UW-Madison Startup Week
November 11-18, 2020
UW–Madison Startup Week takes place from November 11 - 18, 2020, and is designed to celebrate entrepreneurial activities and resources across the UW–Madison campus. The week will feature over twenty events that provide opportunities for innovators on campus and in the community to network and learn.

Appointments Available to Startups Outside of the UW-Madison Community

  • Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic: Wisconsin entrepreneurs and startup companies that want legal advice on issues facing their business are invited to meet with the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic. The L & E Clinic provides free legal services to nascent entrepreneurs and early stage companies through the work of law students supervised by faculty and private sector attorneys. Appointments last 30 minutes and are available on Wednesday, November 11 from 1:00 - 3:00pm, and on Thursday, November 12 from 9:00am - 12:00pm. Book an appointment with the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic
  • gBETA Madison: Are you a startup that is interested in scaling quickly and seeking equity? Schedule some time with the Director of gBETA Madison at gener8tor and current Bascom Ventures Fellow to talk about your startup idea. Appointments are available on Friday, November 13 from 9:00am - 4:00pm. Book an appointment with gBeta
  • UW-Madison SBDC: We have not listed specific office hours for the SBDC during Startup Week, as we work with clients throughout the year. As always, if you are looking to start or grow your business, you can connect with us by completing our electronic Request for Consultation form on our website.
Small Business Saturday
November 28, 2020
Small Business Saturday, first celebrated in 2010, brings attention to the importance of shopping local. With COVID-19, more attention has been drawn to the importance of the local economy. Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to remind consumers that, according to the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, $68 of every $100 spent locally stays in the community - more than twice the amount chains reinvest.

This annual holiday falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving - November 28, 2020 - to mark the start of the holiday shopping season ensures that consumers keep local businesses in mind as they buy gifts. 
More Tips for Small Business Saturday Success
Excerpted from Fundera
Store
  • Connect with other small business owners to draw customers. While in-person events are more difficult this year, consider offering shoppers a suggested map and itinerary for their day that includes a diversity of businesses (discounted meals at a local cafe, photo ops or other draws at local stores, BOGO at a local coffee shop, etc.)
  • Plan your offers. While many Small Business Saturday participants are retail stores, get creative with ways to participate even if you do not sell traditional gift items - small gift cards for a return visit, a simple software tune-up at a computer repair shop, or a voucher to participate in a future virtual event that relates to your product or service.
  • Create raffle bundle(s). Create a bundle of some of your most popular products - products that represent your ideal customer - to be raffled off during Small Business Saturday. Advertising your raffle before the day helps build anticipation in addition to promoting your products. You could also offer discounts (or raffle entries) for those who follow your social media accounts, tag friends on social media, or sign up for your newsletter.
  • Offer a unique deal. While you likely will provide a variety of offers throughout November and December, be sure to create an opportunity that is unique to Small Business Saturday.

Expand Your Reach with Rebuild My Town Campaign
Spectrum Reach to run free nationwide shop local campaign
Spectrum Reach is conducting a nationwide campaign to encourage consumers to support local this holiday season. Their virtual mosaic serves as an interactive directory that local consumers can explore. The finished mosaic will be included in local TV commercials, social tiles, etc. from Nov. 30th-Dec. 30th. Consumers will be able to look up local businesses by industry type, city and zip. Business can join the campaign at no cost (and no expectation to advertise with Spectrum) and have their business included in a photo mosaic and local business directory. The deadline to be included is Monday, November 9.

To participate at no cost to you, upload your business image or logo and directory information by visiting: RebuildMyTown.com/SupportLocal/Madison.
Upcoming SBDC Learning Opportunities
Leading with Emotional Intelligence
November 17, 2020
During this uncertain time, there are many pressures impacting both the personal and work lives of our colleagues. EQ is the key ingredient that can help you create psychological safety for your team, which in turn allows them to be creative and resilient - both skillsets essential to keeping your work moving forward.

In this course, learn about how the brain, the body and emotions affect each other, and then how to better manage your own emotions and the emotions of others so you can have clearer, more accurate communications that create cooperation and collaboration in the workplace. You will also have the opportunity to take an assessment that will help you better understand your EQ strengths and areas for improvement.
Digital Marketing and Social Media Conference

Our one-day digital marketing conference brings together four marketing experts in one place to help you advance your digital marketing strategy. Sessions are offered in a live virtual format and are designed to give you the opportunity to dig in and make progress on your work.


Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at [email protected] or 608-263-2221 to request accommodations.

The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in the University of Wisconsin System. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.