The Rural Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Initiative hosted its second statewide conference about rural entrepreneurship, this year in Wisconsin Rapids on June 16-18. With 200 attendees, the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference featured 16 different sessions about rural entrepreneurship, ranging from digital marketing to agricultural tourism to youth entrepreneurship. The event was attended by rural economic developers, community leaders, and entrepreneurs from 47 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.
Not your typical conference, CEC sessions were hosted by eight different local businesses and cultural institutions across downtown Wisconsin Rapids, including a brewery, a public library, and a community theater, giving attendees the opportunity to explore the town’s small business and cultural scene. The event also featured a welcome event at a Rafters baseball game and an evening reception at Rooted in Red, a six-generation cranberry marsh in Wood County, and an outdoor lunch in Veterans Memorial Park by the Wisconsin River, catered by local food trucks.
Wisconsin Rapids, population 19,000, is a town redefining its future after a major local employer, a paper mill, closed in 2020. Despite this setback, the community is a statewide trendsetter for local entrepreneurship, initiating numerous programs to boost local business.
The CEC Conference brings to life University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor Dr. Tessa Conroy’s research about entrepreneurial ecosystems. 30% of Wisconsin’s population lives in rural areas, but many of the industries which comprised rural Wisconsin’s economy have declined or moved overseas. Conroy’s research demonstrates that local entrepreneurship can boost the viability and prosperity of small communities, and rural economic developers may benefit from focusing on building local business rather than try to attract business to their community.
The CEC Conference functions as a networking event for Wisconsin’s rural leaders, developers, and entrepreneurs. Its programming features strategies and resources for rural communities to build their entrepreneurial ecosystem. The conference agenda can be viewed here.
The event was organized by a steering committee comprised of Central Wisconsin economic development organizations, including Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Centergy, as well as representation from the City of Wisconsin Rapids, Wood County, Mid-State Technical College, and Sentry School of Business. WEDC/Office of Rural Prosperity and the Office of Business and Entrepreneurship also contributed to the event.
The Rural Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Initiative will organize another CEC Conference in Green Lake, WI in 2026. Contact Outreach Specialist Maggie Cornelius at mmcornelius@wisc.edu for more information.
