APRIL 2014

KEATING:HELPING SMALL BUSINESS

BETTER PROTECT IP

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Rick EsenbergWisconsin Institute for

Law & Liberty

HIRSCHFELD:5 IMPORTANT TECH TRENDS

BUSINESS LEADERS SHOULD NOT IGNORE

HONADEL:THE SKILLS GAP

IS EVERYBODY’S PROBLEM

Richard Meeusen,CEO Badger Meter

MAY

16t

h

Apr

il 18

th

BROWN:HEALTHCARE WELLNESS

At AT&T, we know that making connections is critical to success. In Wisconsin and across the nation, we link businesses with their customers and the world through our wireless network with access to the nation’s largest Wi-fi network. It’s just another way we help our customers stay connected.

AT&T is proud to support the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin.

© 2014 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.

Networking matters

IBAW thanks AT&T for it’s continued sponsorhip.

Executive DirectorSteve Kohlmann

PresidentSteve Van LieshoutK & S Technologies

.

President Elect 2014Membership / Sponsorship

John WeberHypneumat

VP. State & National ProgramsJeff Hoffman

Judson & Assoc.

TreasurerCasey Malek

Sikich

Directors

Bart AdamsSikich

Ann Barry HannemanSimandl Law Group S.C

Heather BaylorPark Bank

Richard BlomquistBlomquist Benefits

Jason KuwayamaGodfrey & Kahn

Tom BoelkowBSI Design, Build, Furnish

Dave Drumel Staff Electric

Jim LeefITU Absorbtech

IBAW MEDIA LINK

Gov. Walker talks about his Blueprint for Prosperity

To listen, click here.

IBAW Mission:To advance business prosperity through insightful

programming, executive networking and member-driven public policy and advocacy.

Business Education Series

LOCATION THE WISCONSIN CLUB 900 W. WISCONSIN AVE. MILWAUKEE

7:00 AM REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

7:30 AM BREAKFAST & PROGRAM

9:00 AM PROGRAM ENDS

April 18th MeetingRick Esenberg,

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

Mr. Esenberg is the founder and current President and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

Rick comes to WILL after a four-year stint on the faculty at Marquette University Law School where his scholarship concentrated on law and religion, election law and religion, the regulation and nature of public discourse and the Wisconsin Constitution.

Registration now open!

Click here.

FIVE STAR Programing

Mr. Meeusen is the CEO of Badger Meter, an innovator in flow measurement and control products. Badger Meter serves water utilities, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers worldwide.

Measuring water, oil, chemicals, and other fluids, Badger Meter products are known for accuracy, long-lasting durability and for providing valuable and timely measurement data.

Registration now open!Click here

May 16th MeetingRichard Meeusen,CEO

Badger Meter

IBAW partnered with Asian Business Consultants to bring a Leadership Summit series focusing on mid-sized companies across the nation that are seeking to better understand the business landscape in China and how they can successfully develop and execute a viable import or export strategy. The Opening China Summit brought together business leaders, academics, and policy makers to discuss and better understand the opportunities in China for our nation’s businesses and examine how carefully crafted import and export strategies are essential to long-term growth. 

Attendees engaged in a range of presentations, including an economic overview of China’s economy and what it means to US businesses, a procedural overview of how to manage a Chinese customer base, and relevant case studies from some key businesses in the region. Attendees gained valuable insight into the opportunities available for American business in China and actionable knowledge from case studies to guide their future strategic planning.

Opening China Summit Gives A Starting Point for Business

Joe Jurken, Senior Partner of the ABC Group, gives an overview on the basic priorities business owners need

to consider when interested in a China relationship.

Say what you want about the never ending winter here in Wisconsin, but one thing is for sure; it keeps a guy focused on IBAW programing.

No need to spend time thinking about motorcycle rides or getting out the bicycles with temperatures in high 20’s. No worries about getting the lawn tractor ready to cut the grass with a glacier on my front lawn. At any rate we have some very interesting programing coming up so here’s a quick overview:

April 18thWe’ll have Rick Esenberg from Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL). For those of you that don’t know, WILL can best be described as the opposite of the ACLU. WILL takes up conservative issues including the Milwaukee Streetcar Challenge and Senator Johnson’s lawsuit against Obamacare. WILL has also been involved in MacIver vs. Erpenbach and Voter ID litigation. Mr. Esenberg is a dynamic speaker, don’t miss this one.

May 18thRichard (Rich) Meeusen, CEO of Badger Meter will join us for a inspiring discussion on ethics, determination and leadership. Mr. Meeusen has been featured at high profile events put on by The Business Journal and Milwaukee Biz Times and I’m delighted to have him speak at IBAW.

