Portfolio: Erica Lee Schlaikjer
Crain's Chicago Business (Focus section)
Local business news weekly published by
Crain Communications, Inc.
Breaking out of the niche (PDF)
November 24, 2008
How do you reach beyond your traditional niche into the mainstream market? And if you revamp your product or service to reach a broader audience, do you risk losing your base clientele?
Q&A: Why growing minority biz matters
November 24, 2008
What can be done to increase minority participation in mainstream business? And why does it matter?
Making the leap into the big leagues
November 24, 2008
Entering the mainstream market requires size, scale and capacity. But most minority-owned firms remain small. Here are some common obstacles to growth and how to overcome them.
Still room for improvement in hiring, sales
November 24, 2008
Minority-owned firms still lag behind their counterparts, especially when it comes to employment and revenue.
Looking to create jobs close to home
November 24, 2008
Some minority entrepreneurs aim to balance growth with commitments to their communities.
Still room for improvement in hiring, sales
November 24, 2008
Minority-owned firms still lag behind their counterparts, especially when it comes to employment and revenue.
Graduating from set-asides
November 24, 2008
Obtaining government set-aside contracts is one way minority-owned businesses can scale up and compete in mainstream markets.
40 Under 40: Smita Shah
November 3, 2008
A profile of Smita Shah, president of Spaan Technology, a Chicago technology and project management firm founded in 1998.
2016 Olympics
September 29, 2008
A package of stories and interviews comparing the four host city hopefuls for the 2016 Summer Games: Tokyo, Madrid, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro. Extra: View audio slideshow under "Watch," or click here.
The new wave of boomers
August 4, 2008
As the Hispanic population grows, the area's workforce is changing.
The manufacturer's dilemma
August 4, 2008
Twenty-two percent of Hispanics in Illinois work in manufacturing, a higher percentage than any other ethnic group, and they may hold the key to the sector's future prosperity.
Local knowledge
August 4, 2008
How do you increase the number of Hispanic business leaders? By making it easier to get an education.
Taking on Chicago's old-boy network
August 4, 2008
In Chicago, both Hispanic men and women tend to be employed as lower-level laborers rather than in higher-skilled trades.
Where the numbers just don't add up
August 4, 2008
When it comes to money, U.S. Hispanics are predominantly "unbanked."
Nuevo Latino goes formal
August 4, 2008
Fifteen years ago, Italian food was all the rage. Then it was pan-Asian cuisine. Now, Chicago's restaurant scene is full of Latin-American flavor.
Cold and Raw
July 28, 2008
How do you source a product that was recently swimming and begins to smell the moment it's caught?
Bamboo - the other wood
July 28, 2008
For Chicago companies, Indonesian wood isn't the only game in town. Bamboo — used for thousands of years in Asia as "the poor man's timber" — is proving to be a valuable commodity here.