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Milwaukee is home to a strong network of service providers assisting its small businesses, but it lacks the kind of coordinated supports and philanthropic engagement that benefit entrepreneurs in other large Midwestern cities.
A new Wisconsin Policy Forum report analyzes Milwaukee’s small business support landscape and seeks to identify both strengths and opportunities for greater effectiveness. It examines 50 public or nonprofit business support organizations in Milwaukee, and includes interviews with key stakeholders.
To define the small business support landscape, we looked at organizations that serve Milwaukee and are based in the Milwaukee area or have a physical presence here. We only included those that focus partially or exclusively on “Main Street” type businesses, or micro businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Finally, we limited our list to organizations that provide services in one of more of the following categories: business planning, marketing and sales development, operations and technology management, access to capital, and mentorship and peer support.
Our research shows the 50 organizations we identified using these parameters constitute a strong and collaborative network of small business supports in Milwaukee. But it also reveals several challenges or opportunities to improve.
These include the fact that there is no local organization that serves as a “backbone” for Milwaukee’s business support ecosystem. In other large Midwest cities, organizations have taken on clear leadership roles over local business supports. For example, Kansas City’s KCSourceLink functions as the backbone of that area’s entrepreneurship resource network.
Getting entrepreneurs connected to business support services in Milwaukee is a key challenge, and the local resource network currently lacks an obvious “front door.” Many local leaders said new or expanded efforts are needed to make current and aspiring entrepreneurs aware of and connected to the network of services available in Milwaukee.
Capacity gaps exist that limit opportunities for entrepreneurs to access services for their businesses. And local philanthropic organizations could play a bigger role in supporting entrepreneurship in Milwaukee. In Detroit and Chicago, philanthropic organizations have developed funder collaboratives focused on supporting local entrepreneurship services and initiatives.
Milwaukee’s current support ecosystem has much to offer the small businesses it serves. With more focused leadership, coordination, and financial support, it could become even healthier and achieve greater effectiveness.This information is a service of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. Learn more at wispolicyforum.org
