Wisconsin Wind Works to host Fall Wind Event on October 13th, 2010 at Frontier Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Come learn about Wind Energy opportunities in Wisconsin, and gain new insight into the Wisconsin wind energy market from expert wind professionals and suppliers. Attendees can expect to learn about Wisconsin’s 1st and 2nd tier wind market, develop connections with wind suppliers in Wisconsin, and have the unique opportunity to hear about aftermarket operations and maintenance for wind in Wisconsin.

Notable Wisconsin Wind energy suppliers have already signed on to be part of panels throughout the day including:

• Wausaukee Composites
• Ingeteam (INDAR)
• Milwaukee Machine Works
• Helwig Carbon Products, Inc
• L&S Electric
• Energy Maintenance Service (EMS)
• and many many more!

Networking, food, and expert programming ensures the event to be a major success! Register today to reserve your spot at the Wisconsin Wind Works Wind Energy Symposium!

Invitation and Registration Link available here: http://www.coalescemarketing.com/wind_symposium/email.htm

All entries are in for the New North Photography Contest but now it’s time to vote!  Anyone can vote, so hurry now and invite your friends to participate.  We want to know which photos YOU think best portray the New North.

Simply go to http://www.thenewnorthphotocontest.com, select the “vote on photos” tab, and click on your favorite photo in each category to vote. 

Hello, my name is Autumn and I’ve just moved from New North intern to full time and it feels great!  One of my most recent projects has been the promotion of the New North Photography Contest.  I’ve been so impressed with the photos submitted so far, but I’m here to give some helpful hints of what pictures the New North is looking for.  Surprisingly, one of the easiest categories for students to enter (Encourage Educational Attainment) has some of the fewest entries.  Here is a list of simple ideas that are perfect photos for the Encourage Educational Attainment category: 

- Academic buildings
- Classrooms
- Library scene
- Students in action (all ages – K through College)
- Science lab
- Faculty in action

Moral of the story: your chances are still good, so if you’re on your way to class…grab that camera and take a photo!  Looking forward to seeing your creativity in action…

Autumn Tapley
Research Assistant
New North, Inc.

There is still time for students to enter the 2010 New North Student Photography Contest.   Students will have the chance to win more than $4,000 in school scholarships. This competition will give students the opportunity to enhance their professional portfolio and gain valuable insight into the current economic state of the New North.   We want to expose New North’s mission through artistic and imaginative ways using photographs. This year’s photography competition has been created to bring together the bright minds of New North’s future.  We have been reaching out to schools in an attempt to get the word out about this contest but we can certainly use the help of word-of-mouth so please pass along to a student you think needs scholarship money!

I know what you are thinking . . . wow, day 2 of Beth blogging.

Anyhoo, with my new commitment to blogging all things New North, I find that I am getting something out of it – who knew!!  As I think on what it is I want to blog about, I find a need to know what it is I am talking about more in-depth.  When I first came to work at New North, one of my struggles was just getting to know the names of the people, places, businesses, committees and initiatives.  The list is ENDLESS.  As I am coming up on my 1 year anniversary, the time has come for me to go one layer deeper than knowing the names of the people, places, businesses, committee and initiatives.  This little blogging exercise will help me peel back the layers. 

Yesterday, when listing off all of the things going on here at New North, I forgot to mention the 2010 New North Student Photography Contest.   Students will have the chance to win more than $4,000 in school scholarships. This competition will give students the opportunity to enhance their professional portfolio and gain valuable insight into the current economic state of the New North.   We want to expose New North’s mission through artistic and imaginative ways using photographs. This year’s photography competition has been created to bring together the bright minds of New North’s future.  We have been reaching out to schools in an attempt to get the word out about this contest but we can certainly use the help of word-of-mouth so please pass along to a student you think needs scholarship money!

Looking back – How have we (New North) done? The New North was born out of frustration with a slow economic recovery. A plan was laid out, strategies were set forth and for four years we have been working at that plan. How have we done? What can we point to that wouldn’t have happened but for New North? What do others think of our New North plan? Is the plan still on target? Can we measure some concrete results? What didn’t get done and do we still need to complete some important initiatives?  

Looking ahead- Guess what? Another economic challenge with this recession – the deepest economic slow down since WWII. What now? How does the current plan fit the New Normal of the US Economy? Where are the growth opportunities in the New Economy? How does New North help to position the region for a global economy which will likely have more economic cycles in the short term? Where is our competitive advantage and how do we make it work to produce a better economic future for the region?  

