Community Economic Development
Division of Extension
Entrepreneurship and strong small businesses are part of the economic well-being of Wisconsin communities and residents.
In this webinar, we discuss how city leaders, businesses, property owners, and others can “shape their city” for the betterment of all and how Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can be used as a tool in that process. The focus of the webinar is on leadership and partnerships that help create an effective downtown organization.
Nonemployer establishments, sole proprietorships and partnerships without any paid employees, are an important part of the country’s economy. As of 2018, they made up a large and quickly growing share of businesses in the United States at 77% of the total while the other 23% of establishments were employer businesses [1]. Given that nonemployer establishments are businesses without employees, they are predominantly independent contractors who work for themselves or small businesses operated only by the owner(s) or unpaid members of their family.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Wisconsin’s economy. When the country reported the first case on January 20th, 2020, there was uncertainty as to how fast and far the virus would spread. On March 11th, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic and on March 16th all Wisconsin public schools were ordered to close while Governor Tony Evers instituted a Safer-at-Home order and closure of all non-essential businesses.
Recent analysis demonstrates that communities of color are disproportionately suffering the health impacts of COVID-19. In Milwaukee County, 29 percent of the population is Black or African American yet Black or African Americans represent 43 percent of COVID-19-related deaths1. Much like the poor health outcomes from COVID-19 are disproportionately suffered by people of color, the economic costs are likely also inequitably distributed across racial and ethnic groups.
August 2019 — In recent decades, significant resources have been devoted to entrepreneurship, and studies find net annual job creation is positive only for startups (Economic Innovation Group, 2017; Conroy and Deller, 2015). As a result, growth potential of existing firms is sometimes overlooked. Expansions, existing firms adding jobs, create 75% of gross new employment […]
June 2019 — Much attention has been paid to the role of entrepreneurship as a source of job creation in recent years. While this is warranted, expansions of existing businesses are also inseparable from job creation and economic growth. In terms of gross job creation, firm expansions contribute a significantly higher number of jobs than […]
October 2018 — The importance of small business development and entrepreneurship to the future health of the economy is becoming more widely understood and accepted across Wisconsin. Wisconsin focused research (Conroy and Deller 2015a) has documented that nearly all of the net job growth (expansions minus contractions) comes from start-up businesses, which tend to be […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY July 2018 — Since the start of the Great Recession, the death rate of Wisconsin businesses with employees (i.e. employer businesses) has outpaced the startup rate. As a result, after almost three decades of growth, the number of businesses with employees in Wisconsin started to decline in 2007.New employer businesses are a critical […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY June 2018 — Women as business owners may be an underutilized resource for economic development and growth. Policies aimed at equitably enhancing business ownership should consider the unique nature of women-owned and managed businesses. These policies should reflect the unique manner in which women approach entrepreneurship. In 2011, women-owned or managed nearly 19% […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY February 2018 — For state and local organizations that incorporate business recruitment and retention into their economic development strategies understanding business migration is important. Regions often compete to have businesses relocate in their community with the goal to increase job and income growth. Economic development resources are devoted to incentive packages that can […]
October 2017 — Economists have long known that entrepreneurship in the form of business start-ups is vital to a vibrant and strong economy (Conroy and Deller, 2015). Wisconsin, however, tends to compare unfavorably to other states in terms of entrepreneurship. The Kauffman Foundation has been monitoring entrepreneurial activity for a number of years and their […]
