Two Racine County businesses saw the ZERO Loan Program as an opportunity to improve operations – the City of Racine’s Pawstar and the Village of Union Grove’s Graphic Sign Shop.
Linda and Eli Bracha, owners of Wis-Tek, CPT and Green Tek, saw the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 program as an opportunity to purchase equipment, renovate their current Janesville facility and expand to an additional location, near Clinton.
Welcome to the second of three Business Growth Solutions presentations. This presentation will help small business owners and commercial lenders in Racine County understand the benefits of utilizing RCEDC’s community loan and grant programs.
RCEDC’s most recent Zero Loan Program recipients, Terri and Michael Bannon, owners of Razor Sharp Fitness, used the funds to purchase new fitness equipment, which they anticipate will increase memberships and alleviate the effects from the pandemic.
This event will highlight available financial programs for City of Racine business owners.
In partnership with AEO, Fiserv is pleased to announce the Fiserv Back2Business Grants for Small Business Program, which will award funding to Black- and minority-owned businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 and social unrest.
One of the City of Burlington’s newest businesses, The Loop Commons, announced their official opening on Facebook (January 11, 2021). The Loop Commons is a historic building revived for modern endeavors, and includes co-working space, a photo studio, a podcast studio, conference rooms, private offices, event space, a coffee shop, and coming spring 2020, a climbing gym.
Darius Szczekocki, president of Hestia Heat Treat in Racine, will use a $100,000 pandemic recovery loan to purchase new equipment to seek more work with automotive industry clients.
Case High School graduate and Milwaukee Brewers former draft pick, Lee Jaramillo now owns Northterra Real Estate Group. Jaramillo recently used RCEDC’s High Impact Revolving Loan Fund for interim financing to construct the new O&H Danish Bakery on the corner of Douglas Avenue and 4 Mile Rd.
The City of Racine houses many businesses in a variety of industries, serving its residents and the surrounding communities. However, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic were severe and required creative, flexible solutions to ensure the retention of these valuable assets in the City.