So what do you think New North?  

Come to the New North Summit on Dec. 8 at the KI Center in Green Bay to carrry on the conversation with 800 to 900 of your peers in the region.  

Yes, we know. You’ve been bombarded with invites and notices for social media seminars, workshops and tea parties in northeast Wisconsin during the past six months.

You’d never even heard of social media a year ago, and now it seems to be the dominant focus of the professional training opportunities you come across. The first event you saw piqued your interest, the next was worth considering attending, and the fifth local social media event – well, let’s just say it was like sitting through a rerun for the fourth time of that Friends episode where a misunderstanding between the crew lead to some unfettered hi-jinx.

I feel your pain.

That’s why the New North Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council – when developing our Sept. 22 Best Practices panel session focused on social media – aimed to provide a different perspective to which you may not have been exposed nearly as much. We’ll avoid the 101-level “what is social media?” and “what are the popular social media tools and how do they differ?” discussions, and jump right into implementing a social media culture within your organization.

During this panel discussion, we’ll address how you – as a small business owner or manager already familiar with various social media tools – can identify strategies to implement these social media tools into your marketing and human resources operations. Audience members will hear examples of how New North businesses have used social media tools for hiring new employees and for drawing more attention to their business, as well as legal, IT and administrative considerations for introducing social media tools into the culture of your business.

We’re excited about the panelists we’ve assembled for this event, and believe they represent a breadth of local expertise on some of the emerging uses of social media tools in business. Our panelists include:

• Dana VanDen Heuvel, a Green Bay-based E-marketing consultant who is a widely recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices;
• Heidi Strand, co-founder and co-owner of Blue Door Consulting, an Oshkosh-based full service marketing agency, sharing experiences hiring a social media consultant; and
• Margie Harvey, vice president of human resources at Miles Kimball Co. in Oshkosh sharing corporate guidance provided to employees in regard to social media.

On behalf of the New North, we’d be delighted to have you join us for this event in our quarterly Best Practices Panel Series. The panel session will be held Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, 101 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Kaukauna. There is no cost to attend, but registration is necessary because the event will be capped at 35 participants. To register, contact Alex Kowalski at alex@altaexchangegroup.com. For more information, visit The New North online at www.thenewnorth.com.

Whether or not you agreed with the current administration’s approach to jump starting the economy with the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed back in February, the fact of the matter is that bill is already law and federal funds are being doled out to help grow the nation’s economy once again.

And although most of the media-hype has centered around multi-billion dollar gift cards issued to financial institutions in the form of TARP funding and to large publicly-traded corporations in the form of bailouts and public ownership, there are literally dozens of measures included in the federal economic stimulus package available to small businesses as well.

That was the idea behind our New North Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council arranging an upcoming best practices panel session focusing on how business owners and managers right here in northeast Wisconsin can access those resources designed to help their company survive and thrive through this economic turbulence. We have to credit Rep. Steve Kagen, the Eighth District congressman from Appleton, who held two sessions this past spring for business owners to learn how the stimulus package would improve U.S. Small Business Administration programs – primarily financing – to help existing businesses grow. But there’s much more than financing opportunities included in the stimulus package. We put together a panel to help explain those potential benefits to business owners.

The measure includes a variety of tax incentives designed to allow business owners to save more of their earnings. Jim Olson, a shareholder with Schenck Business Solutions, will be on hand to discuss a few of these tax benefits, such as an accelerated depreciation on capital equipment investments made in 2009. If your business is considering a new vehicle or a new stamping press, as examples, now might be the time to take advantage of these one-time tax savings.

As a business owner, have you thought about increasing your workforce for the summer with an internship but weren’t sure how to afford expanding your payroll? Or considering a new roof on your building and want to take advantage of energy efficient technology that might provide a “green” rebate or tax incentive? Billions of dollars from the stimulus package are funneled through state government to fund new and existing state-run programs to help stimulate the economy locally. In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle established a new state Office of Recovery & Reinvestment in late January to manage stimulus funds through various state agencies, and appointed UW-Madison vice chancellor Alan Fish as one of the directors of the office. Since state government programs providing stimulus opportunities are spread across several state departments, Mr. Fish has the most comprehensive knowledge of those programs available in Wisconsin and how business owners can leverage them to grow their companies. Mr. Fish will participate in our panel on June 23 as well.

