The same workshop in Denver has a cost of $2,500.  Dick Lee is bringing this training to Wisconsin and we are offering this for less than half price. 

This event is being cosponsored by Brady Corporation who is using the Value Innovations model within their organization to develop innovations to products and/or services.

We have used this model for several years; I received my training in Denver and we have worked with manufacturers as well as communities to deliver “Facilitated Innovation”. 

I would like to invite you and others to consider attending this workshop to see if it could add value to area businesses.

Driving Value Innovation in Wisconsin Workshop

PROBE is a global network resource survey instrument that is used in over 40 countries worldwide. It stands for PROmoting Business Excellence, and is a great tool for benchmarking and business assessment.

PROBE identifies a business’ strengths and weaknesses by evaluating its practices as well as its overall performance.  To evaluate a company’s practices, consultants will look at the policies and procedures. To evaluate the overall performance, consultants will look at how the company operates its business.

First, consultants will establish a baseline for a company that will allow future surveys to measure progress and compare the company’s performance to similar businesses based on their Standard Industrial Classification code. Consultants can then use their findings to evaluate the areas of the business that need work and help the client improve their enterprise.

All of this helps companies develop an effective strategic planning process which is vital to having a successful business.

The UW Whitewater SBDC has already been involved in several PROBE assessments that have led to the development of strategic plans, identified market sectors to attack, and indicated areas within the organization that need further improvement.

The PROBE survey assessment is currently provided at no cost, as are most services offered by the SBDC.

For more information on PROBE you can call or email the UW Whitewater Small Business Development Center at (262) 473-3217 or ask-sbdc@uww.edu.  You can also visit the PROBE website at: http://probe-network.com.

Kristina “Kaia” Fowler

Today marks Kristina “Kaia” Fowler’s last day as program manager at the UW-Whitewater Small Business Development Center.

Fowler, who has worked for the SBDC part time in 2006-07 and full time since May 2009, accepted a job as program manager at the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center within the UW-Extension Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.

In her new position, Fowler will work with all small business development centers in the statewide network. Along with responding to internal communication needs, Fowler will also fulfill marketing and public relations roles, raising awareness of the Wisconsin SBDC Network and the impact it has on Wisconsin Business.

“I am looking forward to becoming better connected with directors, counselors and staff at all the regional service centers,” Fowler said.

At the UW-Whitewater SBDC, Fowler said she has enjoyed getting to know members of the business community as well as faculty and students in the College of Business and Economics. Coming into her position as program manager in 2009 with an expertise in business communication and marketing, Fowler said she gained much from her work here, including a better knowledge of business management and the many challenges entrepreneurs face.

“Entrepreneurs contribute greatly to their communities and the wider economy,” Fowler said. “Providing them with resources to help them succeed satisfies my need for meaningful work.”

Fowler said she was drawn to the UW-Whitewater SBDC due to the center’s mission and vision that fit her values as well as her interest in utilizing her love for writing and communication.

“Knowing that my work makes a difference helps me stay motivated and fulfilled,” Fowler said.

Bud Gayhart, director of the Center for Innovation and Business Development, has worked closely with Fowler over the past few years. Gayhart said Fowler has not only brought structure and organization to the SBDC’s operations, but has also created training manuals to improve and accelerate employee education.

“Kaia will bring all of these elements to the state office and allow all centers to benefit from her talents, skills and abilities,” Gayhart said.

Gayhart said although the staff will miss Fowler’s direct involvement in daily activity, she will be accessible by phone, email and through center visits in the future.

Although Fowler said she will miss the members of the SBDC staff and the outstanding people connected to the College of Business and Economics at UW-Whitewater, she said she is excited and ready for her new position at the Wisconsin state office SBDC.

“It’s with gratitude to everyone I work with here that I look ahead to the next stage of my career,” Fowler said.

photo from www.fortwineandstein.com

To help explain and explore these social media applications, the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce will present a session on “The Twitter and Facebook Factor for Business Owners” session as part of the 2012 Lunch and Learn Business Series.

This session will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16 at Madison College on the Fort Atkinson Campus. Presenting the session will be Kendall Bocher and Beth Harned, the website and social media managers at Bethesda Lutheran Communities

Lunch is provided at no cost to Chamber members, $5 for potential members. It is required to RSVP at either (608)563-3210 or members@fortchamber.com.

Sponsors of the lunch include the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Madison Area Technical College and the UW-Whitewater Small Business Development Center.

*The SBDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

*Please contact (608)563-3210 or members@fortchamber.com for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Accommodations will only be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.

Register to attend “Demystifying the State Bidding Process.”  This presentation will teach you the “hows” and “whys” of Wisconsin’s competitive bidding (procurement) process. Helen McCain, Administrator of the Division of Enterprise Operations and former Director of the State’s Bureau of Procurement will share important tips on how to respond to a bid, what your response must include, and pitfalls to avoid.