June 20th - 2014 Wisconsin Manufacturing Knowledge SummitWe’re changing things up a little bit in June hosting the 2014 Wisconsin Manufacturing Knowledge Summit. IBAW is partnering up with the Tool, Die & Manufacturing Association of Wisconsin (TDMAW). Kent Lorenz of Ellison Technologies and Rich Kalscheuer will be our featured speakers giving us insight to the evolution and health of manufacturing here in Wisconsin, the nation and around the globe.

As an added feature to this event, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch will be hosting a special roundtable discussion exclusively for manufacturers at 9:15 titled, “What’s Grinding My Metal”. This is a perfect opportunity for manufacturers to give direct feedback to the Walker administration on what keeps them up at night; taxes, workforce issues or the DNR, EPA or anything else. This is your chance to speak up.

I’d like to thank our friends at First Business Bank for being the event sponsor and making this summit possible.

Buckle Up, More Great Programing Ahead!Steve Kohlmann, IBAW Executive Director

BUSINESS BEHIND THE SCENES EVENTOur Business Behind the Scenes events have been very popular. A great way for you to get an inside look at a business or organization you would normally wouldn’t have access to.

Our next Behind the Scenes event will be the Harley Davidson Museum. We’ll not only tour the museum but see the Harley warehouse where early motorcycles and prototypes - never on display - reside along with documents, photos and stories from the company’s very humble beginnings. The date for this event is still fluid and I’m still working on the details. As soon as that information becomes available I will let you know.

So you can see there’s a lot going on with IBAW programing in the next few months. This is a perfect time for you to expose your business associates and friends to the IBAW so consider inviting them to a meeting to experience the organization firsthand.

Believe it or not, I’m already working on events for October and December.

Stay tuned!

I have led projects in several different capacities for over 20 years and have learned much about what works and what doesn’t.  One thing that is a must is strong communication to all stakeholders.  Who are the stakeholders?  Anyone that in anyway is affected by the outcome of the project.  Executive leaders, managers, process owners, outside contractors, users of the new system or process, vendors, customers, and everyone working directly or indirectly on the project.

As a project sponsor you need your project to be visible to all.  If its not visible to your employees, they will think that the project is not very important. This could spell disaster to the project if the end users don’t buy-in to using the new system or process.

Tailored Communication Plan

Every project should have a well thought out communication plan, preferably hammered out before project initiation.  The plan must be agreed to by the project sponsors and key stakeholders and suit the culture of the organization.

Here are methods to achieve robust communication and visibility to your project:

Newsletter

A simple one page Project Newsletter is always a good way to update your employees on the new things that are coming their way as a result of the project. Content could include:

• Key dates such as the testing schedule, training session dates and system launch dates

• Accolades and success stories for those involved in the hard work of the project

• Email and phone numbers for users to ask questions

• Identify the project team members and their role on the project

• Alerts for things that will be new to the users

“War rooms”

Identify a project activity that is big and involves lots of people.  Book a conference room full time or book large blocks of time on certain days.  Staff the room with trained project personnel that can assist users with assigned tasks.  I set up a war room for users to get help writing their ad hoc reports in the new Hyperion Financial Management system.  The hustle and bustle environment generated a lot of excitement for the new system.

Published issue lists

All project managers use issue lists to manage their projects.  The key point is that all issue lists are kept current and are visible on-line to all project stakeholders.  This provides peace of mind to stakeholders in that they can see that issues are identified, assigned and cleared.

Keys to a Successful Project: Relentless Stakeholder CommunicationErik Owen, Oak Hill Business Partners

Status Meetings

A lot of people complain that they sit in too many meetings and that may be true.  But for a project to be successful, status meetings are critical.  It’s important to tailor frequency and content of status meetings depending on the audience.  I have used the following structure for a large Financial Management system implementation:

• Sponsor meeting:  Monthly meeting to review high-level dashboard (green, yellow, red for each project workstream) and get direction on key issues.

• Stakeholder meeting:  Weekly meeting to inform stakeholders of progress toward milestones, road blocks, contentious issues, and get input for solutions to problems that arise.  It’s often tempting to cancel the Stakeholder meeting if there is not much content.  My advice is to hold the meeting anyway.  It’s the forum that is important.  A stakeholder may have identified a critical issue and was ready to share.

• End user update:  These status meetings are designed to keep the end users informed of project timelines and what is expected of them as the go-live approaches.

