Madison and the surrounding communities that collectively create our region in Southern Wisconsin have been recognized by countless organizations and media outlets. We’ve been named a great place to live, noted as one of the most bicycle-friendly areas in the country, called out for our natural beauty, and even recognized as a top digital city.

Did you know that Southern Wisconsin is also a great place to start or own a business?

In fact, something we take seriously at Lake Ridge Bank is the impact of small businesses on our local and national economies. After learning that many small business owners and entrepreneurs feel ignored or overlooked by national bank chains, Lake Ridge Bank created a Small Business Banking unit that specializes in working with small-to-medium-sized businesses.

In addition to these internal experts, the Business Relationship Managers at Lake Ridge Bank have developed connections and networks with local organizations who support startups and area business owners to improve their chances of success.

Let’s examine this local support system for business development and growth. Is your business facing a recent challenge or roadblock? Perhaps one of the resources below can help you get to the next step!

The Basics of Business Ownership

Starting, expanding, or simply running a business can feel overwhelming. The following standard items (and sometimes more) are often recommended or needed to start a business or to obtain financing:

• Business Plan
• Financial Projections – for at least three years
• Personal Finances in order, including a Personal Financial Statement
• Entity Documents
  

You may look at this list and wonder how to put together a business plan or what goes into financial projections and feel intimidated to take the next step.

A good place to start is at your local community bank. Some people worry that you need these documents in place before meeting with a business banker, but we can often help you identify next steps and point you in the right direction for how to gather this information.

Take advantage of expert guidance and the following local resources. In Dane County, for example, our communities have a plethora of organizations and agencies whose sole purpose is to support your business through this process.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
sbdc.wisc.edu

The SBDC is part of the UW system, and their services are free to use!  Not only do they provide consulting at no cost to entrepreneurs and small businesses, but they are experts in the financial arena and have run businesses before (or still).  SBDC provides assistance in the following key areas:

• Business Planning
• Financial Planning for Capital Access
• Marketing and Sales Growth
• Business Management
• Accounting and Projection Clinic
  

SBDC also offers startup classes to help entrepreneurs launch a business, as well as help explore and refine your current business idea. Throughout the year, they provide several other specific classes to help entrepreneurs, such as leadership courses, delegation management, communication skills, and more.

Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) wwbic.com

WWBIC focuses on working with women, and minorities, but will help all entrepreneurs. They work with entrepreneurs to provide financing, resources, and expert advice to go along with it.  Financing with WWBIC will not have the lowest rate in the market, but it is intended for riskier business ventures or ‘second-chance’ financing. Loan applications require a $100 fee, but there are several programs that WWBIC can fit your business into. This organization offers:

• Workshops
• Financial planning, education and coaching to build ‘money skills’
• Micro-loans up to $250,000
• Bilingual documents/classes (English and Spanish)
  

WWBIC does an excellent job of providing additional resources for strategic marketing planning, employee needs, financial acumen, and meetings in specific areas of need such as QuickBooks, branding, HR services, and networking opportunities – just to name a few.

KIVA Greater Madison
kivaushub.org/madison

WWBIC is also a supporter of the KIVA program in Madison and Milwaukee. This is a community-based lending program for entrepreneurs who are not ready for traditional financing. KIVA Greater Madison provides 0% interest and no-fee capital to local small businesses through crowd funded micro loans between $500 and $10,000.  You can work with WWBIC to determine if a KIVA loan, a WWBIC loan, or a combination of each works best for your business.

Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC)
wwbic.com/veterans/

The Veterans Business Outreach Center also falls under the WWBIC umbrella of support. WWBIC provides business development services to men and women in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota who are active-duty service members (including Guard and Reserve), veterans, or family members of those categories. VBOC can also assist with the Veterans Business Certification process.

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)
wedc.org

WEDC offers Wisconsin businesses access to tools and resources to support their growth and development.  Areas of expertise include:

• Business plan development
• Location expansion
• Job creation
• Training
• Grants
• Strategy development
• Access to expertise
• Export assistance
  

WEDC has several entrepreneurial programs and grants available.  Connect with them to see which one will strengthen your business and help support from seed to growth stages.

StartingBlock Madison
startingblockmadison.org

StartingBlock Madison is really known as THE Entrepreneurial Hub in Madison. This is the place where members have access to other entrepreneurs and resources for managing and growing your business –all at a low monthly membership cost. StartingBlock Madison looked at several reasons why entrepreneurs have a barrier to starting their business and instead those barriers became the solution instead. Some of these barriers include:

• High rent expense that a startup cannot afford
• Lack of access to experts or advice
• Won’t have medical or other benefits if you start your business
• Won’t have access to a conference room or quality high-speed internet
  

This organization provides all of this and so much more to its members. It truly is an organization that is “By Entrepreneurs, For Entrepreneurs.” In addition to their own offerings like the women’s monthly networking group Her Network, StartingBlock Madison has cultivated amazing Partner Organizations that also provide their own programs and resources to entrepreneurs including:

• gener8tor
• Doyenne
• BunkerLabs
• Capital Entrepreneurs
• Wisconsin Games Alliance
  

You won’t want to miss the DreamBank events put on by American Family Insurance in the same building or the ForwardFest eight-day festival in August each year in Madison!

SCORE and MERLIN Mentors

Other mentorship programs in the Madison area that are definitely worth mentioning include SCORE and Merlin Mentors. 

SCORE Madison taps into experienced entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives who volunteer their mentorship throughout Southern Wisconsin, including Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk, and Vernon counties.

MERLIN stands for Madison Entrepreneur Resource, Learning, and Innovation Network. MERLIN Mentors is a volunteer organization that helps guide emerging entrepreneurs in the early stages of their venture to promote business success.

Your Bank Can Help, Too!
lakeridge.bank

We love helping business owners realize their dreams and goals as a financial partner. Sometimes that means introducing you to some of these other organizations first to help you succeed. We can also help with financing, provide banking tools that help your business operate efficiently, offer fraud protection services, and even set up a future beyond business ownership.

If you would like help understanding which organization might be the best fit for your needs, feel free to contact me or any of the community bankers at Lake Ridge Bank for more information