FORWARD FEST: From Side Hustle to Small Business

This no-cost session is being hosted as part of Forward Fest 2026! By completing the registration forms below, you will receive information for this SBDC-hosted session. If you are interested in attending other Forward Fest sessions not hosted by the SBDC at UW-Madison, you will need to sign up for a Forward Festival pass, and then add those sessions to your schedule. Forward Fest registration typically opens in June each year.

Overview

Have you been thinking about turning your hobby into a business, but aren’t sure where to start? Do you have a side hustle that’s grown and you want to explore next steps? Are you interested in learning more about how to explore a business idea you have? This session will teach you how to use a visual business planning tool call the Business Model Canvas. This tool will help you understand how 9 functional areas of business work together to create a model of operation that can help you determine whether it is time to take the leap to full-time. The class will also give you information about resources and next steps.

What you will learn:

Understand the Business Model Canvas: Participants will learn how to use the Business Model Canvas to visually map out and analyze the nine functional areas of a business, helping them to see how these areas interconnect and support the overall business model.

Evaluate Business Viability: Participants will gain the skills to assess whether their hobby or side hustle has the potential to become a full-time business by using the Business Model Canvas to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within their business idea.

Identify Next Steps and Resources: Participants will be equipped with information about the next steps they need to take to grow their business, including available resources and support systems that can help them transition from a side hustle to a full-time venture.

Registration for Summer 2026

Location: Online, Live virtual session via Zoom. Course link will be sent out shortly before the session.

Session date & time: 8/21/2026 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm CST

Fee: This course is being offered at no cost.

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.

Interested in viewing other Forward Fest events? Check out the full calendar here!

We appreciated the presentation of the Business Model Canvas as a tool for helping us map out a business plan in a visual way.
Christy Nesja, Nesja Press

[This session was a ] Great intro, looking forward to diving deeper in upcoming sessions!
Jake Michaels, Black Earth Log and Lumber, Summer 2025 Participant

[This was] Good over-all content for those considering starting a small business. The breakout session was helpful where [we] heard about the upcoming tax session.
Summer 2025 Participant

[This session] gave me more confidence that I'm moving in the right direction.
Sarah Ripp

Meet the Presenter

Heather Ferguson

Heather’s career has always centered around lifelong learning and helping distill complex information into actionable knowledge.

In her time at the UW-Madison SBDC, Heather has supported the Center’s classes and training opportunities, including pivoting all courses online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, working with instructors to adapt and/or develop new classes, and enhance external communication through the Center’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and newsletter.

She was also heavily involved in:

the creation of the Center’s Navigating the New Normal COVID response/strategic planning guide
adapting – and revamping! – a fully online Introduction to Financial Management course that could support the learning of business owners who were new to financial management terminology and concepts
supporting the content development of the Beginner’s Guide to Financial Projections, a no-cost, on-demand course to help entrepreneurs build their financial projections online course
redesigning the Center’s long-running Entrepreneurial Training Program to offer a hybrid course format and a brand-new, course-specific workbook

Heather also received a national ASBDC 40 Under 40 award in 2022.

In addition, Heather has presented on giving effective feedback, leadership, organizational operations, conflict transformation, and partnership development at the local, regional, and national levels and has taught university career and seminar courses. Heather has a B.A. in English and Journalism from Northern Illinois University and an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education from Western Illinois University.

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 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.