University of Wisconsin - Extension

As director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Lucy Holifield helps potential entrepreneurs in an urban environment struggling with restoration and renewal. Major issues affecting business development here include financial resources and preparing people to compete for the dollars that are available.

The 2000 census reveals that Milwaukee's minority populations constitute a majority of its residents. This offers a challenging target for the SBDC.

Partnerships contribute to success

Says Holifield, "Many minorities are first-generation business owners. Our goal is to provide them with the tools they need to succeed and help them find solutions." Holifield herself was a first-generation business owner. That gives her a passion to help others succeed in an environment that has a business start-up survival rate of 20 percent.

The UW-Milwaukee SBDC partners with a variety of organizations to leverage its effectiveness. Partners include the U.S. Small Business Administration, Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp., four minority chambers of commerce and councils, the Urban League and Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.

SBDC provides training and counseling

One dynamic partnership is with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, which helps fund partial tuition reimbursement for an entrepreneurial training course for qualified individuals.

"Our niche with this program is that we do both the training and counseling, so participants complete a full business plan," Holifield says. "Laboratory sessions are built into the curriculum, so participants get the vital business counseling along the way."

Holifield says the SBDC is offering the entrepreneurial course four times a year, with between 30 and 40 budding business owners participating each quarter.

Finding financing and time

Another component of the learning curve for business development in Milwaukee is dialogues with lenders. For this, Holifield wears another hat: associate director of the UW-Milwaukee Consortium for Economic Opportunity (CEO). She participates in "CEO Dialogues," most of which have been with bankers.

"We find out how our clients need to be prepared to talk with lenders, and how their paperwork should be organized to improve their chances of getting business financing."

Holifield says that a big challenge in urban business development is getting people to participate in the educational programs they need to be successful in business. "In urban markets like Milwaukee, a lot of things compete for a person's time."

Distance education is one approach that Holifield is exploring. She believes it can stimulate more entrepreneur participation. "Online programs give them the flexibility they need in their busy lives."

For more information:

http://www.uwm.edu/UniversityOutreach/catalog/DBM_SBDC/">www.uwm.edu/UniversityOutreach/catalog/DBM_SBDC/