Greater Green Bay Chamber Establishes Small Business Resource Hotline

The Greater Green Bay Chamber, in collaboration with several partner organizations, is pleased to introduce a business representative-staffed Small Business Resource Hotline to answer small businesses’ “back to business”-related questions resulting from COVID-19.

The hotline is a collaborative effort initiated by the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s Startup Hub, along with partners Associated Bank, Wipfli LLP, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Small Business Development Center, Green Bay SCORE Chapter 508 and Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation. (WWBIC). Representatives will answer questions including, but not limited to:

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act compliance and questions
• PPP Loan Assistance (application, forgiveness, Q&A)
• CARES Act compliance and guidance
• General business advice
• General tax and accounting questions
• Financial questions

“As we’ve said before, small businesses are vital to Greater Green Bay’s economy. Now more than ever, they need ready access to resources to help sustain their businesses,” said Laurie Radke, president and CEO, Greater Green Bay Chamber. “That was the impetus for establishing a small business-focused resource like this for our business community.”

Centralizing those resources is the whole premise of the Startup Hub, powered by the Greater Green Bay Chamber, the front door to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Greater Green Bay.

“Just as the Startup Hub functions as the much-needed, physical ‘one-stop shop’ for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to take their business to the next level, the Small Business Resource Hotline is meant to be a single-source solution for these businesses’ questions in this very dynamic business environment,” said Kelly Armstrong, vice president of economic development, Greater Green Bay Chamber. “We’ve assembled very strong experts in their fields who will provide knowledgeable and responsive service to small businesses via this hotline.”

Areas of expertise have inevitable overlap but will include many of the newer laws and business grant opportunities as well as accounting and tax questions for Wipfli LLP; marketing and general business assistance with SBDC; and SCORE; lending questions, direct lending and business education with WWBIC; and business banking/lending questions with Associated Bank.

“The Small Business Resource Hotline provides the perfect opportunity for Wipfli to support small businesses and start-ups in our community. We know they have many questions, and during these uncertain times, we can be a resource to answer many of those questions and to navigate a wide range of business topics,” said Inga Arendt, CPA, partner, Wipfli LLC. “Our goal is to help small businesses and startups in our community effectively respond and recover.”

The Small Business Resource Hotline is available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and can be reached at 920.496.2116. Phone calls will be answered by representatives of the organizations listed above on a rotating basis. If the answering representative doesn’t have an answer immediately, the question will be funneled to another partner and answered within 24 hours.

Questions also can be posed via the Small Business Hotline website at https://thestartuphub.org/small-business-resource-hotline/ and will be answered within 24 hours as well.