Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP)
ETP is an intensive business-planning training program designed to help participants who want to start a new business, grow an existing business, or make a substantial pivot that requires viewing the business with a new perspective.
The focus of the program is to help you complete a comprehensive “rough draft” of your business plan in the form of a written workbook. Each class session helps you learn business concepts and work toward putting your ideas on paper so that, by the end of class, you have made significant progress toward launching or writing a more comprehensive business plan.
*Course Requirements and Cost
Participating in ETP means receiving a wealth of resources and support to help you develop your business plan workbook. Because this $250 program is made affordable to you through partial grant support, successful course completion requires:
- Attending at least 4/5 live-virtual sessions
- Attending at least 75% of the full-day, in-person session
- Successful completion of your business plan workbook
Eligible Businesses
Because of the partial grant funding associated with this program, businesses interested in participating must:
- Be a for-profit business currently located in Wisconsin, or the owner must be planning to start a Wisconsin-based business
- Be re-examining their currently operating business or plan to start a new business within the next 24 months
- Not have declared bankruptcy in the past 12 months
- Be new to the Entrepreneurial Training Program (have not taken the course in the past)
Registration Information
Location: Includes live virtual and in-person components; in-person session at the Wisconsin School of Business
Live virtual dates:
- October 15, 2026
- October 22, 2026
- October 29, 2026
- November 5, 2026
- November 12, 2026
In-person date: November 20, 2026
Schedule:
- Live virtual sessions: Thursdays from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm CST
- In-person session: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm CST
Course fee: $250*
See course requirements for more information
Looking for a lower-commitment opportunity to learn business basics? Biz Smart Sprint might be the best fit for you. For a comparison of the programs – the Entrepreneurial Training Program or Biz Smart Sprint – click the link below
Registration Fall 2026
Location: Includes live-virtual and in-person components
Course Registration Closes: 10/14/2026
Live virtual dates: Thursdays from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm CST
- October 15, 2026
- October 22, 2026
- October 29, 2026
- November 5, 2026
- November 12, 2026
In-person date: November 20, 2026, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm CST
For this course, there are both live-virtual and in-person components; you must be able to attend both components to successfully complete the course.
Fee: $250* (see course requirements for more information)
Note about multiple participants (business partners): All participants in the course must be registered. Businesses can add additional business partners for $99 per person (must be working together on the same business). Each business will submit one workbook, regardless of the number of class participants. If you would like to add additional participants, please call the SBDC at the number listed in the footer of this page.
Cancellation Policy: Due to program costs and space limitations for these programs, participants are expected to cancel their registration at least 24 hours ahead of the program. Cancellations that occur less than 24 hours prior to the start of the program will be considered no-shows and may be removed from future programming and/or charged a course fee.
Disability Statement: Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW–Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu to request accommodations.
Note about multiple participants (business partners): All participants in the course must be registered. Businesses can add additional business partners for $99 per person (must be working together on the same business). Each business will submit one workbook, regardless of the number of class participants. If you would like to add additional participants, please call the SBDC at the number listed in the footer of this page.
**The $250 reduced cost of this $1,250 course is being funded in part by our generous supporters – Summit Credit Union, Neider & Boucher, S.C., and M3 Elevate. For the 2026–2027 program year, additional financial support is being provided by WBD, Inc. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) helped found the program and was a valued supporter of the ETP program for over 20 years.
More Class Information:
Program Structure
This course contains three primary components, all geared toward helping you complete your business workbook.
ETP starts with a 5-week live-virtual class. These 2.5-hour sessions provide you with an introduction to business basics and terminology. At the end of each session, you will receive direction about what corresponding workbook sections you should complete to stay on track.
- Session 1: Course introduction and understanding the Business Model Canvas
- Session 2: Business value proposition, identification of key customers and market in order to determine product/market fit
- Session 3: Marketing Strategy
- Session 4: Financial basics (key terms, pricing, managing cash flow, sources of financing) – for a deeper dive on this topic, join us for one of our financial management courses
- Session 5: Legal and Operational Considerations (entity selection, HR Laws/policies, insurance/liability, etc.)
Program Structure
This course contains three primary components, all geared toward helping you complete your business workbook.
For most entrepreneurs, one of the most difficult parts of starting a business is knowing where to start. By joining the Entrepreneurial Training Program, we help you overcome that challenge by providing you with a comprehensive workbook of guided questions to help you sketch out the fundamentals of a business plan.
This comprehensive workbook (as paired with class content) walks you through all of the major areas of your business, including:
- Creating your elevator pitch
- Sketching out the building blocks of your business with your Business Model Canvas
- Determining your target market/customer segment with market research
- Considering industry trends, your competitors, and your marketing plan
- Understanding key components of the major financial statements (your income statement, your balance sheet, and cash flow for your business) and business financing
- Operational considerations (legal considerations, human resources, reducing risk)
- And more!
Throughout our virtual course, we will introduce you to many of the key concepts and resources that can help you sketch out these areas of your workbook. From there, you will need to arrive at the full-day session with your workbook 75% completed. During the full-day session, you will then have the chance to ask more in-depth questions to experts, get feedback from your peers and SBDC consultants, and refine your workbook to turn in for a third-party review.
After class is over, you’ll have clarified your business idea and developed written objectives that will inform your next steps, the launch of your business, or the start of your formal business plan.
Program Structure
This course contains three primary components, all geared toward helping you complete your business workbook.
