Want to open a storefront but not sure of what hoops you need to jump through? Do you need a business plan before you open your own business? What kind of accounting and tax information do you really need to know?
Langlade County Economic Development Corporation (LCEDC) will spearhead an orientation program for its Spring Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP) next week.
The free orientation session will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at NTC-Antigo Campus at 312 Forrest Ave. in Room WT-108A.
In this one-hour orientation session, participants will learn the “must-dos” to launch a business and keep it running, understand why a business plan is critical to a business’s success, and explore the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
The Spring Entrepreneurial Training Program itself will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursdays from March 3 through April 28 at the NTC-Antigo Campus.
Andi Gretzinger, owner of North Wood Blooms, completed the course in 2019.
After growing into a small business from increased demand of my ‘side hustle,’ I was struggling to understand how to work on my business instead of just in my business,” she said. “After graduating from the ETP program in 2019, I had a mission, vision and plan for my business moving forward.”
The program is offered by the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center’s UW-Green Bay and UW-Stevens Point centers. It is a nine-week course providing a step-by-step process on how to succeed.
Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Since 2013, 534 students have completed the course statewide.
“I highly recommend anyone considering or already participating in their own business to attend the ETP program here in Antigo,” Gretzinger said. “If you are highly motivated, I have no doubts that the content, assignments, speakers and resources from the program will set you up for success in your endeavors. I have already recommended any and all of my friends and family considering business as well as fellow wood flower florists from across the nation to find something similar in their own areas, because I truly believe it is why I am still in business—and growing rapidly—almost three years later.”
Leading the class will be Jeff Ebel of Ebel Consulting.
Ebel is a former business owner, having had his own business in the 1970s and again in 1989 starting Ebel Woodworking in his garage. In between businesses he worked in manufacturing management at two local furniture companies. In 2007, he sold Ebel Woodworking after growing it to more than $4 million in sales and more than 45 employees.
He now spends his time mentoring business owners and assisting entrepreneurs as an adjunct instructor of entrepreneurship for the Fox Valley Technical College, the SBDC at UW-Stevens Point, and presenting the “First Steps” free workshop for the SBDC Stevens Point, Central Wisconsin SCORE Chapter and CAP Services.
Register for the Entrepreneurial Training Program on the LCEDC website.
With a donation from the Suick Family Foundation, Langlade County participants are eligible for a partial course reimbursement if the participant completes the course requirements and will also be able to present to a panel for a Langlade County Business Start-Up Grant opportunity.
