You have a great idea, now you want to turn it into reality. Starting a business involves planning, making important financial decisions, and completing a series of legal activities.
Our mission is to grow Racine County’s property tax base and provide employment opportunities in Racine County.
| RESOURCE | SCORE | SBDC | WWBIC | Biz Starts | Domina Consulting* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class instruction to write Business Plans | |||||
| Personalized Business Plan Writing | |||||
| Creation of Financial Projections | |||||
| Online Courses, Webinars, Education | |||||
| * Paid services, recipients may be eligible for a grant | |||||
| RESOURCE | RCEDC | WWBIC | Biz Starts | Legacy Redevelopment | City of Racine | City of Burlington |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Counseling | ||||||
| Kiva Crowd Funding | ||||||
| Matching Grants for Start-ups | ||||||
| Micro Loans for Start-ups | ||||||
| Building Façade Matching Grant | ||||||
| State and Local Incentives | ||||||
| Low-Interest Loans for Start-ups and Existing Businesses | ||||||
| * Paid services, recipients may be eligible for a grant | ||||||
| RESOURCE | RCEDC | SCORE | SBDC | WWBIC | Biz Starts | Domina Consulting* | Legacy Redevelopment | WMEP | The Business Council | Wisconsin Procurement Institute | WEDC | SBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-on-one coaching | ||||||||||||
| DBE Certification | ||||||||||||
| Women-Owned Business | ||||||||||||
| Supplier Diversity & Inclusion | ||||||||||||
| Government Contracts & Procurement | ||||||||||||
| Market Assessment Studies | ||||||||||||
| Market Growth and Facility Expansion Planning | ||||||||||||
| Mentor Support | ||||||||||||
| Export Planning and Training | ||||||||||||
| On Demand Recorded Content | ||||||||||||
| * Paid services, recipients may be eligible for a grant | ||||||||||||
Governments and businesses often set goals for hiring diverse businesses. To position your business for success, consider pursuing certifications from National, State, and Municipal organizations.
| National Certifying Agencies | ||
| Certification Type | Business Qualification | |
| The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce | LGBTBE Certification | 51% owned and operated by LGBT individuals |
| National Minority Supplier Development Council | Minority Business Enterprise Certification (MBE) | 51% ownership by United States citizens who are Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic and Native American. |
| National Veteran Business Development Council | Service Disabled (SD) and Veteran Owned Businesses (VOB) | 51% ownership by a veteran or veterans |
| Women’s Business Enterprise National Council | Women Business Enterprise (WBE) | 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or women. |
| Disability-owned Business Enterprises | Disability-owned Business Enterprises (DBOE) and Veteran Disability Owned Business Enterprises (V-DOBE) | A business which is 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a person(s) with a disability. |
| Federal HubZones | Historically Underutilized Business Zones | Location in a HubZone |
| Federal 8(a) Program | 8 (a) Small Business | 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are socially and economically disadvantaged |
| Enhanced Digital Certification by SupplierGateway | Diverse Supplier Certification | Muliple certification options in one portable. Must meet minimum 51% ownership for identified groups. |
| Byblack Certification by US Black of Chamber of Commerce | BOBE | U.S. Citizen and majority owned by Black person or persons |
| Wisconsin Certifying Agencies | ||
| City of Madison | Targeted Business Enterprise PRogram for SBE, MBE, WBE and DBE | Meet definitions for identified categories of Small Business Enterprise, Minority BUsiness Enterprise, Woment Business Enterprise, and Disadvantaged Business Enteprise |
| Dane County | SBE, MBE, WBE | |
| Milwaukee County | DBE and SBE | |
| Metroplitan Milwaukee Sewerage District | SBE | |
| Wisconsin Department of Administration | MBE, WBE, DVB (Disabled Veteran Business) | |
| Wisconsin Department of Transportation | DBE | 51% owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. |
| Support for Navigating Certification Processes and Business Opportunities | ||
| Domina Consulting, 262-902-2528 | Private consultant offering small businesses support in applying for certification. | |
| Wisconsin Procurement Institute, SE Wisconsin | Nonprofit providing support to businesses seeking contracting opportunities with public sector, including Federal, State and Local government. | |
| The Business Council | Supports ethnicall-diverse businesses through technical assistance and matchmaking opportunities. | |
| WWBIC Business Veterans Business Outreach Center | Providing support for Veteran owned businesses. | |
| SCORE For All | SCORE offers free mentoring, education, and resources to make the path to success easier and more direct. Identified resources for Rural, Women, Hispanic, Black, Veteran and Asian American Entrepreneurs. | |
| Source | Description | Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Planning & Workshops | Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) | Expertise in business planning, financing and accessing resources that can assist with starting and growing a business. | WWBIC, Racine Office www.wwbic.com 262-898-5000 |
| Business Start-up Questions | Wisconsin Small Business Answer Line | Helps established, new and aspiring business owners at no cost! Answer Line staff draw from extensive curated resources to provide timely answers to your business questions. | 800-940-7232 wisconsinsbdc.org/business-answerline |
