WASHINGTON — Entrepreneurs from Wisconsin came to the White House for the Midwest Small Business Summit. It’s part of an election-year effort by the Biden administration to spread the word about their economic programs and policies.
Ashley Storck, from Madison, owns a digital marketing firm that supports organizations and businesses in Wisconsin. She was excited to hear about the administration’s efforts to help businesses with less than 20 employees.
“And also to hear about not only how they can support us through capital access, but also just create initiatives and resources to help us grow our revenue, so we're not taking out debt, rather helping us grow from a revenue standpoint,” said Storck, who’s the president and founder of Marketini Media.
Corrine Hendrickson is a family childcare provider in New Glarus, south of Madison. She said she helps the workforce by taking care of kids, so their parents can go to work. Hendrickson said her salary went from $8 to $12 during the pandemic, because of funding from the American Rescue Plan.
“Some of the things that we could work on is ensuring that there is still that funding source so that parents aren't being priced out of childcare, and we as the childcare educators and workforce aren't subsidizing that on our backs," said Hendrickson, who’s the owner of Corinne’s Little Explorers.
This week, the Biden administration announced it will expand access to capital for small- and medium-sized businesses, so they can complete clean energy projects, such as adding solar.