If it seems as if new businesses are opening up left and right in Milwaukee these days, that's because they are. And if that many are actually up and running, think of how many more are still floating around in the idea stage? Now more than ever, the potential for businesses to flourish in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas is great, but sometimes, people just need a little push.
Motivated by this notion and inspired by her own entrepreneurial experiences, Anna Baxter Kirk, president and founder of Launchpad MCPR, started to conceptualize a program that would make the initial struggle of starting a business a little easier for a fellow southeastern Wisconsin entrepreneur.
After a year's worth of brainstorming, planning and gaining support from other like-minded professionals in Greater Milwaukee, L'entrepreneur was born.
"It's not easy starting a business. Starting it right is even harder," she says.
But with the introduction of her new program, Baxter Kirk, backed by a team of other small business-friendly companies from southeastern Wisconsin, is ready to help entrepreneurs put their plans into action by starting them off with a first-class "Launch Package."
Valued at more than $15,000, the package includes 15 start-up components such as 40 hours of marketing communications and public relations from Launchpad MCPR, $3,000 toward advertising in the Small Business Times, up to five hours of general corporate counsel and entity formation assistance from Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. and the sponsorship of a one-year membership to the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce from Park Bank.
"I've tried to incorporate everything they'll need to get to the next level," says Baxter Kirk. And for the most part, she's got one lucky winner covered. She's even worked a 50-minute stress-relieving aroma massage therapy session from Briessentials into the deal.
"As a business owner, I want to give back to the community that supports me. I think it's part of the responsibility of owning a business."
Applications for the Launch Package can be found at her Web site, launchpadmcpr.com/entrepreneur, and will be accepted through Jan. 12, 2006. By February, one southeastern Wisconsin business will be off to a great start. Although she's qualified, Baxter Kirk will not be making the big decision alone. She's formed an advisory committee of area business professionals to help chose the winner.
Finalists, she says, will be selected based on clarity of their business concept, the perceived benefit of the business to southeastern Wisconsin and the business' need for the types of products and services provided in the Launch Package.
"I'm really passionate about southeastern Wisconsin. I've lived all over the country and I chose to return to Milwaukee because of what it has to offer. If I help to get one more company off the ground, that's one more success story for all of us."
With a business repertoire that includes working with the Milwaukee Public Market, Buycostumes.com, and TransFair USA, Baxter Kirk has turned her one-woman operation into a respected and reliable source for successful communication.
"Anna does incredible work," says Wendy Baumann, president of Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation. Baxter Kirk worked with Baumann on the Milwaukee Public Market's Garden Gala fund-raisers prior to the market's opening. "Her ideas were cutting edge and creative, and she really ran with the project."
Having always worked for small businesses, Baxter Kirk says she always knew she'd be heading one herself one day. But her vision doesn't stop there.
"I made this happen for myself, and now I'm focused on how I can help someone else's company grow."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
