Small Business Summit Guest Speakers

Matt Middendorp - VP Business Banking | American National Bank

From Time Lost to Time Well Spent:  The 3 R's of Social Selling for Small Business Owners
Join professional speaker, sales coach, and business banker, Matt Middendorp, to uncover how Social Media “super tools” can give small business owners the authentic voice they need to achieve their growth goals. In this presentation Matt will show attendees how to... 1. Figure out which platform is the best for their business. 2. Learn how social media tools can help them find out more about their core customers. 3. Demonstrate their expertise to a hungry marketplace. 4. Create lasting relationships with a few direct messages. Join Matt and start down the path toward unlocking the magic of social selling to grow your business.

Get to know Matt: Matt Middendorp is a professional speaker and sales coach with over 20 years of experience turning connections into customers and advocates. In 2019, Matt brought his expertise to the team at American National Bank Fox Cities as a VP of Business Banking. From the beginning, Matt’s clients have experienced banking relationships that are fun, meaningful, and make a difference in the real world success of their businesses. Whether it’s standing at a white board mapping out a sales process or finding the resources they need to beat the odds, Matt brings the bank’s core philosophies of “Seeing Their Vision” and “Fuel Opportunity” to life through a deeper understanding of his customers, and by building lasting relationships that enable he and his clients to grow together.

American National Bank Fox Cities
Like you, we had a vision. We saw a need for a bank in our community that would focus on small to medium-sized businesses--a bank that was willing to take a chance on the success of our clients by focusing on what is best for them.
 

Tina Schuelke - Executive Director | Change Management

Vinegar, Honey, and Change: Communication Imperatives for Leading Change
“Vinegar, Honey, and Change: Communication imperatives for leading change” will focus on what we communicate, and how we communicate will either help or hurt our productivity, innovation, commitment, accountability, collaboration, and problem solving, which are all necessary to realize profits associated with change. Attendees will learn the positive and negative impacts of change communications, how to use preferred senders and situational communication planning, when to create talking points that facilitate consistency in messaging and a framework to assess and re-assess change communications.

Get to know Tina: Tina Schuelke is the founder and Executive Director of Change Management Communications Center, LLC (CMCC), in Oshkosh, WI. Her mission is to advance how leaders address
change

Change Management Communications Center LLC
We are all about positive behavior change, achieving results, and improving morale throughout your organization

Tori England - Owner and Principal Consultant | T.L. England Consulting

Curating Low or No Cost Learning Plans for Small Businesses
With budget cuts and limited resources, learning professionals have been forced to get creative. This has put us in a new role - "Curators of Learning." In this session, we will talk about low or no cost ways to create personalized learning plans for employees. Let's work together to build a plan for you or one of your employees!

Get to know Tori: Tori has her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Public Relations and her master's degree from De Paul University in Chicago in Corporate Communication.  She brings with her over 20 years of project management and learning & development experience in the insurance, hospitality and utility industries. She has led many Fortune 500 companies through major transformational change. Tori is certified in the PROSCI change management model and is a PMP certified project manager.

T.L. England Consulting
T.L. England Consulting is focused on employee success. Our goal is to show your employees why they should have passion for your company, teach them how to do their job well and then watch them create something special in their role. Let's collaborate to build something special.

Gina Glover - Owner/President | Creative Connections of Fox Valley

Navigating Shift Creek: A Guide to Career Transition in Today's Business World
How do you know when it’s time to shift in your career? How do you get started? Who should you bring into your inner circle? What should you be prepared for? These are just a few of the questions business professionals must consider when embarking on a career shift. In this highly interactive and entertaining presentation, Gina Glover will share answers to these questions and more as she helps attendees Navigate Shift Creek.

Get to Know Gina:  Gina Glover was enjoying her career managing e-commerce projects at a packaging company when SHIFT happened. She had only just come back to work that fall after the birth of her first child when she learned (on her 29th birthday!), that her job was being eliminated. Holy SHIFT! But it didn’t take her long to find a great fit managing a new online service at a different company nearby. People thought “Wow! This lady gets SHIFT done!” Fifteen years and several additional career shifts later, Gina is now a master of the career transition and coaches business professionals on how to navigate the twists and turns in their own career transition.

Creative Connections - Fox Valley Area, Wisconsin
Creatively connecting details to the larger picture, the strategy to the implementation, enabling YOUR business to take the next opportunity.

Dujuan Cherry - CEO | MilleniLink Production

How Digital Content Drives Improvement
In this session you will learn how digital content creates leverage for your business. The purpose of this session is to educate businesses on how their digital content creates acquisition and improvement within their business.

Get to know Dujuan: Eager and curious, Dujuan Cherry proves that no business size is too big to tackle. From business analysis to creative branding solutions, you want this hard-working innovator in your corner.

Millenilink Digital Media Production
Millenilink is a provider of digital media branding and production.  We offer digital media solutions for companies of all sizes. Founded by an idea, it quickly grew into a thriving business that brings creative, innovative services to dozens of business. 

We built our solutions by closely listening to our potential clientele needs. We know how to analyze this information and create a digital media platform for you where you are able to increase acquisition. 

Alyse Rust - Regional Project Director | WWBIC

Business Planning for Success | Business Startup Checklist
Your business plan is a critical tool for communication with potential funders and as a guide to manage business growth. You will learn: what goes into a business plan, what’s important and tools to get you started.

