Bevel & Sloane helps Illinois businesses of 10 to 250 people build training programs, onboarding academies, SOPs, manager training and KPIs, then trains an internal successor to run them. We work from Chicago, remote and on site by arrangement, on a fractional basis from $4,500 a month.
Illinois small business at a glance
Illinois is home base for Bevel & Sloane. The Chicago area brings logistics and distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, professional services and food businesses, while the rest of the state adds agriculture, food processing and regional healthcare in places like Peoria, Rockford, Springfield and Champaign. We have dedicated pages for Chicago and its suburbs.
| Measure | Illinois | Source year |
|---|---|---|
| Small businesses (under 500 employees) | 1,353,957 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 1 to 19 employees | 224,490 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 20 to 499 employees | 28,812 | 2022 |
| Small business employees | 2,420,971 | 2022 |
| Share of private employees at small businesses | 43.7% (US 45.9%) | 2022 |
| Monthly quits rate, average Jul to Dec 2025 | 1.9% (US 2.0%) | 2025 |
The small business share of jobs is below the national 45.9% (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 Illinois profile). From March 2023 to March 2024, small businesses there had a net increase of 14,131 jobs (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, in the same profile).
In Illinois, the quits rate averaged 1.9% a month from July to December 2025, close to the national rate of 2.0% (BLS State JOLTS, Table 4, released July 22, 2026). Turnover is about average, which still means a steady flow of new hires to onboard and a steady drain of know how.
Where small business jobs are in Illinois
The industries with the most small business employees in Illinois are healthcare (343,660), hospitality and food service (318,909) and manufacturing (239,226) (SBA, 2025 profile, 2022 data). Among firms with 20 to 499 employees, the size band closest to the teams we serve, the largest groups are hospitality and food service, healthcare and manufacturing.
Bottlenecks we expect in this mix
Healthcare
Small firms in Illinois employ 343,660 people in healthcare, 41.0% of the sector's jobs. Think multi site clinics, dental and therapy groups, behavioral health and home care. New front desk and care staff are often trained by whoever is free that day, and documentation habits vary by provider. With 74% of dentists recruiting hygienists calling it extremely challenging, a faster, structured ramp is worth more than another job posting. See Dental groups.
Hospitality and food service
Small firms in Illinois employ 318,909 people in hospitality and food service, 64.7% of the sector's jobs. Restaurant groups, hotels and event businesses. Accommodation and food services had the highest quits rate of any industry, 3.5% in August 2026, so crew onboarding, shift lead training and the same standard at every location carry most of the weight. See Multi location restaurants.
The third largest, manufacturing, has its own patterns; see Inconsistent quality and rework.
How does a remote engagement work in Illinois?
Most of Illinois is on Central time, the same time zone as our Chicago base, so the weekly 60 minute calibration lands at a normal hour for your team. The rest runs in a shared Slack channel.
- Week 1. Free checkup and a discovery session by video.
- Weeks 1 to 2. Shadowing by video and screen recordings, plus interviews with the people who hold the know how.
- By Day 30. You name an internal successor who co-pilots every build.
- Months 2 to 6. SOPs, onboarding, manager training and KPIs piloted, then handed over.
We are based in Chicago. Outside the Chicago area, work is remote and on site by arrangement, scoped up front.
Chicago and the suburbs
Chicago is home base, and we have local pages for the city and the suburbs where many of our conversations start:
- Chicago hub page
- Chicago Loop
- Schaumburg
- Naperville
- Oak Brook
- Evanston
- Oak Park
- Downers Grove
- Orland Park
- Joliet
- Rosemont
How much does an operations consultant cost in Illinois?
Pricing is published and the same in every market: retainers run from $4,500 to $7,500 a month by headcount and tier, and the two week Operational Diagnostic is $5,000, fully credited toward a 3 or 6 month engagement. See every package and price and how the six step method works.
Questions owners ask
Do you have an office in Illinois?
Bevel & Sloane is based in Chicago, Illinois. Engagements run remotely by default with a weekly video calibration, and in person time around Chicago can be planned into the scope.
How many small businesses are in Illinois?
The SBA Office of Advocacy counts 1,353,957 small businesses in Illinois, using 2022 Census data. Most have no employees; 224,490 have 1 to 19 employees and 28,812 have 20 to 499.
Is employee turnover high in Illinois?
The monthly quits rate averaged 1.9% from July to December 2025, close to the US rate of 2.0%, based on BLS state JOLTS estimates. Your own industry and roles matter more than the state average.
What would a 50 person Illinois company pay?
Companies of 36 to 85 people usually start around $5,200 a month for The Prelude (3 months) or $5,800 for The Blueprint (6 months).
The Prelude
3 months, from $4,500 a month
Most Illinois engagements start with a free business checkup, then the two week diagnostic or The Prelude.
Not sure yet? Start with the 2 week Operational Diagnostic, $5,000 and fully credited if you continue.
