Initiatives

Striving to serve small businesses across the state, the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship has been growing its specialized initiatives. These initiatives are led and supported by expert consultants with personal and professional experience.

Additionally we have a Spanish-speaking consultant who works with small businesses.

MBDA Initiative Banner

Advancing Capital Readiness for Women Entrepreneurs

With the assistance of a new Minority Business Development Agency grant, OBE aims to help women entrepreneurs get more capital–but we need your stories. Your collective experiences will inform an innovative outreach program team that will create customized resources through a cohort-based approach to address the specific capital issues you face:

  • Legal assistance and understanding,
  • Development of financial statements,
  • Digital marketing assessments,
  • Access to investors and like-minded entrepreneurs
  • and more!
DMC-outside-FINAL

Digital Marketing Clinic

With the help of talented student interns, we provide tailored digital marketing services to small business owners across Wisconsin impacted most by the pandemic, while expanding consulting capacity to all small businesses in need of support. 

MSBB TA Banner

Main Street Bounceback Technical Assistance

Main Street Bounceback now has opportunities beyond the funding, soon offering small businesses across Wisconsin no-cost educational resources, expert consulting and specialized training.

These technical assistance offerings are being supported, by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center Network.

Small Business Clinics

Small Business Clinics

Engage in a day of FREE workshops, educational sessions, and receive professional one-on-one consulting from experts in marketing, business planning, legal, taxes, accounting, international trade, and more!

Small Business Clinics are hosted occasionally throughout the year, and primarily in-person at locations throughout Wisconsin. View the events calendar to participate in an upcoming Small Business Clinic.

Start2

Start In Wisconsin

Start In Wisconsin is the premier network for local businesses. For owners and startups, Start In Wisconsin will power connections to start, scale and accelerate area entrepreneurs. For the established resource network, Start In Wisconsin will be a platform to provide best fit referrals, build your network, and to showcase the story of entrepreneurship in our region.

State Small Business Credit Initiative Technical Assistance Center

Are you a very small (under 10 employees) and/or socially or economically disadvantaged business seeking access to capital?

The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) is seeking to help disadvantaged individuals prepare to access capital in Wisconsin.

SSBCI is funded by the U.S. Treasury through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with the UW-Madison Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic.

Programs

Through four distinct program units, we provide specialized resources and help clients craft personalized plans to start and grow their businesses. We’re Wisconsin’s hub for specialized resources — many at no cost — to help our clients grow their businesses. You have ideas. We have experience.
Check out our programs!

Seeking guidance for your business?

Explore complex but important topics – Law, Lending, Marketing and Accounting – in an approachable way on your own time. Check out our on-demand video series to improve your skills and business in an actionable way.
Check them out!