Get to know Alyse: Alyse Rust serves as the Regional Project Director for the Northeast Office of The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation or WWBIC. She has over 12 years of experience working in the human service and not-for-profit fields. Previously, she was Leasing Director for the Outagamie County Housing Authority and after just under 10 years there, made a leap of faith to a different career. Starting in June with WWBIC was a vast career move however it gave her the opportunity to further explore and nurture her love of business and entrepreneurship. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Human Services Leadership and had previous course work in business and non-profit management, as well as criminal justice. Helping others achieve greater for themselves is something that will always be near and dear to her heart.

WWBIC - Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation
A leading innovative statewide economic development corporation that’s been “Putting Dreams to Work” since 1987. We open the doors of opportunity by providing targeted individuals who are interested in starting, strengthening or expanding businesses with access to critical resources such as responsible financial products and quality business and financial education. We focus on individuals who face barriers in accessing traditional financing or resources in pursuit of their dreams and economic well-being … in particular women, people of color, veterans and low-income individuals. Every day we work hard to achieve our social goal of improving the economic well-being of individuals by advancing inclusive entrepreneurship and facilitating self-sufficiency strategies.

Chris Burns - Director of Business Development | BConnected, LLC

How to Elevate Your Social Media Without Spending Money
Learn tips, tactics, and real strategy to elevate your social media game without investing in new equipment or additional staff. If your business is large or small, for profit or not for profit, you will walk away with the knowledge that you can immediately implement. Attendees will leave with the following: 10 tactics to grow your social media, how to build a social media strategy, what does your content say about your business and “how to” and “how not to” create content.

Get to know Chris: Chris Burns graduated from Ferris State University in 2005 and earned a degree in Marketing. He is a graduate of Leadership Green Bay, class of 2017, a 2018 Fox Cities Future 15 award recipient and currently a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fox Valley Region. He is a social media practitioner and offers more than 15 years of experience in digital marketing. In his current role as Director of Business Development at BConnected, Chris educates and helps businesses understand how to effectively use social media to stand out and help their bottom line. Chris owns and operates the Social Station, a party bike that provides pedal-powered tours and is located in Downtown Appleton. Just last year, he became a published author. When he is not busy working and trying to be an entrepreneur, he is a husband, father of 3, and an avid golfer.

BConnected LLC
BConnected, LLC is more than just a company, it’s a team of thinkers and problem solvers dedicated to helping you manage your social media presence on a daily basis. We pride ourselves in having an upbeat culture that fosters creativity and results. Through creating a close relationship with the marketing directors/decision-makers at various businesses, BConnected, LLC will ensure ongoing, high-quality content creation mixed with targeted advertising to help you grow your audience and sales.

With locations in Appleton and Milwaukee, WI, we are positioned to help businesses of all sizes all over the Midwest.

Naletta Burr, Regional Economic Development Director - WEDC

Local, State and Federal Opportunities for Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses
In this session you will learn about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and local, state and federal contracting opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses. There will also be time to discuss the upcoming WEDC Marketplace event held in October.

Get to know Naletta: Naletta Burr is a Regional Economic Development Director for Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and supports the development efforts of communities and businesses in Northeast by connecting them with financial and technical resources. Naletta received her bachelors from UW-Green Bay in Urban and Regional Studies, her Masters in Public Administration from UW-Oshkosh, and is a Certified Economic Development Professional.  Currently, and in her previous positions, Naletta provides support for businesses and communities in financial resources, strategic planning, economic development, downtown revitalization and business development, and has varied experience in working with business and community growth strategies.  She has also assisted with moving real estate deals and development projects forward.   Additionally, as the former Executive Director for a Main Street Program Naletta led the organization to achieve the Great American Main Street award along with other numerous awards

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is committed to creating and maintaining a business climate that allows you to maximize your potential. Working with more than 600 statewide partners, including regional economic development organizations, academic institutions and industry groups, we’re enhancing our communities, supporting business development, advancing industry innovation, tapping global markets and developing a talented workforce to help Wisconsin realize its full economic potential.

Eric Sponholtz, Executive Director - Volunteer Center of Brown County

The 3 R's of Volunteering:  Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition
With ever changing laws and different tax implications for businesses, more people are turning to giving of their time and talents than their monetary gifts. The Volunteer Center of Brown County, now more than ever, is seeing more and more businesses turning towards giving of their time through service to different organizations. In this informative presentation, knowledge will be shared regarding how to keep employees engaged in service, how to retain those volunteers, and most importantly, how to recognize them for a job well done.

Get to know Eric: Eric Sponholtz has served as the Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Brown County since September of 2016.  In this role, he manages the day to day operations of the center and works to fulfill the organization’s strategic plan, and also works to cultivate relationships throughout the community in the areas of marketing and fund development.  Eric was a 2015 graduate of Leadership Green Bay, and currently serves on the Leadership Green Bay curriculum committee.  He also serves as the membership committee chair for the Bay Area Managers of Volunteer Services (or BAMVS), and is currently a Greater Green Bay Chamber Ambassador.  Previously, he spent 18+ years in the field of youth development, working with organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, the YMCA, and the Salvation Army Kroc Center in the areas of youth programming and administration.
 
In his spare time, Eric enjoys Wisconsin sports (Packers and Brewers specifically) and spending time at the family cottage.  Eric, his wife Heather, and 3 year old son Connor reside in Green Bay.

The Volunteer Center of Brown County
The Volunteer Center of Brown County builds a stronger community through volunteerism. We believe the strength of a community is directly related to its volunteers. Each year, we match thousands of volunteers with hundreds of local nonprofit partners to best utilize time and talent.