| Customer Diversification, Market, Distribution and New Product Assessments | Wisconsin Innovation Service Center | Qualitative research to help companies make informed decisions on market opportunities, customers and competition. Inventors can see the feasibility of a new product idea, identify licensing partners, and solve manufacturing challenges. | Center for Innovation and Business Development, UW-Whitewater www.uww.edu/wisc innovate@uww.edu, 262-472-3265 |
| Entrepreneurial How-To Video Series | Small Business Development Center | Explore complex but important topics – Law, Lending and Accounting – in an approachable way on your own time. | Entrepreneurial How-To Video Series |
| Export Assistance | Wisconsin Go Global Initiative | Access import and export documentation, shipping logistics and distribution information, trade grants, market intelligence and trade data, and other consulting resources to help your business reach new markets. | Wisconsin SBDC Go GLobal wisconsinsbdc.org/goglobal |
| ExporTech | WMEP | Join a carefully selected group of up to eight non-competitive manufacturers where you identify your gaps and hurdles to expansion and develop your customized export plan to dramatically drive growth. | WMEP www.wmep.org Roxanne Baumann Director of Global Engagement, WMEP 262.442.8279, baumann@wmep.org |
| Financial Capability Workshops | Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) | Assistance with personal finances including topics such as budgeting, repairing and understanding your credit and protecting your identity. In-person and online on-demand workshops are available. | WWBIC www.wwbic.com Heather Lux 262-898-5001, Heather.lux@wwbic.com |
| Food and Beverage Industries | Food and Beverage (FAB) Wisconsin | Resources focused to assist businesses in the food and beverage industry, including an accelerator, “how-to” series for small businesses, technical assistance, and networking. | FAB Wisconsin www.fabwisconsin.com |
| Food Finance Institute | Food Finance Institute | Offers financial resources to every growing food, beverage and value-added farm enterprise. | Edible Alpha ediblealpha.org Food Finance Institute foodfinanceinstitute.org info@foodfinanceinstitute.org (608) 263-0398 |
| Government Contracting and Procurement | Wisconsin Procurement Institute | Assists Wisconsin companies with Government contracting, helping firms successfully enter and develop their Government market segment. More information available at: www.wispro.org | Wisconsin Procurement Institute www.wispro.org 414-270-3600, INFO@WISPRO.ORG |
| Manufacturing Resources | Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership | Provide a variety of services to assist Wisconsin Manufacturers to grow their operations. Services include company consultations and resources for continuous improvement, Lean Six Sigma, supply chain, human capital, automation, ExporTech and many others. www.wmep.org | WMEP |
| Mentoring | SCORE | One-on-one, long-term business mentoring and consulting. | SCORE Website To get connected to a local SCORE mentor call: 866-548-4358 counseling.28@scorevolunteer.org |
| Personal Financial Assistance | Green Path | One-on-one free credit counseling, specializing in helping eliminate credit card debt, student loan debt and assisting homeowners with avoiding foreclosure. | Green Path Financial Wellness 800-550-1961 GreenPath.com |
| Personal Financial Assistance | Financial Empowerment Center | Offers free one-on-one financial counseling to the City of Racine residents. | Financial Empowerment Center |
| Prototypes & Product Development | Gateway Technical College | Computer-controlled tools to inspire innovation through prototyping. | Fab Lab Program 262-898-7562 www.gtc.edu/business-community |
| Startup & Entrepreneurial Services | UW-Parkside Small Business Development Center (SBDC) | Coaching and guidance; financial lending assistance; business/marketing/strategic planning; business plans; market analysis; growth assistance for existing business and tech venture support. | UW-Parkside SBDC www.uwp.edu Mary Fischer-Tracy 262-595-3363, fischert@uwp.edu |
| Technology Innovation Research Funding Assistance | The Center for Commercial Innovation | Provides one-on-one assistance to early-stage emerging technology businesses throughout Wisconsin. Center consultants are experts in commercialization processes and Federal Grant opportunities and processes. | The Center for Commercial Innovation wisconsinsbir.org |
| Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) | Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) | Business development services to active duty service members, including Guard and Reserve, Veterans and family members of both. Resources include Boots to Business, business training, counseling, assistance with loans, and assistance with veteran’s business certification. | WWBIC/VBOC www.wwbic.com 414-263-5450 |
| Water Technology Resources | The Water Council | Promotes the growth and development of small and medium businesses operating in the water technology sector in the Great Lakes region. Connects small and medium-sized businesses to critical resources such as capital, training, networks, supply chains and technical assistance. | The Water Council thewatercouncil.com Karen Frost, kfrost@thewatercouncil.com |
| Wisconsin One Stop Business Portal | State of Wisconsin | Wisconsin's businesses can find the requirements and tools they need to start a business in Wisconsin. | Wisconsin One Stop business Portal |
RCEDC’s mission is to grow Racine County’s property tax base and by supporting business expansions, provide employment opportunities to Racine County residents. In 2022, RCEDC staff were able to facilitate 105 projects that included comprehensive site selection, loans, grants, and incentives resulting in $289 million in private investment and $124 million in new construction.
