One of our fall 2005 E-Seed grads, Sue Leonard, says keeping connected to the FVTC Venture Center helps her even today. A graduate of the E-Seed entrepreneurship and small business training series, Sue owns Leonards Designs in Hortonville. She credits E-Seed with helping her to identify her target customer—sounds simple, but that one decision helped guide many of her marketing and product decisions.

Gene Dorn started D&D landscaping in 1970 because as a farm boy, he liked the outdoors. But almost 35 years later, he took the Pro-Seed Powered by E-myth series because he wanted to learn how to delegate more and improve his business systems. Through one on one coaching sessions, Dorn was able to create manageable systems for his business and get his employees directly involved.

“There are a lot of businesses who try to do this themselves,” Dorn said, “but Pro-Seed helps you create the systems you need so you can leave your business and know it’s going to run without you.” From the idea stage through growth and transition of an enterprise the FVTC Venture Center is dedicated to assisting people pursue their passion in order to create a healthy diversified economy.

Congratulations to Sue and Gene for the success you have in your small businesses! The FVTC Venture Center is thrilled that you are a part of our network.

When Todd took the E-Seed training series through FVTC’s Venture Center, he was capitalizing on one of the hottest trends in the country: Halloween decorations. He used internet searches and information from the Retail Federation to fine tune his idea. “I did all my research and found out that Halloween is the number two decorating season behind Christmas,” Todd said. Today, Todd owns and manages the Halloween Express franchises in Northeast Wisconsin. 

The process of creating a business plan exposed Todd to things he never dealt with as an electrician. As a retail venture, advertising and marketing were going to drive his business, but he had to be selective with his spending. He needed to hyper target consumer groups and needed to confirm if moms would be just as important to his business as young adults celebrating Halloween.

Todd added a twist to traditional market research that only comes from being a parent. For years, he thought volunteering in local haunted houses was fun and used his contacts as research. When dropping his kids off at school, he talked to parents about purchasing costumes and holiday décor.  He watched trends in entertainment and movies aimed at kids and shopped area retailers to see what products they carried. “I knew there was a strong local market for Halloween décor, but the E-Seed class helped me get it off the ground,” Todd said.

To find Todd and Halloween Express, visit them online or on Facebook.

Nationally, women-owned businesses are growing faster than average and they account for more than $1.2 trillion in revenues annually. Today’s women-owned businesses are diversified and represent all sectors of the U.S. economy.

When I read this information, I couldn’t help but think of our programs at the Venture Center. Every session, we see women turn out for E-Seed sessions in the Fox Valley, Waupaca and Oshkosh. Initially some outside the Venture Center thought they would be confined to home-based businesses or stereotypical women’s fields. But from the very beginning, we’ve met women who were lawyers, accountants, nurses, teachers, clothing designers, inventors and business people—all wanted to make their mark.

When I look at our list of entrepreneurs who are doing business today in the Fox Valley, we have women-owned businesses that support the findings of the report cited on openforum.com. Carol Brauer owns Bright Star, a life care business. Joey Reader owns A-mazing Events, an event planning business. Sandy Martin owns Green3, a designer and marketer of organic clothing. Lori Thiel owns Open Road Harley Davidson, more than just bikes, her store is about a lifestyle.

And I never thought I would have to say this—but there are literally so many women entrepreneurs associated with the Venture Center I don’t have room to mention them!

To those women who took the leap and are running your own businesses in the New North—Congratulations on your success and thank you for your contributions to the economy in the New North!

During 2011 we’re continue the Venture Center Connections, but with a twist.  During 2011 we are excited to provide Venture Center Knowledge Connections and feature discussions and networking around small business books.  The goal is to broaden our ability to be successful by strengthening our knowledge base.  The books on this year’s list include best-selling authors and successful small business owners and entrepreneurs including Barry Moltz, Seth Godin and Anita Campbell.  These books provide insight into working on your business, not in it; re-igniting your passion for your business, marketing, vision, strategy and more. 

We’re looking to build our list and library of books that can benefit small business owners and entrepreneurs. What books have you read that you recommend as a must read for others?  What did you learn and how did you apply that in your small business?  Let us know and we’ll share your recommendation and if you’re in Appleton on the last Wednesday of the month, join us for the Venture Center Knowledge Connection where we’ll be networking and knowledge sharing.

