Resources

McDEVCO partners with a variety of community organizations to offer a variety of resources and partners with a variety of community organizations to help businesses thrive, adapt, expand and relocate.

Business Incubator Space

• Entrepreneur and Education Center. Provides new and current businesses with an environment that nurtures and enhances their creativity. With 43,940 square feet of potential, the Center houses 28 office tenant spaces, 17 industrial tenant spaces,  a kitchen-café facility with ample parking and convenient freeway access. Provides administrative services, conference and training facilities and wireless Internet.

Entrepreneurial Mentoring and Guidance

• Entrepreneurial Training Course — Create Your Own Business Plan. Classes assist entrepreneurs in writing a solid business plan. Offered n partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, the UWSP Continuing Education Small Business Development Center and The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce. Fee is $250. Classes meet on Tuesday evenings from 6:00-9:00 pm at the UWSP-Center for Leadership Wausau site. Register online or call Dorothy Snyder, UWSP Continuing Education Small Business Development Center, 715-346-3861 or 800-898-9472 or Pam Kolasinski at The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, 715-845-6231.

• UWSP Continuing Education Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Offers no cost business counseling to both start-up and existing businesses. The SBDC also coordinates conferences, workshops and certificate programs on topics ranging from business planning and marketing to financial management and sources of capital.  Contact SBDC Director, Vicki.Lobermeier@uwsp.edu by email or phone, 715-346-2288 for more information about SBDC programs and services.

• Entrepreneur and Education Center. Provides new businesses with an environment that nurtures and enhances their creativity. With 43,940 square feet of potential, the Center houses 28 office tenant spaces, 17 industrial tenant spaces,  a kitchen-café facility with ample parking and convenient freeway access. Provides administrative services, conference and training facilities and wireless Internet. A variety of partners will offer services and programs that support the growth of new business and assist current businesses in moving forward with innovation in products and process. Many of these services will be portable and taken out to the communities as part of the Community Empowerment Program. Partners include American Society of Quality, NWMOC , NTC, WRCC, UWSP – SBDC, SCORE, MCDEVCO, UWMC, McDEVCO and Wausau Region Chamber.

Business Mentoring and Guidance

• Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce Business Retention & Expansion Committee. Committee members visit local businesses to listen to business owners’ and workers’ concerns, needs and suggestions. The committee performs “maintenance” visits every 18-24 months after the initial visit; follow up visits occur as needed. Membership in The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce is not required. Areas of assistance include:

• Physical expansion
• Municipal issues
• Regulatory issues
• Expanding markets
• Workforce issues
• Access to capital
• Business counseling
• Technology

• SCORE. SCORE is a free service providing business counseling and mentoring for business entrepreneurs. SCORE counselors are business professionals with backgrounds ranging from small business owner to corporate executive. SCORE counselors:
  • Assist new businesses with licensing, financing and writing a business plan.
  • Helps established businesses secure financing and address existent challenges.
  • Provide SCORE workshops that cover business plans, legal issues, marketing, finances and entrepreneurship.

Municipality Business Development Resources

• The City of Wausau Community and Economic Development provides a variety of resources, including available business sites, Wausau-area demographics, business mentoring and guidance, profiles of local businesses and financing resources.
• Vision and Goal Setting for Communities. MCDEVCO, Marathon County Government and UW -Extension have partnered to create the Community Empowerment Program. This program brings together community and business leaders in an effort to help them create an economic development plan for their community.

Financing

• McDEVCO Revolving Loan Fund. Provides financial assistance for new and established Marathon County businesses. Contact Pam Kolasinski, at pkolasinski@wausauchamber.com or 715-848-5950.
• WHEDA Small Business Guarantees. WHEDA helps in the expansion or acquisition of an existing business or for limited startup business opportunities.  Eligible startup businesses include adult and child daycare centers, as well as startup businesses located in vacant storefronts in the downtown area of a rural community.
• Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corporation SBA 504 Loan Program. The 504 loan program helps businesses purchase or expand commercial real estate and acquire equipment while preserving working capital.  A 504 loan requires lower down payments than conventional financing and provides long-term, fixed-rate interest rates.  It also reduces the risk to lenders through its structure as second mortgage financing.
• Wausau Community Development Authority (WCDA). In partnership with local agencies and nonprofit organizations, WCDA administers a variety of grant and loan programs that strengthen local housing, promote downtown revitalization and provide economic development assistance.