community College since 2008. She joined DMACC Business Resources as a Business Consultant in 2012 where she currently works with clients in Polk county on workforce development and employee training initiatives.

 

 

Decorah was represented in a big way this spring (2022) at the Goldman Sachs Iowa 10,000 Small Businesses program.

Aryn Henning Nichols, of Inspire(d) Media, and Lisa Lantz, of The Getup, were both selected from a pool of entrepreneurs across the state for Cohort 7 of “10Ksb”. These two women each have a vision for their businesses that they have both explored and refined through the intensive 12-week growth-focused program.

Designed by Babson College, the nation’s top-ranked entrepreneurship school, the 10,000 Small Businesses curriculum focuses on practical business skills that can immediately be applied by small business owners, including negotiation, marketing, and employee management. Participants develop an actionable growth plan for their business with the help of advisors and a network of like-minded entrepreneurs. 

Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa’s entire community college system partners with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses to offer Iowans access to the program, providing scholars with greater access to education, capital, and business support services. To date, more than 10,000 business owners have graduated from the program across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Inspire(d) Media, founded in 2007, publishes Inspire(d) Magazine each quarter, featuring positive news about the great people, places, and things in the Driftless Region of NE Iowa, SE Minnesota, and SW Wisconsin. Inspire(d)’s mission is to connect communities, build regional pride, and inspire readers through it’s “experiment in positive news.”

The Getup, founded in 2018, offers high-quality and affordable secondhand clothing and gear for the entire family – newborn to adult. Customers can shop at their brick and mortar in downtown Decorah, or from anywhere through their online store thegetupdecorah.com. The Getup’s mission fosters community and sustainability through local outreach and by emphasizing a circular economy rather than a one-way track to the landfill.

Find out more about both of these businesses, as well as the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative on this episode – as well as at the following links – and keep your eyes open for updates from both of these awesome female Iowa entrepreneurs!

 

https://www.iloveinspired.com/

https://thegetupdecorah.com/

https://10ksbapply.com/

 

“Rhymes With Decorah” is a companion project of Inspire(d) Media.

Original music heard in this podcast performed and recorded by Nick Zielinski of Decorah. Find him on Instagram @indicative_of_drumming

 

Rhymes With Decorah #08 Features Josh Dansdill and Jared Nielsen from Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D).

NE IA RC&D works with partners from throughout our region to explore natural resource based economic development opportunities while at the same time protecting and enhancing natural resources. Their mission is to recognize opportunities and provide leadership to make Northeast Iowa a vibrant, place-based model for the nation!

The organization of about a dozen people uses a bottom-up approach to economic development and natural resource enhancement that involves and empowers citizens rather than a top-down approach that dictates solutions. Northeast Iowa RC&D stands beside partners, first empowering them and recognizing their talents, gifts and knowledge, and then providing expertise.

Check out our fun conversation about recent projects, what RC&D does, and where things are headed for future projects in NE Iowa!

 

 

 

“Rhymes With Decorah” is a companion project of Inspire(d) Media.

Original music heard in this podcast performed and recorded by Nick Zielinski of Decorah. Find him on Instagram @indicative_of_drumming