For the Antigo Times

Antigo – When Deena Grabowsky, the Executive Director of the Antigo/Langlade Chamber of Commerce and Angie Close, the Executive Director of the Langlade County Economic Development Corporation, met with Melissa Meschke, the Director of the Small Business Development Center at UW Stevens Point, they knew the relationship could benefit Chamber members and local business owners.

“It’s a goal for our chamber to have offerings to assist our local business owners”, said Grabowsky. She stressed the importance of the small, medium, and large sized businesses in the community and the need for educational opportunities for them. “We need to collaborate together to help our businesses succeed and by having an available resource like SBDC offering additional education opportunities is a win/win for the businesses and our community”, said Close.

Melissa Meschke, along with Mark Speirs, the SBDC Consultant at UWSP, came up with a series of programs that will serve the business owners in the community well. They both have a background running small businesses and used that experience, in addition to incorporating the feedback they have received from community leaders, to come up with the offerings,

The SBDC, Antigo/Langlade Chamber of Commerce, and the Langlade County Economic Development Corporation hope to see you there. Here are the program offerings:

The 2018 Business Education Series will involve the following programs:

• February 15: Finding the Money – Know what financing and funding is available for your businesses. It takes money to make money, so where can your business find the capital to launch or grow? This program will provide an overview of the many capital sources for small business including traditional commercial loans, government loan programs and grants, as well as many lesser-known specialized sources of funding.
• April 12: Marketing for Talent – How to attract top talent to your organization. Many people think of marketing their products and services, but friendly website, and video, you can help yourself stand out in this tight labor market and attract the talent you need.
• September 13: Buying and Leasing Commercial Real Estate – How to know what is right for your small business. Due diligence is key when buying or leasing commercial real estate to house your business. This program will cover the analysis and investigation needed before signing a commercial lease or buying a piece of commercial property.
• November 6: Grow your Customer Base – Increase sales through networking, sales techniques, and digital and traditional marketing. Learn tips on effective networking and sales techniques and how to pair with your marketing efforts.

All Programs: 8-9:30 AM at the NTC Antigo Campus, 312 Forest Ave

Register at http://www.antigochamber.com/about/upcoming-chamber-events/

About the SBDC at UW-Stevens Point

The SBDC at UW-Stevens Point is one of 14 offices in the Wisconsin SBDC Network offered through UW-Extension’s collaboration with the UW four year campuses to support entrepreneurs and business owners through no-cost, confidential consulting and targeted educational programs. www.uwsp.edu/SBDC

About the Antigo/Langlade Chamber of Commerce

The Antigo/Langlade County Chamber of Commerce mission is to encourage and promote the general interest of our members and promote tourism for the benefit of Langlade County Communities. We provide avenues for our members to get involved and contribute to the greater good of the local business community.

About the Langlade County Economic Development Corporation

Langlade County Economic Development Corporation is committed to take a structured, proactive approach toward enhancing the viability of existing businesses and recruitment of new enterprises to Langlade County. We meet one-on-one with business owners and entrepreneurs to focus on ways we can assist a business in achieving its goals. Our purpose is to assist each business we work with to plan, meet challenges and succeed by bringing the appropriate resources to the table with strict confidentiality.