Monday, September 24, 2012

Waunakee Property Highlight

Today's Property Highlight is: 1001 Arboretum Drive
  • Office space available in a multi-tenant building
  • 1,200 square feet available
  • Rental fee $ 9 per square foot
  • For more information regarding this property, please contact Pat at (608) 277-2752 or pat@remaxwisconsin.com
To learn more about other properties in Waunakee, be sure to contact Todd Schmidt, Village Administrator / Economic Development Director, at (608) 850-5227 or at tschmidt@vil.waunakee.wi.us.


Friday, September 21, 2012

Village Seeking Citizen Volunteer for Waunakee Economic Development Commission

The Village of Waunakee is seeking to fill a citizen member vacancy on the Waunakee Economic Development Commission (WEDC). The purpose of the WEDC is to set economic development policy for the Village of Waunakee, and to establish annual goals and objectives for economic development. The WEDC is also responsible for accomplishing the objectives outlined in Waunakee's Strategic Vision Implementation Plan, which can be viewed online. The WEDC is composed of nine individuals including the Village President, two Village Trustees, one representative from the Waunakee/Westport Chamber of Commerce, one representative from the Waunakee Community School District, and four citizen members appointed by the Village President with approval from the Village Board. Meetings of the WEDC occur regularly on the second Monday of the month at 5:30 pm. Citizens with skills and experience in business, economic development, financing, construction, marketing, planning or related fields are particularly encouraged to apply. For more information and an application form, visit the Village website by clicking here. Any questions may be directed to Village President John Laubmeier at 849-7080 or Village Administrator Todd Schmidt at 850-5227 or tschmidt@vil.waunakee.wi.us.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Lone Eagle Kickoff Meeting This Thursday (9/20)

September 20, 2012
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Waunakee Village Hall
500 West Main Street
Waunakee, WI

The Village of Waunakee is pleased to announce the kickoff meeting for what we are calling the "Lone Eagle Initiative".  The first meeting will be held this Thursday (9/20/2012) at Village Hall from 2:00 - 3:00 PM.

Waunakee’s Lone Eagle Initiative is an effort to engage with and understand the needs of professionals who work out of the home. We speculate that there is a significant home‐office segment in our community. The Village is interested in reaching out to these professionals. Our hope is to change that, with an outcome of greater engagement that is a benefit to both the home‐office professionals and the Village as a whole.

Key Goals:

1) Identify the size of the home‐office segment in our local economy.
2) Engage home‐office professionals to learn how the Village, other community organizations, and local business sector can be of greater service to them.
3) Establish a plan to foster improved relationships with home‐office professionals and undertake projects to better serve them.

Desired Outcomes:

1) Greater awareness of home‐office professionals, which will allow for opportunities to share information and establish professional connections.
2) Position Village to coordinate helpful resources and services, to perhaps include public facility spaces designed to meet needs of home‐office professionals.
3) Incubator‐style business growth where home‐office professionals enjoy success to the point where they open vibrant and successful businesses in the Village.
4) Growth in private sector resources and opportunities to serve lone eagles.
5) Ensure greater success for home‐office professionals.

Contact for more information:

Todd Schmidt, Waunakee Village Administrator / Economic Development Director
Direct Tel: (608)850‐5227
E‐Mail: tschmidt@vil.waunakee.wi.us
Skype: todd.j.schmidt

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Could Your Business Use Free Assistance?

Thank you to Mary Gage at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for passing along this information on an excellent opportunity.  If you are interested, please note the deadline--September 10, 2012.

Looking for help with a "Business Development Plan" or "Strategic Analysis and Plan" for your business or organization?

Announcing: UW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS;
STUDENT PROJECTS FOR THE FALL 2012 SEMESTER

The Small Business Development Center and the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the Wisconsin School of Business have a limited opportunity for you to obtain free student assistance. Please read the entire email before applying.   

There are two types of projects available:
1.  Business Development Plan
2. Strategic Analysis and Plan 
     
HOW THE PROJECTS WORK

Projects are specifically structured to allow the students to apply concepts learned in their classes and to assist local businesses under experienced faculty guidance. Students work in groups of 3-4 on each project. The program has been in existence for over 20 years and has assisted hundreds of businesses.

The project will be performed under strict confidentiality and students will sign a confidentiality agreement. Your company MUST be willing to share their most recent two or three years of balance sheets, income statements and cash flows for analysis.

No fees are charged for the students' work. You are responsible for reimbursing students for agreed upon travel, photocopying and all out of pocket expenses. The students will not be responsible for any tasks that would normally accrue to temporary or permanent employees of the business. Projects take the full semester to complete.

For the Fall 2012 semester, there are two types of projects available:

I. Business Development Plan
Companies with 3 or more employees and at least 3 years in business. Students will work with the company to develop a comprehensive new plan or update an existing business plan. Non-profit organizations will be considered. This plan would include:
  • Business description
  • Industry analysis  
  • Marketing plan and competitive matrix 
  • Financial analysis - projected income statement, balance sheet and cash flow for 2 years out with comments on how to interpret key profitability ratios and how they relate to recommendations
  • Recommendations for achieving your company's goals
II. Strategic Analysis and Plan - Your firm, for-profit or non-profit, should be located in Dane County, have 5 or more employees. and be in existence 5 or more years. A team of students at the Wisconsin School of Business will facilitate with your firm a process to develop a strategic plan that evaluates your firm's current condition, identifies growth strategies, and ascertains the level of limited resources to achieve these objectives strategies. The project will result in a detailed five year plan/report. All is done confidentially. Areas that will be analyzed:
  • Organization/Management - Background
  • Describe the firm's five-year plan
  • Describe and Analyze Organization Structure/Recommendations for Improvement
  • Operations Analysis/Recommendations
  • Sales and Marketing Analysis/Recommendations
  • Financial Analysis and Projections/Valuation/Financing Strategy
To be considered for a student project, please complete online form. We have a limited number of project openings for this semester. To be considered for a project YOU MUST FILL OUT THE ENTIRE FORM.

The deadline to ensure consideration for the current semester is September 10, 2012.

These cooperative projects have proven to be very positive for both the businesses and the students. If you would like to discuss this opportunity, please call me at 608-263-0221.

For project sign-up form click here: http://sbdc.wisc.edu/forms/studentprojectformF12.asp

Thank you.
Neil Lerner, Director
Small Business Development Center

Transit Corridor Study Public Meeting

September 10, 2012
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Madison Senior Center
330 West Mifflin Street
Madison, Wisconsin

The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MPO), in cooperation with Metro Transit and the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC), is leading a study to explore where and how to implement Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the Madison metropolitan area. The study is part of the Capital Region Sustainable Communities (CRSC) Initiative led by CARPC.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-frequency, limited-stop service that offers an improved customer experience on busy transit corridors. Faster service is accomplished by speeding passenger boarding, transit priority at traffic signals, and express service. Station improvements, information technology, and improved service reliability and vehicle comfort create a more user-friendly experience.

Please join planning staff and the consultant team at a public meeting on September 10, 2012 to learn more about BRT and provide your input on what the Madison metropolitan area’s potential BRT system might look like.

For more information on the BRT Study, go to http://www.madisonareampo.org/BRT.cfm
For more information on the overall CRSC Initiative, go to http://www.capitalregionscrpg.org/