Throughout the course, you will work on completing your business plan workbook. By the time you arrive at the full-day session, you should have your workbook 75% complete. At our full-day class session, you will have the opportunity to refine the work you have already done by:
- Receiving peer feedback – and being able to ask questions of SBDC consultants
- Learning more in-depth knowledge about:
- Understanding the lending process
- Estimating your market size – and how that information connects with your financial projections
- Common legal topics in business
- Understanding risk management
- SBDC business consultant panel
…And more!
Entrepreneurial Training Program Statistics
LOVED IT. WORTH IT. It really brought together my academic training and tied it in to an approachable, realistic, and useable program.
Going through the [ETP] was tremendously valuable and caused me to think through things in a way I hadn’t considered previously. Considering most of my pursuits of late consist of ways to reframe problems, this class was fitting. It also was a great introduction to the entire cause and intent of the SBDC, which I think is just lovely and inspiring!
The value of this class was immeasurable, but, notably, the workbook provided me step-by-step help building a business plan, and the resources provided gave me everything I needed to complete it!
[I appreciated] the dedicated time to think about all aspects of running a business. [This allowed me to] think of other areas I don’t typically work in.
The in-person meeting with all the professionals in their area was really informative. I would 100% attend another event like this if I could.
Overall [ETP] was a great course with excellent assets and materials. It also provided a great collaboration space with other new business owners.
Thank you so much for all this valuable information at a great pace with great instructors for all levels of business knowledge.
DO IT! It’s such a well oiled program w/incredibly knowledgeable people. It’s also eye-opening to things you may not have thought about and need to tackle.
Graduate school did a great job teaching me about mental health, and I appreciate this course because it taught me about running a business.
I really valued how structured the whole course was. It put into perspective all the different aspects to think about. And finally made me sit down to think about the details to move my business forward.
“This course provided me with structure and accountability to work on my plans in a smarter way. It gave me the confidence to say ‘I’m doing this!’ and to make it real. There is a world out there that I had no idea about.
[I loved] the clarity of the workbook – I considered things I had not thought of. Thank you for a great experience; I understand the business world in greater detail.
Comprehensive overview that provided so many resources for further exploration. Gives me much more confidence about the scope of what needs to happen and my ability to accomplish those things – even as an artsy, non-business, non-numbers person. I now I have a road map, woot-woot! This course was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Just top-notch. And a fabulous deal for the price. Incredible! So grateful for this opportunity!
Advice from past ETP participants
- “Complete the workbook sections before the session that covers them. Go over the slides, and write down any questions you have so you can bring them up while the topic is being taught.”
- “Work through the workbook as the class moves on, as it makes everything learned not feel too overwhelming.”
- “Even if business is like a totally different language to you like it is for me, just start with this class. Just start. Ask for help.”
- “Like anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.”
- “Start working on your workbook before class, so you know what to expect and have a solid base to start. Use as many resources as possible, ask questions and build connections with classmates.”
- “Don’t be timid; this is not just for people with a solid business plan intact!”
- “Pay attention to every detail taught from this course!”
- “Make the connections with your classmates. These relationships will help you see your business through fresh eyes.”
- “Keep your camera on!”
- “Go to the library!”
- “Be open-minded, and engage with other participants”
Advice (Ct’d)
- “Do things that make you uncomfortable! Participate often, and no question is a dumb question.”
- “Stay actively in touch with the people you meet in ETP! Right after participating in the program, a few of us formed a weekly accountability group. It’s still going strong, and not only has it been helpful business-wise, but we’ve also all become wonderful friends.”
- “Take it all, and do the work.”
- “Don’t fall behind on homework”
- “Listen more than you talk, do your homework”
- “Keep an open mind and ask questions, whether during class or in follow-up”
- “Show up and ask as much as you can. No questions are stupid. This is a great resource to come back to.”
- “Just go for it”
- “Utilize the resources and tools”
- “No matter what stage of business planning you are in, this class will benefit you. It will also give those who are forming a partnership some common ground.”
- “Be open-minded to rethink and re-strategize the direction of your business and decisions along the way”
Jackpine Wakesurf
[ETP] walks you through the steps of creating a clear starting point for your business [and includes] expert advice and feedback.
I’m Board! Games
“I would not be where I am today without ETP.”
–Bryan Winter, owner of I’m Board games Image by: Ruthie Hauge, Cap Times
Blue Highway Lodge
“I am seriously so grateful for ETP and everything I learned from the SBDC,” Bartlett says. “I would not have developed such a strong business plan or secured a traditional commercial loan without that class. I also wouldn’t have been as well prepared to deal with all the challenges and potential pitfalls of starting and running a business. I felt like the course really set me up for success.”
Tami Kou
“I can’t say enough great things about the Wisconsin SBDC at UW–Madison’s Entrepreneurial Training Program. This is – by far – the best value in education and training that you’ll ever find! Anyone who is thinking about starting their own business or considering taking their business to the next level should jump at the opportunity to enroll in the ETP course. Kudos to the SBDC for offering such an inspiring and informative program.”
Creekside Veterinary Clinic and Grooming
“ETP gave us a good overview of all the parts that go into starting, running, and funding a business,” says Hoffman. “We had a list of everything we had to learn, figure out, and get better at.”
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship within the Universities of Wisconsin. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Wisconsin SBDC at UW–Madison is also part of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub at UW–Madison.
The Wisconsin SBDC at UW–Madison helps entrepreneurs succeed at any stage. We offer no-cost, confidential consulting and business education across a wide region, primarily serving Dane, Sauk, and Columbia counties. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.