MONROE — Of the half-million dollars awarded to entrepreneurship programs throughout the state, a local organization was given the highest amount to bolster regional initiatives.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced Feb. 13 that the Green County Development Corporation of Monroe was granted $80,000, the biggest amount given to the nine organizations which received funding, for promoting and assisting new business formation throughout the area.
GCDC Executive Director Cara Carper said recent changes to increase engagement have been positive.
“Our metrics have been incredible over the last year,” Carper said, noting that Kristi Smith, business consultant with the Southwest Wisconsin Small Business Development Center, has been vital to engaging more people.
For instance, Carper said, there were seven referrals in 2017. In 2018, it had risen to 51.
Smith is an entrepreneur herself. She owns sweet shop Rainbow Confections on the downtown Square and fundraising business Fudgeraiser. Smith works as a consultant at 60 percent of a full-time position.
The Prosperity Southwest Entrepreneurial Development Program, which received the funding from WEDC, is projected to engage more than 900 individuals. Carper said the goal of expanded programming through additional funding is to engage the majority of southwest Wisconsin, rather than just Green County; essentially, working together in a multi-county effort to raise awareness of resources for business owners.
According to its website, SBDC is a part of the University of Wisconsin-Extension system throughout the state and supports Green, Lafayette, Iowa, Grant, Crawford and Richland County through a system of statewide networking for business owners to consult and attend educational programs.
The program will not only help create more businesses, it will provide resources like training for business owners to better understand finances, how to market their operation or how to navigate legal issues.
“A small business, or any business, might need assistance, but they don’t need it right now,” Carper said. “They might forget about the service when it eventually is needed.”
Which is why the engagement is crucial to supporting businesses so they succeed, she added. Part of the program funding includes an additional person to engage with the public at 60 percent of the time, just like Smith.
The funding may add up to 15 to 17 new businesses in the region, according to the WEDC release. Carper said she assumes there will likely be more once the program is underway. The program will also take on an additional 60 percent consultant.
WEDC gave out $500,000 total in grant funding to help support local entrepreneurship throughout the state. Other recipients were the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation of Milwaukee, which received $55,000 for the HATCH pre-seed funding tool to help ideas become formed businesses; Oconto County Economic Development Corporation of Oconto, which received $40,000 for new business formation; Couleecap Inc. of Westby, which received $70,000 for a multi-agency plan to provide entrepreneurship services to create up to 35 new businesses; and Indianhead Community Action Agency Inc. of Ladysmith, which received $41,000 to provide technical assistance resources to entrepreneurs in 12 rural northwest counties.