Steps for Starting A Small Business & Connecting to Your Community with Mara Keyes

Today’s amazing guest, Mara Keyes, is the perfect interview for all small business owners or anyone interested in learning more about starting a small business! We talk all the nitty gritty behind the scenes of opening a small business to how and why it’s so important to connect with your local community and resources. Mara Keyes is the Regional Project Director for the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) in La Crosse. She graduated from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota with a political science degree in 2015, but actually began her professional tenure with a small family business in Wisconsin. She then moved to the La Crosse in 2016 to work at Kaplan before transitioning into her role at WWBIC.

WWBIC is celebrating 35 years of supporting entrepreneurs and “putting dreams to work”. WWBIC services are open to anyone, but the focus is women, people of color and lower wealth individuals who face barriers in accessing financing or business support. WWBIC assists individuals who are interested in starting, strengthening, or expanding businesses by providing through direct lending, quality business, and financial capability training, and one-on-one technical business assistance.

Mara is a wealth of resources and a true community connector at heart. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and SHARE this podcast with anyone that needs to hear this message! Thank you for being here and supporting the Soul Driven with Steph podcast!