MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A Lakeshore program is ensuring that small businesses survive the toughest part of their journey.
- A program in Manitowoc partners up new entrepreneurs with a seasoned, longtime business owner.
- Progress Lakeshore says that 45% of small businesses fail in the first 5 years.
- One small business owner says the program shows that everyone on the Lakeshore wants each other to succeed.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Keegan Bartow owns Carpets Plus Colortile in Manitowoc. He's owned the business for more than a year, but it wasn't an effortless start.
"Hiring employees and updating our processes. Integrating new technology was a big one,” he said. "You're just kind of guessing those first couple years."
Progress Lakeshore, an economic development agency in Manitowoc, says 45% of small businesses close within the first five years. So the agency set up a program, called Circles of Seven, for new business owners in our community to meet once a month for almost a year.
"It was comforting to know that there are other people in those shoes,” said Bartow. “Young entrepreneurs starting their companies, that you could lean on."
Another member of the his very group in the program, is Stacy McDonell of Executive Concierge, a leadership consulting company.
"We have decided as a group that we want to continue to meet,” McDonell said. “That alone tells the story of how important it is and how useful it was to all us."
Each group is paired up with a seasoned, long-time business owner from the area.
"It was nice that they could tell us that they had experienced these same things, and how they got through them,” said McDonell.
Both Stacy and Keegan say that thanks in part to their neighbors, their businesses are now thriving in the community that they've always called home.
"It is a testament to the culture that we have here in the Lakeshore area,” Bartow says. “We want to see each other succeed."
Progress Lakeshore says the program, which launched in 2023, had ten new entrepreneurs finish the course. Now, they are gearing up for another round of mentorship, starting in late September.
