Three years ago, Tim Hitzler was working his summer job when he came across the idea of being able to accomplish all your needs for any hands on project or idea you have, such as wood working, metal working, and stain glass working. Knowing there are not many places that offer the space to do all of those things, Tim decided to follow through with his idea and look for building spaces to start Key City Creative Center. Tim’s vision for Key City Creative Center was to have a place where individuals can build and collaborate on their projects and ideas.

Although Tim had a good idea of what he wanted his business to be and how it would work, he did not know much about starting a business on his own and what it would entail. These conflicts led him to Jay Wickham and Ralph Kluseman at the Northeast Iowa SBDC. The SBDC guided him in where to look for buildings, different organizations to reach out to for loans, and small updates to his business plan. When asked about the assistance Tim received, he said, “Great, they’ve been great and very supportive. Definitely a great connection, very happy.”

With the SBDC’s and Greater Dubuque’s help, Tim bought a building in November of 2016 as a result of loan from ECIA and worked through a majority of 2017 to get his space ready for clients to utilize. After a long journey of preparing the building, he was excited to see the response he would get. He opened his doors to memberships that have 24/7 access and clients looking to rent out his workshops in late summer of 2017. Key City Creative Center has a wide variety of equipment for its members to use such as a ceramics kiln, potter’s wheel, 3-D printer and woodworking equipment.

Tim has made sure that his business is contributing to the community, and is making a big impact on the people working Key City Creative Center. He gives veterans a free membership, offers classes so people can enhance their skills or learn new skills, and is continually expanding the list of classes that he offers. He hopes to continue to grow his business with the services they provide and the number of members.

For more information about Key City Creative Center, www.keycitycreativecenter.org or their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/keycitycreativecenter/.