Madison Reporter

Applications are now open for a new opportunity for small business owners in the City of Madison seeking training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to help their businesses innovate and thrive.

The City of Madison is partnering with the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) and AFF Research to launch the BizReady program—an extensive suite of resources and activities specifically designed to meet the wide-ranging needs of Madison’s aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals.

This resource is free for local business owners and is being funded by $300,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds that were already allocated to the City of Madison Economic Development Division’s Small Business Equity Recovery (SBER) program in July 2021.

The City of Madison Common Council approved the creation of the program last summer and selected MadREP as the City’s partner in the program earlier this year. City staff have been working with MadREP since then to design the program and prepare it for launch.

The BizReady program is modeled after the successful MarketReady program created in 2017, which provided prospective Madison Public Market vendors with training, technical assistance, and help in creating their business plans ahead of the Public Market opening.

Applications for the BizReady program open Monday, August 26, 2024, and close at 5:00 pm on Friday, September 13, 2024. Interested business owners can apply online. Those with questions can contact AFF Research by sending an e-mail to aff@affresearch.com or by calling 920-844-5006.

Additional resources and opportunities for local business owners can be found on the Office of Business Resources’ website.