The conference program also includes spotlight seminars, one-on-one meetings with buyers, a resource expo, the Governor’s Awards luncheon, and more.  Click here for more details.

SBA Launches Program to Help Transitioning Service Members and Veterans Become Entrepreneurs

Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has joined with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to launch a training program for transitioning service members and veterans to help them become entrepreneurs and create jobs. Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup is a national initiative that will be piloted with the U.S. Marine Corps. The announcement was made today by U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and U.S. Marine Corps representatives at Quantico, VA.

“Our service men and women have made incalculable contributions and sacrifices for our country, and supporting them as they pursue their dreams to start or grow their own business is one of our highest priorities,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “Through this partnership, we stand ready with support, entrepreneurial training, and resources that are critical tools to help them start businesses, drive economic growth and create jobs for themselves and their communities.”

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership are valuable opportunities for transitioning service members and veterans. Each year, more than 250,000 service members transition out of the military. Transitioning veterans are natural entrepreneurs who possess the skills, experience and leadership to start businesses and create jobs.
Veterans make up a large number of successful small business owners. Nine percent of small businesses are veteran-owned. These 2.45 million veteran-owned businesses employ more than 5 million individuals. In the private sector workforce, veterans are more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.

Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup will help support veterans as they grow businesses and create jobs by building on SBA’s role as a leader in entrepreneurship training.

SBA will help connect veterans with its resource partner network – Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and Veterans Business Opportunity Centers (VBOCs) – for support throughout the life-cycle of their new businesses.

Through its ongoing collaboration with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), SBA also will provide comprehensive training materials specifically geared toward transitioning service members.

SBA partners will coordinate training and services at military bases around the country, delivering a face-to-face introductory entrepreneurship course. In addition, an intensive eight-week online business planning training will be provided by Syracuse University and its affiliated university partners for those service members who choose to continue to pursue entrepreneurship after the face-to-face introductory course. Following, service members and veterans will be referred to SBDCs, WBCs, SCORE chapters and VBOCs for counseling and training throughout the lifetime of their business.

The program will pilot in four locations: Quantico, Va., Cherry Point, N.C., Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif. It will be expanded across the nation during fiscal year 2013 with the goal of providing entrepreneurial training and awareness to transitioning service members from all branches of the military.

For more information on Boots to Business training program, and on how to take part as a transitioning service member, please visit http://www.sba.gov/bootstobusiness.

SBA currently engages veterans through its 68 local SBA district offices, 16 Veterans Business Outreach Centers nationwide, and its partnership with 1,000 Small Business Development Centers and some 12,000 SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Businesses volunteers.
Each year SBA helps more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists.
To learn more about additional opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, please visit the website at www.sba.gov/vets.

• Look at the person who is speaking. This is true in a hallway conversation, in a networking session and in a situation where a speaker is giving a presentation. Nothing discounts a person like you looking away (or at your smart phone) while they are talking.
• Ask them questions. Ask about how things are going for them and ask for their feedback and ideas. Asking questions makes people feel like their opinions matter to you.
• Show that you heard them and apply the feedback you receive. Reflect back what you have heard in order to get clarity or confirm that you understood correctly. Respond positively to suggestions and include the feedback in decision-making  processes.

Listening skills make the difference between good and great. Maintaining a high-level of focus when listening can be challenging, but it’s a skill worth developing.

I recently read a short article that refreshed my memory of good listening skills. Mart Zwilling writes, ”In business, you need to always be listening – to customers, to advisors, to investors, and to your team members.” His blog post is titled “Entrepreneurs Need to Listen More and Talk Less.” He explains that this is partly to learn and partly to build relationships that are crucial for business success. Zwilling’s short article about the key elements of effective listening could help you move your business forward. To see the full article, click here.

Low-interest Economic Injury Loans available for small businesses in Walworth County.

Press Release issued August 13, 2012 by the SBA

SBA Disaster Loans Available in Wisconsin
Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration for Drought

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in Kenosha and Walworth counties in Wisconsin as a result of the drought that began on July 31, 2012. 

“These county are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Illinois.  The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to assist eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” Skaggs added.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible

farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers.  Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

Loan amounts can be up to $2 million, with interest rates of 3 percent for non-profit organizations and

4 percent for small businesses.  Terms can be up to 30 years.  The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.  The agency sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.  These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.  The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.  Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov.  Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than April 8, 2013.

 For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov.

Sue Straley, Lean Machine Design Queen

In 2012, Susan Straley’s business—Rentapen Inc., a machine design company—was named one of Waukesha County’s  “Top 10 Businesses of the Year,” but  in 2011, when she took over ownership and operations, it was experiencing weak growth.

As the new owner, Straley wanted to push the growth to a faster, stronger pace. “We needed to diversify our customer base,” Straley said. “It was very, very slow getting requests for quotes. We would only get about two requests for quotes from new customers a year. Trying to build up sales and find other big customers, and figure out who to contact at those big companies was kind of overwhelming.”

