Corri McFadden is betting on Illinois

Corri McFadden is the founder and owner of eDrop-Off, a luxury consignment drop-off and resale service specializing in selling designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and accessories on eBay.

When McFadden started her business eight years ago, all she had was $37 and a thirst for competition and success.

Today, her small business has become a national couture consignment powerhouse and McFadden starred in the 2012 VH1 show “House of Consignment.” McFadden’s motto, “competition keeps me in condition,” fuels constant innovation.

“Starting your own business is a hard hustle,” she said. “It’s not easy. But I do what I love and that’s how I can do it. I’m extremely disciplined and motivated. This combination makes it easy to get up every single day to make the business successful.”

Unfortunately, not everyone in Illinois shares McFadden’s thirst for competition. Often, would-be entrepreneurs have a difficult time getting off the ground because of the state of Illinois’ business philosophy, which embraces special handouts for a select few and a toxic, anti-competition attitude that keeps new businesses at bay.

But McFadden still sees competition as the fuel that kick-starts greatness.

“Competition is healthy,” she said. “I think a lot of people get discouraged and think, ‘Oh, someone is doing the same thing.’ But with me, that’s what stimulates me.”

eDrop-Off is now selling about 2,500 unique items a week on eBay, and McFadden hired 20 new employees last year, bringing her up to a staff of 47. In all, the former one-woman show has grown more than 2,000 percent since the business’ creation and is now one of the largest resellers in the United States.

Moving forward, McFadden plans to continue growing her business. And when she thinks about the future, it always includes Illinois.

“I made a commitment to Chicago when I started this business because I’m Midwest,” she said. “I am invested in Chicago. I’m not going anywhere no matter what comes about. I want to work to make other businesses see this as the best place to be.”