Submitted by the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation
A key mission of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) is to provide opportunities to Sheboygan County entrepreneurs and help them make informed business decisions. The SCEDC has partnered with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UW-Green Bay (UWGB) to provide timely guidance to Sheboygan County entrepreneurs on the various assistance programs related to the COVID-19 economic disaster.
Under normal circumstances, the road to owning and maintaining a small business is not easy. In fact, we see 50% of small businesses leave the marketplace before they reach their five-year milestone. Following a disaster, the road of business ownership gets bumpier. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) states that 90% of smaller companies fail within a year unless they can resume operations within five days, and almost 40% of small businesses never reopen. A recent U.S. Chamber-MetLife Small Business Poll suggests that if current shutdowns remain, a majority of small businesses who employ between 5 and 99 workers have less than six months until they expect to have to permanently close operations.
“As a small business owner myself, I understand the difficulties that business owners are facing,” stated Ray York, business counselor with the SCEDC and SBDC at UWGB. “My business is a small hotel and was not required to shut down, but the tourism industry has essentially stopped. The bills have not. The snowball effect this economic shutdown will create on negative cash-flow will be devasting for a lot of businesses. The SBDC plays an important consulting and planning role for many businesses, and it feels great to be part of this team as we are working closely with area businesses to navigate through this challenge and provide them with a better chance of success post-COVID-19.”
The SCEDC / SBDC partnership has personally assisted over 250 individual small businesses and not-for-profits in Sheboygan County. This assistance helped entrepreneurs navigate the complexity of the government and other assistance programs that are available. This partnership also participated in a variety of group counseling and information sessions that provided information to an additional 120+ businesses.
Sheboygan County entrepreneurs still see value in the opportunities that lie ahead! Since Wisconsin was declared an economic disaster on March 18th 2020, The SCEDC has had many entrepreneurs seeking guidance, and continue to pursue the opportunities in the marketplace. Start-ups, expansions, and transitions have not stopped in Sheboygan County, and the SCEDC will maintain its partnerships that assist small business to diversify and grow the economy.
“Small businesses truly are the heart & soul of our communities, and a big part of what makes Sheboygan County such a special place,” said SCEDC Chair Gary Dulmes. “These businesses are run by incredibly innovative and hard-working people, and I’m proud of how tireless our team has been in guiding them through this unprecedented challenge. We will continue to support our local small business community as the situation evolves, and we look forward to driving more success in our County.”
COVID-19 assistance is ongoing; for more information please email sbdc@uwgb.edu or call (920)366-9065.
For more information about SCEDC entrepreneurial services please email at info@SheboyganCountyEDC.com or call (920)452-2479.
