Business News for August 17, 2021
Today's message includes the following news, best practices, and online courses:
  • SBA Announces Supplemental Grants for SVOG Applicants
  • Prepare Your Business for Emergencies - Before they Happen
  • 7 Smart Strategies to Make Your Business Taxes Easier

Upcoming SBDC Learning Opportunity
  • Launch, Learn & Pivot: Madison Startup Stories
  • Join us Tonight at the StartingBlock Open House!
Business News, Updates, and Best Practices
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) Program
SBA Announces Supplemental Grants for SVOG Applicants
The SBA announced updates to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, including:
  • New applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, August 20, 2021.
  • The SBA will open the program for supplemental SVOGs for 50% of the original award amount, capped at a total of $10 million (initial and supplemental combined) later this month. Details will be announced at a later date.
  • The SBA is currently accepting, by invitation, applications for reconsideration of award amounts and appeals. This rare opportunity gives applicants a chance to prove their eligibility and reverse a prior decision.
Prepare Your Business for Emergencies - Before they Happen
Step 1: Assess your risk

Every business has unique vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Knowing which disasters are most likely to affect your business can help you to return to operations faster. A back-to-business self-assessment can help you to assess your risks for common hazards such as hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, or even cyberattacks.

Step 2: Create a plan
Your response plan is your roadmap to recovery, so it should be tailored to your business’s specific needs and operations. It should address immediate priorities and be easy to access. Checklists and online toolkits are effective resources to help you develop your plan. Consider the following:
Focus on disasters that pose a realistic risk to your small business. Consult the following resources to lessen the financial impact of disasters and reopen your business quickly.
7 Smart Strategies to Make Your Business Taxes Easier
by Sharita Humphrey
There’s no such thing as “too soon” or “too early” when thinking about your future business taxes. Remember: They won’t get any easier moving forward.

So, if you’re wondering what you can do to make your business taxes easier in future years, you’re in the right place!

  • Stay informed. Subscribe to IRS Tax Tips to get informative emails about how to save money, tax law changes, and more. You can also get relevant tax tips on IRS.gov or IRS2Go (the official mobile app of the IRS). You’ll receive useful tips each weekday during the tax filing season. You’ll also receive “Special Edition Tax Tips” at other times throughout the year.
  • Classify your business correctly. How you classify your business today will affect how it will be taxed in future years. So, make sure to classify your business correctly! Failure to classify your business correctly could result in overpaying taxes. Deciding whether to classify your business as either a Sole Proprietor, Single Member LLC, Limited Liability Company, S Corporation, or C Corporation will impact your taxes. It’s important to consult a tax professional when deciding how to classify your business.
  • Keep accurate, detailed, and updated records. Consistently keeping accurate, detailed, and updated tax records will make it easier for you to organize, check, and file your business taxes. With inadequate and inaccurate record keeping, you could be leaving out some deductions, or worse, you could be putting your business at risk for an audit.

Upcoming SBDC Learning Opportunity
Join us Tonight at the StartingBlock Open House!
Tuesday, Aug. 17th from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Spend some time networking and touring StartingBlock's 50,000 square foot entrepreneurial space and enjoy complimentary beverages and light appetizers. Meet StartingBlock team members, members of the UW-Madison Innovate Network, and more.

Attendees will receive a complimentary one day pass to StartingBlock and may enter for the chance to win a full year StartingBlock flex membership valued at $2,000.
Launch, Learn & Pivot: Madison Startup Stories
Every startup has a story, from creating the product or service to finding product-market fit, launching the business, and learning and pivoting along the way.

Hear from founders of innovative Madison startups, each with a unique business model, including
  • Georgia Allen, Co-Founder & CEO, Soaring Independent Cooperative
  • Kit Chow, co-founder and CEO at Boosted Chews
  • Ian Oestreich, founder at Curbside Bicycles
  • Erin Vranas, founder, Yips Yogurt Chips and co-owner, Parthenon Gyros restaurant.

This panel is for anyone interested in entrepreneur stories, starting a business, and learning about organizations and programs that can help. Presented by the UW–Madison Innovate Network.
Want a Sneak Peek of our Fall Class and Webinar Schedule?
We've been hard at work scheduling fall SBDC classes for you! While we are still finalizing our fall schedule, you can see a sneak peek of what is available by visiting our Classes & Training page!

Below is a list of just a few classes we have headed your way!


See more on our Classes & Training page - more classes being added!
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or 608-263-2221 to request accommodations.

The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in the University of Wisconsin System. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.