Financing is still critical to businesses as much now as ever before, and U.S. Small Business Administration Wisconsin District Director Eric Ness will be on hand to shed light on a few of the lending programs strengthened by the stimulus package, including the SBA’s new ARC program which rolls out in the middle of June. Audience members at our June panel session will be among the first in the state to hear from Ness about this program, which provides emergency funds to small businesses in financial trouble with no fees and 100 percent backing from the federal government.

Lastly, Rep. Kagen himself will participate in our panel to provide the legislative perspective behind Congress’ crafting of the stimulus package, including the role our elected officials believe small businesses will serve in helping the economy rebound.

We’re proud of this panel that’s been assembled for this upcoming new North Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council session. We know those savvy business owners who attend this session will leave with a handful of ways in which their company can benefit from the federal stimulus package. Will you be one of them?

To register for this event, email Alex Kowalski at alex@altaexchangegroup.com

Sean Fitzgerald, President/publisher
New North B2B
P.O. Box 559
Oshkosh, WI 54903-0559
920.237.0254
sean@newnorthb2b.com
www.newnorthb2b.com

How many business owners have you heard say,

“I refuse to participate in this downturn in the economy!”?

Whether you believe they can or can’t control their destiny you have to admire their positive attitude.  That positive, can do attitude, that makes small business the back bone of our economy will play a huge roll in its recovery. 

How do these business owners and operators stay so positive?  I believe it’s through a positive network of peers and through educating themselves on what is true about the economy and what might be sensationalized.  Educating ourselves is the way to determine what information we use in making the best decisions for our businesses.

On June 23^rd the New North Small Business & Entrepreneurship sub-committee is hosting a panel discussion regarding the new stimulus package.  Here is an opportunity for business owners to gain a better understanding of what this package consists of and how it may help their businesses. 

The organizers have put together an impressive panel of distinguished people in the know, such as Congressman Steve Kagen; SBA District Director Eric Ness; Jim Olson, shareholder at Schenck Business Solutions; and Alan Fish who is the newly appointed Director of the Wisconsin Office of Recovery and Reinvestment.   

Come join me and participate in this educational seminar as we look to better understand what the stimulus package has to offer and learn more about other issues that may be discussed. 

Small business owners are the catalyst for our economic recovery in the NEW North.  Educate yourself and stay positive!

Take Care,

Gary Vaughan
Guident Business Solutions, LLC
920-427-507
gvaughan@guidentbuisness.com

STIMULUS OFFERS SOME SMOKE, SOME MIRRORS, SOME OPPORTUNITIES

(Register today for June 23 Panel Discussion)

There’s a lot of money flying around out there from the various econ stimulus initiatives.  Some may help.  Some come with risk.  

That’s the focus of the N.E.W. North’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee panel discussion on June 23rd in Green Bay at NWTC from 9-11AM.

The panel, which is slated to include Congressman Steve Kagen, will address specifics of how the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly referred to as the Stimulus Bill) will allocate government dollars to the private sector.

Among the potentially positive provisions for business owners, says panelist Jim Olson, Partner, Schenck Business Solutions, are some “lucrative tax incentives.  However,” he warns, “they are not necessarily available to everyone equally.”

Specifically, Olson told N.E.W. North, if a business qualifies, there is an incentive for the purchase of fixed assets by end of year.  ”A business can write off the entire amount up to $250,000.  On top of that, if they have the money, they can take a “bonus depreciation” of 50% above $250,000.”

On the caution side, business owners and individuals should also be aware that the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is still very much alive and a potential threat.  It could nullify much of the write-off incentives.

Also, Olson pointed out in an interview, under the Making Work Pay Credit, some taxpayers are receiving larger paychecks today.  However, some people may have to pay more at the end of the year.  

Perhaps the biggest danger is that so many initiatives have been introduced that the government is not sure what they all mean … let alone individuals and individuals.  It will take a long time to sort it all out.

That’s why the upcoming June 23rd panel discussion is so important.  The issues will not go away.  The businesses that understand the new laws are in a much better position to avoid problems and capitalize on opportunities.

Panelists include Congressman Steve Kagen; Wisconsin SBA District Director Eric Ness; Jim Olson, Shareholder at Schenck Business Solutions; and Alan Fish, Director of the Wisconsin Office of Recovery and Reinvestment.

Seating is limited, so sign up today.  To register, contact me at Alta Exchange Group either by email at alex@altaexchangegroup.com or phone (920-540-1072).    

John R. Ingrisano
Writing For The N.E.W. North
Custom Communications