Having a degree in marketing but no experience running a business, Straley turned to the Waukesha County Business Alliance for advice. They referred her to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Straley considers the SBDC assistance crucial to her company’s 48 percent increase in sales during the past year.  She said, “The counselor walked us through the thought process to help us figure out what we’re really good at and what we need to be focusing on. Instead of doing everything that we can possibly do, we want to focus on what we’re really good at and get even better at it.  That provides more value to our customers.”

When asked what makes Rentapen Inc. unique, Straley responded, “We are specialists at weld fixtures. That’s what we do, and we do it so well and have been doing it so long that we have developed a line of standardized components that reduce the cost of weld fixtures. . . . For example, a block that used to cost $100 to design and build now costs manufacturers only about $37 because now it’s a purchased component.  They no longer have to design it, check it, create it themselves.  That really helps reduce the costs of weld fixtures for manufacturers.”

In addition to helping Straley create a core marketing message based upon the company’s unique capabilities, the SBDC advisor introduced her to the benefits of social media.  Connecting with potential customer contacts online has made is easier for Rentapen Inc. to attract new manufacturing contracts. “The fact that I can get on LinkedIn and find out who is the engineering manager at some company is an amazing tool;  to be able to find the people who could benefit from our services is so valuable,” Straley said.

Prior to working with the SBDC counselor, Straley was unfamiliar with social media and reluctant to try it as a way to generate leads and get the message out about her company. “I kept thinking, ‘I don’t want to get into that,’” said Straley, “But she took my hand and guided me right into creating a LinkedIn account, creating a Twitter account, guiding through my first message out, and that was really beneficial because it got me started.”

Rentapen Inc. has created five new employee positions during the past year as a result of the remarkable sales growth generated through Straley’s marketing efforts. Creating jobs pleases Straley even more than increased revenues.

When asked about the nearly 50 percent sales growth, Straley said, “I also think that the growth of the people within the company is a measure of our success. We’re constantly learning, and, because we are learning new things, growing, changing with this growth, I see the development of the people within the company as well. In fact, growing people is in our mission statement:  Rentapen provides jobs, training and opportunities for people who work together to help manufacturers reduce the costs of tooling to make their products.”

Straley still utilizes SBDC assistance for her business. She has also hired interns from area colleges. In addition to being the “Queen of Lean Machine Design” she also seems to be an expert at identifying and leveraging small business resources like the SBDC. “You’ve got to when you’re small,” Straley said. That’s advice she hopes will help other entrepreneurs as well.

What’s in a business name? More than you might think. The right name can help propel your business into profitability. The wrong name hinders your ability to reach your potential customers.

Often entrepreneurs choose a business name based on how it sounds or because it reflects a favorite thing or someone they care about. Some choose a family name or something associated with their location. This method typically results in poor business names.

As Entrepreneur.com points out, “Your name should convey the expertise, value and uniqueness of the product or service you have developed.”

Internet search engines have made it more important than ever that you choose a name that tells the customer something about your business and marks you as distinct from other businesses.

Take a name like “Salt Creek Solutions” as an example. I made this name up, but a Google search reveals companies offering services ranging from technology support to erosion control. While the business owners may have liked the sound of “Salt Creek Solutions,” clearly it tells the potential customer nothing about the business.

Another potential pitfall of prematurely selecting a name is that you may announce it and spend money developing a business around it only to discover that you cannot register the name. In most places, names must be unique enough that consumers will not confuse your business with another similar business. In Wisconsin, more details about registering a name can be found on the Build Your Business site at http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/byb/name.html. Always check to be sure the name you want is available and register it before you start using it for your business.

What can you do to ensure that you start your business with a name that works? These five things will get you started.

1. Google the proposed name and see what surfaces. Do you like the idea of your business website appearing along with the others on the search results list? If not, think of a different name and try again.
2. Check the phone directory, real estate index and the Department of Financial Institution’s Corporate Registration Information System (CRIS) to make sure no one else in the county is using the name you want. Keep in mind that sole proprietors and domestic LLC names may or may not be included in the CRIS database. That’s why it’s important to search multiple registries.
3. In some cases, names are protected from use beyond county boundaries. To avoid infringing on trademark rights, search for trademarks similar to the name you plan to use. In Wisconsin, search on the Department of Financial Institutions site at this link https://www.wdfi.org/apps/TrademarkSearch/Search.aspx.
4. Check to see if the domain name (Web address) you want is available. This can be done at Instant Domain Name Search. Having an easy-to-remember URL address boosts the friendliness and accessibility of your website.
5. Define your company’s mission and market focus before selecting a name so you can choose a name that will attract your target customers.

For more on naming your business, see these online articles:

• Entrepreneur.com “How to Name Your Business” <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/21774-1>
• Entrepreneur.com “The Secret to a Good Business Name” <http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/218458>
• Entrepreneurs.About.com “Create a Great Business Name” <http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/gettingstarted/ht/business_name.htm>
• SBA.gov “How to Name a Business” <http://www.sba.gov/content/how-name-business>