It was readily apparent to see that Darryl Tyler was popular with the crowd who had assembled in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC). However, the room full of women were not focused on the tall, stylish SIUE alumnus for his fashion sense alone – but for his vital business advice.
Tyler, vice president/commercial banking officer at Carrollton Bank and owner and designer of Tailored Gents Custom Clothiers in Clayton, presented “How to Start a Business: A Step-by-Step Guide” at LRC’s Lunch and Learn workshop on December 10.
“I want to help you establish or develop your business. It takes diligent research, good information and hard work,” said Tyler, who earned his bachelor’s in business administration with a marketing concentration from SIUE in 2003 and has served on the School of Business Advisory Board for the past four years.
Tyler enumerated 10 business steps as written by Andreas Rivera, staff writer for the Business News Daily:
- Refine your area
- Write a business plan
- Assess your finances
- Determine your legal business structure
- Register with the government and IRS
- Purchase an insurance policy
- Build your team
- Choose your vendors
- Brand yourself and advertise
- Grow your business.
Tyler told the audience how he started his company, learned how to grow his clientele and how to market his business.
Illinois SBDC for the Metro East at SIUE Director Jo Ann DiMaggio May, who was part of the audience, also offered sage bits of business advice.
“He was extremely informative and easy to understand. I have my LLC, but I did learn a few things on how best to set one up. I also learned some good marketing strategies,” said Ora Lockett, counselor for the SIUE East St. Louis Center’s Building Futures and CEO and founder of The Gr8full Company.
“My company can be found online at www.gr8full.club and focuses on health and wellness business. We provide all things natural pertaining to hair care, skin care, men’s care and body supplements.”
