October 2018 Edition

A Newsletter for The Business Community 

The Community and Economic Development Department has initiated this Newsletter called "Business Matters" for our local business community.

The newsletter is electronic only, and includes information from the Village to help your businesses stay connected to Business New, upcoming networking events, grant or funding opportunities, and other issues of interest for growth and development. The newsletter is also posted on-line on the Village website. Has your business won an award? Is there business news you would like to share?

Please contact the Community and Economic Development Department at 630.823.5781 and we will be happy to include the information in the newsletter.

Reduce Energy Costs with Solar Power

Have you considered solar heat for your home or business?  The Village of Hanover Park has received a “Gold” designation (up from Bronze level in 2016) from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar.  
 
Typically, Solar Energy Systems are found in the form of solar panels, that are either mounted on the roof, or integrated with the building façade, awning, windows or walls.  They can also be freestanding or mounted on the roof of parking canopies.   Panels are designed to absorb sunlight, and therefore do not produce glare. 
 
We encourage you to look into this renewable energy source, which can also lower your energy costs. The Village updated its Codes to make it easy to install the solar energy systems, with a quick permit turnaround of 3 days!  Information on solar installations for your home or business can be found on the Village website. 
 
Call Community Development at 630-823-5780 or Inspectional Services at 630-823-5860 if you have any questions.  

The Benefits of Chamber Membership!

The Village is a member of two local Chambers of Commerce – Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) and the NorthWest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NWHCC).  We encourage our local businesses to join one or both.  Chamber membership provides networking, education, and business development opportunities and each is committed to helping their members grow.

BACC information is on their website. Click here for costs or call (630) 830-0324. The November 1 Taste of the Towns  event should be of interest to local restaurants who are a BACC members.

NWHCC information is on website.  Click here for costs, or call (630) 708-0694.  Information on annual events is here.

Protect Your Business From Burglary

There’s nothing worse than receiving that telephone call in the middle of the night that your business has been burglarized. 

Although we can never completely eliminate your risk of becoming a victim, experts from law enforcement and insurance companies agree that if you follow a few tips, you will greatly reduce your chance of getting that phone call: 

• Lights.  Make sure your building’s exterior is well-lit and you have lights on inside-all night.  Security lights that are motion activated are also recommended.  Burglars are cowards and afraid of being seen.  Also, if they extinguish the lights, it is more likely to alert officers and neighbors familiar with your well-lit business.
• Alarm – make sure you have all your doors and windows, including the roof, alarmed.  Motion detectors are also helpful (also on your roof or attic) and can be adjusted so they don’t alert on small animals or wind.  Another important point – ALWAYS respond to your business when there’s an alarm – bad guys often will activate a “False Alarm” and monitor police response.  If the bad guy enters through the roof, he or she will often hide until police come and find exterior doors and windows secure – if you don’t respond and have the police walk through, it won’t be discovered until long after the burglar has left.
• Video Surveillance – both outside and in.  If a burglar makes entry or even tries, police are much better able to identify and catch that crook if you have video of them.  These can go hand in hand with your alarm and are becoming less expensive all the time.
• Exterior- Make sure your business exterior is well manicured and there is no way to access the roof.  This includes the placement of dumpsters, etc.  Make sure there are no shadows or bushes giving them a place to hide.  Also, if you share a building with other businesses, make sure you are all on the same page so that a bad guy can’t access everyone from one entry point.
• Cash Register – empty your cash register and keep it toward the front, well-lit section of the store WITH THE DRAWER OPEN.  If the burglar can see there’s no money, why bother breaking in?
• Safe – many businesses keep their safes hidden in a back room.  Experts say you should consider putting them near the well-lit front of your store, bolted to the ground, where any passing police officer could see a burglar working on it.
• Always use your security measures – There are always additional things you can do to increase your security, such as iron bars on doors, deadbolts and/or padlocks on the doors.  But make sure you and all of your employees remember to properly lock-up and set the alarms each and every time.  Many of these crooks simply look for an opportunity and convenience. 

Don’t make it easy for the bad guys!