Welcome New Members — November 2013

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce welcomes these new members. Please keep these companies in mind when doing business. View the complete directory listing of all Chamber members.

• Belle Pizzelle European Bakery & Cafe
• Blue Cat Design
• Design Concepts, Inc.
• EC Clean Solutions, LLC
• Forkforce
• IndependenceFirst Mobility Store 
• Network Cabling Solutions, LLC
• Nonprofit Tech
• Northside Business Association
• Personal Finance Company
• Red Square Flowers and European Gifts
• Ronin Studios & Consulting
• TASC (Total Administrative Services Corp.)
• Wisconsin LGBT Chamber

Governor Walker signs Crowdfunding Bill

Wisconsin is one of the first states in the nation to allow investors to purchase equity in a company via crowdfunding. The Greater Madison Chamber supported the bill which passed quickly through the Wisconsin Legislature with strong bi-partisan backing.

The legislation creates a new class of investor titled, “certified investor,” defined as a Wisconsin resident with a minimum net worth of $750,000 or minimum annual income of $100,000.  In addition, it creates new securities exemptions related to transactions originating from not more than 100 Wisconsin residents, excluding institutional, accredited and certified investors.  To qualify, the issuing business must have its principal office in Wisconsin and the majority of its full-time employees must work in the state.  Business could raise up to $2 million with an audit and up to $1 million without one.

Certain disclosures must be made to these investors and purchasers are required to acknowledge that investment losses may exceed the total investment under some circumstances.  In addition, stock purchases for Wisconsin residents who are not accredited, certified or institutional investors are capped at $10,000.

Madison High School Students Ready to Work

The Chamber is proud to facilitate the Youth Apprenticeship program for Madison high school students. Currently, there are several qualified juniors and seniors ready for employment in areas including Information Technology, Engineering, Hospitality/Food & Beverage and more. Contact Chamber Business and Education Coordinator, Jessica Holzman, to learn how you can support Madison students by hiring a youth apprentice today.

Shedding a Tier

Chamber President Zach Brandon refutes that living in Madison is a ‘Tier-Two Tradeoff.’ Read his response to Rebecca Ryan’s controversial October column in this month’s Madison Magazine.

Registration Open for Exploring Shades of Green in Wisconsin Businesses

Registration is Now Open for This Year’s Conference

 What:              The 6^th Annual Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference

 When:             Friday, December 13^th, 2013, 7:45am-3:30pm

 Where:           Lands’ End Headquarters, Dodgeville, WI (busing options will be provided from several locations)

Who:              CEOs, Senior Sustainability Officers, Sustainability Staff, Supply Chain and Logistics Staff, others interested in business sustainability

How:               Register Here

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Why should I attend?

Come expecting to deepen your understanding of business sustainability practices. Expect to leave with knowledge of what others have done, what lessons they learned, and what they would change about their sustainability initiatives. If you’re interested in current, or in some cases, cutting-edge sustainability initiatives, this conference is for you. If you’re interested in understanding what the hype about sustainability is, this conference is for you too. Wherever you may be in your sustainability journey, whatever shade of green you are, we have designed this conference to you.

What Makes This Conference Unique?

All of the WI Sustainable Business Council Conferences have been designed and run by a team of students from one of Tom Eggert’s classes.  We are a team of students dedicated to sustainability. We are designing this conference for Wisconsin business people, and all presenters will be Wisconsin business people. Our presenters believe that sustainability is about sharing best practices and we embrace the philosophy of transparency, inclusivity, integrity, stewardship and continuous improvement as outlined by the ISO 20121 framework. We have a strong and optimistic vision of a successful, sustainable, growing, Wisconsin business community that will stand out nationally. Come be part of that community!

What Does Sustainability Mean to You & Your Business?

Sustainability is collaboration. It is innovation. It is breaking outside the box and into the cutting edge of business opportunity and experience. It is leadership. It means saving time and money, gaining reputation and customers, enhancing employee well-being and slashing turnover rates, and planning beyond the quarterly report. It is vital to the future of business. It is cutting edge. It is the future.

Still Not Convinced?

 For more information, check out our webpage & be sure to follow us on social media as well as our blog for up-to-date developments on the conference.

Don’t hesitate to contact us at sustain@bus.wisc.edu.