{"id":12961,"date":"2025-10-13T09:47:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12961"},"modified":"2025-10-13T09:47:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:47:58","slug":"uw-eau-claire-small-business-development-center-moves-onto-campus","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-eau-claire-small-business-development-center-moves-onto-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Eau Claire Small Business Development Center moves onto campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has moved onto campus to make it easier for Blugold students and faculty to assist the center with starting and growing businesses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The SBDC moved June 5 from its former site at 221 W. Madison St. to Rooms 105 and 106C of Schneider Hall, home of the College of Business. The SBDC and College of Business, along with co-hosts Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new office space at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 31, in front of Schneider Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re often described as one of UW-Eau Claire\u2019s best-kept secrets when it comes to supporting small businesses,\u201d says Harlie Juedes, SBDC director. \u201cAfter being located off campus for so long, many faculty and staff may not be fully aware of the work we do \u2014 or the depth of UWEC\u2019s involvement with local and statewide businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our move back to campus, we\u2019re excited for the opportunity to strengthen those connections. We hope to become more integrated into the university community while also creating pathways to bring the broader business community onto campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SBDC plays an essential role in the economic health and vitality of west-central Wisconsin\u2019s business community, Juedes says. The SBDC offers no-cost, confidential counseling and business education in Eau Claire, Chippewa, Barron, Clark, Dunn, Pepin, Rusk and Taylor counties. The center helps businesses secure funding, make data-driven financial decisions, navigate regulations, improve operations and grow sustainability.<\/p>\n

The SBDC, which has worked with 2,350 businesses in the past five years, is \u201cuniquely positioned to bridge the gap between higher education and real-world business success,\u201d Juedes says. UW-Eau Claire students and faculty consult with businesses to develop financial projections to address the financing gap for entrepreneurs, Juedes says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur region\u2019s business community depends on our expertise and our commitment to walk alongside them \u2014 not just during a crisis, but over the long term,\u201d Juedes says. \u201cGiven the niche of the work we do, we are often one of the only accessible, no-cost and trusted sources of in-depth, hands-on financial support for small business owners in our area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SBDC received about $800,000 under UW-Eau Claire\u2019s $9.4M Workforce Innovation Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) and the Department of Workforce Development to assist startups and small businesses throughout the state. To date, the SBDC has assisted more than 1,500 businesses in 58 counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough aggressive outreach and a visible presence in the community, the SBDC provides valuable, direct assistance to small businesses when and where they need it most,\u201d said Missy Hughes, WEDC secretary and CEO. \u201cWEDC is proud to partner with the SBDC to help our businesses and communities thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SBDC helped Shelli Schuppel get her new business, Mr. Kitty\u2019s Cat Caf\u00e9 & Boutique, started in Eau Claire in 2024. Schuppel contacted the SBDC because she needed help with a business plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe help that they gave me to set up projections of what my business could accomplish in its first year and subsequent years was instrumental in allowing me to secure an SBA loan with a local lender,\u201d Schuppel says of the SBDC. \u201cMy lender was very impressed with the professional documents I was able to give them to support my dream on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schuppel also attended SBDC classes to learn valuable techniques for marketing, advertising and business practices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UW-Eau Claire<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/stories\/small-business-development-center-moves-campus<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has moved onto campus to make it easier for Blugold students and faculty to assist the center with starting and growing businesses. The SBDC moved June 5 from its former site at 221 W. Madison St. to Rooms 105 and 106C of Schneider […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[96],"story_category":[147,148],"class_list":["post-12961","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-eau-claire","story_category-community","story_category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12961"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}