Small Business
Over 99% of Wisconsin businesses are small businesses–Wisconsin is a small business state! I know how difficult it is to start and run a small business. Almost two decades ago, I started a professional photography business that remains vibrant today. Small businesses are part of the fabric of our communities, and are key to Wisconsin’s economy. I serve on the Assembly Committee on Small Business Development and am proud to have introduced and supported legislation to help small businesses.
Go Big For Small Business: The Small Business Portal
I authored the “Go Big for Small Business” bill to create a “one-stop-shop”, for small business creators to start, manage, and grow their businesses and change how they interface with the state. Small business owners wear so many hats, we need to save time, and make it much easier to interface with the state of Wisconsin.
And–the “one-stop-shop” will support a small business’s ability to compete with larger businesses with its competitive bidding process, and save the taxpayers money on municipal projects because of the benefit of competitive bidding.
I wrote the bill from scratch and have tenaciously reintroduced it 4 sessions in a row. However, the bill has been stuck in the GOP-controlled legislature. Let’s win a Democratic trifecta and get it done!
Main Street Bounceback Grants
I also introduced a bill to reauthorize the Main Street Bounceback program, which provides grants to small businesses opening a new location or expanding into a vacant commercial space, helping to support small businesses and transform vacant spaces.
Affordable Healthcare and Childcare
Every small business owner knows how hard it is to provide affordable healthcare for themselves, and their family. That’s why I introduced a BadgerCare Public Option alongside my Democratic colleagues. Allowing any Wisconsin citizen, regardless of income, to purchase health coverage through BadgerCare removes the burden of providing healthcare to employees from small business owners. When margins are thin and competition is high, we must put our small businesses in the best position to succeed.
And, we also know how hard it is to access affordable childcare. Unaffordable healthcare, and childcare deserts across the state challenge Wisconsin small business owners, and businesses looking to locate in Wisconsin. I am committed to fighting for Wisconsin families to have affordable, accessible childcare and healthcare.