Several regional Inventors & Entrepreneurs Clubs (also known as “I&E Clubs”) throughout Southwest Wisconsin are partnering to present an exciting lineup of speakers and topics for 2009-2010. Speakers cover a broad range of topics for new and existing business owners including “Social networking,” “Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks” and “How ECO-preneurs are Leading America’s Rural Renaissance.” According club facilitator Laura Brown of Crawford County UW Extension, “I&E Clubs are a safe place for inventors, new or existing business owners, people with ideas, resource providers, and investors to network and share resources. It’s about building a culture where people feel comfortable taking their idea to the next level.” Area club meetings are held in Argyle, Darlington, Dodgeville, Fennimore, Monroe, Platteville, Richland Center, and Viroqua.

The first meeting of a new Prairie du Chien Club will be Wednesday October 7, 2009 at 6:00 pm at Prairie du Chien City Hall and will include a business resource fair. Prairie du Chien meetings will be held every first Wednesday of the month.

I&E Club meetings are free, open to the public, and generally include a speaker on a topic of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs as well as time for networking and browsing current business opportunities and resources. Club meeting topics are chosen based input from club attendees to provide resources that local businesses need most. According to Carol Roth, owner of the Roth House B&B in Soldiers Grove and a regular attendee of the Viroqua I&E Club meeting, “In these times businesses need to manage their resources carefully. As local business owners, we can really learn a lot from one another and the I&E Club is a great way to do that.”

“Regional facilitators worked to create a schedule that not only met the needs of their local entrepreneurs and inventors, but that also allowed club members in other areas of southwestern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and eastern Iowa a variety of choices throughout the month,” said Brown.

Club facilitators have also created a website that gives information on each club and the topics and speakers at each location.

While the economic downturn and credit crunch is presenting challenging for many existing businesses and entrepreneurs, interest in I&E Clubs appears to be growing around the region and the state. Over 200 local entrepreneurs attended a regional I&E Club Rendezvous in Lacrosse last June. In a recent study by the UW Extension Center for Community & Economic Development over one-third (38%) of I&E Clubs in Wisconsin reported new jobs had been created in their region as a result of participation in the club. The same number of respondents indicated at least one new patent had been filed by a member as a result of participation in the club and 29% reported members have received grants for research or business idea development. The study summary report “Inventor & Entrepreneur Clubs: Investment in an Innovative Approach to Entrepreneurship” may be found online at www.driftlessentrepreneurs.com. For more information about local I&E clubs contact Laura Brown at Crawford County UW Extension, 608-326-0223.