Cover Story “Everything we’re developing or have developed in the center is geared toward that, and … helping those existing smallbusiness owners become stronger and stay in business …. and contribute to the overall health of the economy.” The ERC is located in the Advance Business & Manufacturing Center on the campus of NWTC along with Score and the SBDC office. All agencies work together toward similar goals. Perhaps an entrepreneur is just starting out and needs a business plan: ERC will send them to the SBDC offices or Score. Maybe a home-based service business is outgrowing the guest bedroom: “Then let’s get you in the (business) incubator,” Widmar said. ERC hosts workshops and courses that cover topics like Facebook for business and other marketing strategies. Its peer-to-peer roundtables are confidential groups of business owners that gather monthly to help solve one another’s problems. ERC also offers technical assistance. “We serve as consultants and coaches and will work one on one with the business owner or their leadership team and address the issues they’re facing,” Widmar said. “Some (issues) may be financing, but a lot of it is about leadership, development, learning how to delegate, improve systems, policies and procedures, and grow…. We want to make sure the entrepreneur has the right skills to keep growing that business.”
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What: Small Business Development Centers, Oshkosh and Green Bay Where: UW Oshkosh and UW Green Bay, with an office on the NWTC campus Web: wisconsinsbdc.org
About: SBDCs are federally and state-funded resources of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In Wisconsin, they’re generally housed on University of Wisconsin System campuses, said Kauth, director of the Wisconsin SBDC at UW Green Bay. Clients include small business owners looking to grow and entrepreneurs wanting to start a business enterprise. “That may be the nascent entrepreneur who has an idea, to somebody who’s ready to start and needs an experienced advisor to consult them and advise them on, ‘Am I missing something? What are my blind spots here?’” Colleen Merrill, director of the SBDC at UW Oshkosh, draws upon a health care analogy, referring to her office’s services as the “entire continuum of care,” from concept to succession planning or selling a business. “For businesses with under 500 employees, which is 97 percent of the businesses in Wisconsin, we offer no-cost business consulting,” Merrill said. “Our primary focus is business consulting for the tire kicker to
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18 | January 2016 | NNB2B
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