FOCUS FORWARD
The go-to resource to keep Wisconsin citizens, communities and businesses moving forward.
WORKING TOGETHER TO PREPARE WISCONSIN TO PROSPER
By working together, we can overcome the unprecedented challenges COVID-19 has put on us all. Focus Forward provides tools, information and inspiration related to business, community and personal resilience. It’s a place to communicate and connect regularly, where you’ll find information on financial and operational assistance programs from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and other state and federal partners that will prepare you for economic recovery. Most of all, it’s a destination to unite, roll up our sleeves and get to work helping each other and the entire state of Wisconsin move forward.
KEEP ME INFORMED
Subscribe to Focus Forward updates to stay in-the-know about important Wisconsin economic and business news, as well as new programs and resources available for your business and community.
FOCUS FORWARD VIDEOS & LIVESTREAM EVENTS
Join WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes for videos and livestream events covering business-critical topics and peer-to-peer conversations featuring recovery tips. You’ll find the information and insights your business and community need to successfully move beyond the current crisis.
Join us each Monday for the Focus Forward livestream, featuring information on WEDC’s role in reopening and recovery efforts. We’ll also provide an update on the status of essential and non-essential businesses and hold a live Q+A session to address any of your concerns.
FOCUS FORWARD PODCAST
THE VOICE OF WISCONSIN BUSINESS
The Focus Forward podcast connects business and community leaders and other Wisconsin “doers” in conversations about how we can all help each other succeed. In each episode, WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes guides the discussion toward real and actionable advice you can incorporate in your business or community to help overcome the challenges you’re facing today and prepare for the new opportunities of tomorrow.
PROGRAMS & RESOURCES
Focus Forward is here to connect you to the programs and resources WEDC, other state partners and national organizations have created to help your business. It’s our commitment to make it easier for you to find the information you need for relief and recovery, including WEDC financial assistance for Wisconsin companies, SBA disaster assistance, COVID-19 federal relief programs and more. Subscribe to our Focus Forward updates to ensure you have access to the newest programs and resources as they become available.
WE’RE HERE TO HELP
Navigating the complexity of COVID-19 relief and recovery can be daunting. Let us connect you to the information, insights, partners and resources needed to keep your business and community moving forward.
Wisconsin’s artists step up to inspire their communities during a challenging time
Despite shows being canceled and galleries closed, arts groups around the state are finding new ways to interact with—and be a source of strength for—their communities. Read More
FOCUS FORWARD UPDATES
Stay in-the-know about important Wisconsin business and economic news, community announcements and new programs and resources available for your business.
New video: Reopening with safety in mind
In collaboration with other state agencies, WEDC has created a set of guidelines for how businesses can do their part to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the health of employees and customers when they reopen. Learn more in a new video from WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes. Read More
Focus Forward Podcast Ep. 1: Moving your restaurant forward with Luke Zahm
Luke Zahm discusses how he’s moving his restaurant forward in the wake of the pandemic in Wisconsin. Join Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC as she talks to the chef and owner of Driftless Cafe and Wiscochef Enterprises and host of the “Wisconsin Foodie” television show about his restaurant business before and after COVID-19. Read More
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Recording posted: May 18 livestream with Secretary Missy Hughes
View the recording of the May 18, 2020, livestream with WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. This livestream touched on guidelines for businesses to protect employees and customers; a resource to connect companies in need of personal protective equipment with those that make it; the Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant initiative; and the newly announced We’re All In initiative with additional relief funds for small businesses. Read More