At Fox Valley Technical College we had more than 50 people each year since 2002 until early 2010, when the grant was suspended (reinstated later with the FVTC Venture Center being given 24 slots for fiscal 2010-2011), apply for and receive the grant, resulting in hundreds of business launches and more than 500 jobs created in the FVTC service area of Wisconsin’s New North region.  Growing our own is an economic development strategy that works and one that can help Wisconsin’s new Governor, legislators and business and community leaders realize the Governor’s goal of creating 250,000 jobs during the next four years.

Like our new Governor, we’re getting started on our business and job creation goals today, too.  Tonight at 6 p.m. we’ll launch our final ETP Grant E-Seed class with about 12 people.  They all have awesome ideas for new business start-ups including a new technology company, a couple of new retailers, a manufacturer, professional service providers and a few inventors.  They represent our economic future and chances are 10 of the 12 will launch their small businesses, stimulating our economy and creating jobs. 

The ETP Grant is a program worth continuing and I urge Governor Walker to continue supporting entrepreneurship and small business development in Wisconsin via a vehicle like the ETP Grant so we can say Wisconsin is Open for Business and Growing our Own!

The counties included in the competition include the 18-counties of the New North region: Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet, Waupaca, Brown, Shawano, Oconto, Marinette, Door, Kewaunee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Florence, Menominee, and Waushara.

The competition started in 2004 in an effort to spur more start-ups in the region.  Like past years, a total of $25,000 will be awarded this year! $10,000 for first place, $6,000 for second place, $4,000 for third place, $3,000 for fourth place, and $2,000 for fifth place.

The FVTC Venture Center is proud to have had clients as winners each year since the competition began.  Their accomplishment and cash prizes are evidence of their discipline in being able to develop a comprehensive business plan that clearly articulates their experience, vision, goals, objectives and financial expectations of the business.  Congratulations to all the past winners and we look forward to learning of the 2011 Business Plan Competition Winners in the spring.

The annual Index of Entrepreneurial Capacity provides a framework for the scope of work the NNSBE Committee will tackle in the coming year.  The quarterly Index of Entrepreneurial Activity will provide insight to impact and activity. Jerry Murphy, New North, Inc. Executive Director, will lead a discussion about initial findings from these new tools and share New North, Inc.’s ideas around creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial and small business climate and the work of the NNSBE Committee.

I am excited to be the Chair of the NNSBE Committee and look forward to building on the hard work of recent chair, Alex Kowalski and the excellent group of people he led. Going forward we want to build the NNSBE Committee membership and are looking for creative problem-solvers who are interested in the economic challenges we face and developing regional solutions that create new opportunities for many.

If you are interested in becoming part of the solution, please contact me at pietsch@fvtc.edu or via phone at 920.735.2594, I look forward to talking with you.

At the FVTC Venture Center we know how to create jobs via small business and entrepreneurship education, training and development. We help you successfully plan for, launch and sustain a small business.  During the last decade, a thousand people have trusted us to guide them through the process of determining if they have a good idea, if it is feasible and in developing a business plan. Hundreds of these people launched a small business and the Venture Center is there for ongoing support, guidance, networking, technical assistance and training.

Growing our own entrepreneurs and small business owners, it’s an economic development strategy that works.  Are you thinking about starting a small business?  Join a 2011 E-Seed Innovative Entrepreneurship Training series, learn it, apply it, and become part of transforming the economy. The next series begins January 4th, 2011, 6-9 p.m., FVTC D. J. Bordini Center, Appleton.

Revolutions are difficult and change things in impossible-to-predict ways.  Some say this is the revolution of our lifetime.  As our economy and lifestyles transition from the industrial economy to the 21^st century knowledge-based economy more and more people will join the ranks of the self-employed, becoming freelancers, entrepreneurs and small business owners.  

When you notice that the world is changing, we’ll be here.  Whether the realization comes naturally or is thrust upon you, we’ll be here.  And so will hundreds and hundreds of other entrepreneurial revolutionaries who have come before you.  We’re not wasting the revolution, we’re part of it.  Join us.