Some new businesses are in the works for the Peoria area. From going green with a water heater to a unique place to buy green tea, those are just some of the ideas as part of the first ever LAUNCH Business Plan Competition.
Six months ago, a couple dozen new business hopefuls entered the competition. On Wednesday, the six finalists pitched their wide-ranging ideas.
At the age of 47, Nena Daugherty wants to open a tea lounge called "Tranquilitea" in Peoria Heights. She says her lounge will also offer music, art and a place for people to relax late into the evening. She says she's never done as much work as she has in the past six months with developing budgets and her business plan.
"I realized when I got the buyout from Caterpillar, I wanted something to do with my life and I didn't want to go work for corporate America. I knew I wanted to own my own business and I knew I would be good at this," Daugherty told News 25.
The six finalists spent 20 minutes pitching a business plan to bankers, who also are the judges for the competition. The winner gets three-thousand dollars in seed money to start the business along with a wide array of other free services.
"They'll receive insurance consulting, financial, legal, human resources and marketing assistance. All the various types of expertise that one would normally have to pay for, they'll get some consulting services provided for them," LAUNCH Competition Organizer Ken Klotz says.
The LAUNCH competition was organized by numerous area chambers of commerce and other business organizations.
The competition included a bed and breakfast in Morton, a website for folks wanting to get into fashion, medicine management software, an online place for college kids to exchange textbooks and furniture and a tankless water heater.
The "Intellihot" tankless water heater was the winner of the competition.
It's developer says the system could save 30 to 40-percent yearly on water heating costs...and is eligible for a tax rebate of thirty-percent.
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