Big Things Are Happening at the SBDC at UW-Madison!

Awards:

• In 2024, the team received the 2024 Region V SBDC Excellence and Innovation Center Award, presented by U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. We are proud to have been selected from 115 centers in the six-state Great Lakes region, and one of 10 regional winners chosen from the nearly 1,000 Centers nationwide. This event was also special because:
  • The 2024 SBA Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year were Eric Rupert, Sam McDaniel, and Jessica Benish of Fortune Favors Nuts in Cottage Grove. This small company, producing candied pecans that chef Eric Rupert describes as “the pinnacle of my career,” opened in 2018, and began working with the Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a pivot from retail to online and wholesale sales, supported with SBA PPP and EIDL loans,  took off exponentially.  The company has grown into a million-dollar business with the help of other SBA loan products.  During the awards event, the team recognized their lead SBDC Consultant Amy Bruner Zimmerman and shared that they would not have been able to grow as they have without her support.
  • This is the first time an SBA Administrator has attended the Wisconsin Small Business Week event.
  • US Representative Mark Pocan shared a personalized recognition letter – shared by Field Representative Morgan Salli – that stated, “As a small business owner myself, I take a lot of pride in seeing so many self-starters in my district see success in their business ventures. It makes me happy to hear that my constituents have a center that they can trust with their dream projects.” The Congressman attended our February 2024 launch event for the Beginner’s Guide to Financial Projections course.
  • The nomination received support from the Wisconsin School of Business, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the City of Madison, WI, and WWBIC.
• In 2024, the Center was selected as the Wisconsin SBDC Center of the Year, nominated by the Wisconsin SBDC Network.
• In 2024, our team received the Demonstrating Commitment to DEI Award from the Wisconsin School of Business.
• In 2022, Program Manager Heather Ferguson received an inaugural ASBDC 40 Under 40 Award
• In 2021, our team received the COVID Resilience Award from the Wisconsin School of Business.
• In 2020, Michelle was the Wisconsin SBDC State Star

Other Collaborations & Notables:

• Since fall of 2017, we have served as mentors for the Badger Consulting Club. Badger Consulting students who work with the SBDC have the opportunity to work with real-world small business clients to make recommendations based on: industry research, consumer insights, marketing analytics, and financial viabilities. In 2023, the group consulted with the Babcock Dairy Store.
  • Our Badger Consulting (BC) partnership enables our team to provide more in-depth deliverables (often market research) to some of our clients. In the Spring and Winter terms, our team provides projects to the Badger Consulting team. The lead SBDC consultant develops a draft project scope document and guides the consulting team through the process.
  • At the end of the project, BC team members present their findings to the client with their recommendations.
• In 2023, Michelle served as a mentor for the Packers Mentor-Protégé Program, which pairs emerging Wisconsin businesses (protégés) with established, knowledgeable and committed mentors to help provide exposure, resources and guidance in order to reach the next level of business growth. The program focuses particularly on connecting with businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, service-disabled veterans or disabled persons, though other regional small businesses are encouraged to apply.