Celebration

It is vital to recognize the hard work of the project team frequently and not only at the end of the project.  Going out for drinks goes along way to motivate the team as the project moves forward.  It’s important for the Project Sponsor to call out success stories and say thank you throughout the life of the project.

Project closing/Lessons learned meeting

It happens all the time.  The system is in, it works, and the project team is disbanded without holding a Project Closing Meeting.  Powerful information can be gained by bringing the stakeholders together and reviewing what went well and, more importantly, what didn’t.  The outcomes of this meeting are critically important to ensure success of your company’s future projects.

Conclusion

Stakeholder communication is critical to the success of any project. As a project sponsor you must ensure that your project manager is relentless on this front.

Oak Hill Business Partners is a Milwaukee, WI-based firm focused on growth initiatives for small and mid-sized firms needing expertise in finance, sales, marketing, operations, or mergers and acquisitions.  In addition, the firm conducts field exams for banks.  Most recently, Oak Hill has expanded its line of services to include comprehensive enterprise project management for large organizations.  Oak Hill serves the Upper Midwest with partners based in Milwaukee, Madison, and Indianapolis.  

Helping Small Business Better Protect IPRay Keating, Chief Economist, SBE Council, Washington D.C.

I had the opportunity to join a Capitol Hill panel on March 19 that addressed the issue of intellectual property (IP) – specifically, the importance of protecting IP for small business. The briefing underscored the immense and growing challenges that entrepreneurs face in protecting their IP.

The briefing for congressional staff was organized by the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, chaired by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO). The other panelists were Liz Fields, co-owner and head designer for Liz Fields, LLC, Daniel Zadoff, co-founder and CEO of Nutritionix, and Michael McDonald, managerof government relations for the American Apparel & Footwear Association. And the moderator was Frank Cullen, executive director of U.S. intellectual property policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center.

The two entrepreneurs brought firsthand experiences of their battles in trying to protect IP.

Overseas counterfeiters leech off U.S. brands and quality. Ms. Fields, whose business grossed $2 million in revenues last year, relayed how she is forced to expend enormous amounts of time against online counterfeiters of her wedding and bridesmaid dresses. She warns on her website: “Every year, more than 600,000 fake wedding dresses are bought online. Brides think they’re getting the real deal for the big day, but what they’re getting is a big fake.”  Field’s estimates that her company loses about 8 percent in business annually to online counterfeiters who use her brand to sell dresses.

Patent trolls leech off, and exploit, innovative businesses through the legal system. Mr. Zadoff, whose company (two employees) has “built the world’s largest open database of nutritional information, with over 320K unique foods, and growing” – told of the fight against patent trolls. That is, bad actors who abuse the patent litigation system by bringing frivolous lawsuits to extract unfair settlements from assorted targets who cannot undertake the often-back-breaking costs of fighting back. The innovative small businesses and entrepreneurs who get hit with lawsuits and “demand letters” simply close up shop, as fighting these legal battles requires significant financial resources.

Protecting IP is a multi-front battle. Meanwhile, the American Apparel & Footwear Association is fighting on all fronts against unscrupulous patent trolls, design piracy and rogue websites. Regarding design piracy, the association says, “Since 2006, Congress has been working to pass legislation to stop the narrow problem of design piracy, or the direct copying of an original artistic design in apparel, footwear, or other fashion

The U.S. House Small Business Committee hosted a March 19 briefing on intellectual

Property (IP) and small business. SBE Council Chief Economist Ray Keating (seated on far right)

was a panelist, along with entrepreneurs and other industy representatives who spoke about the economis damage that counterfeiters, patent trolls and IP theft in general poses for small business.

Patent troll activity is exploding. The White House estimates that 100,000 “demand letters” were sent in

2012. Demand letters threaten “everyone from Fortune 500 companies to corner coffee shops and even regular consumers to pay a settlement or face a day in court,”

according to the White House. (Chart courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov)

accessories.  The main congressional proponents of design piracy legislation have been Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) in the House and Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), in the Senate.” So, there is solid bipartisanship on the issue of advancing legislative solutions to protect IP.  Of course, SBE Council has been highly engaged in many of these efforts to protect and strengthen IP at home and abroad.

Entrepreneurs and small businesses play major role in IP industries: I highlighted the importance of IP to the economy overall – for example, pointing to a 2012 Commerce Department report that conservatively estimated that “IP-intensive industries” account for 35 percent of GDP and 28 percent of all jobs – and the role that small businesses play in some high-profile IP industries.

For example, employer firms with less than 20 employees make up 71 percent of software publishers, 92 percent in the motion picture and video industries, 58 percent in the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry, 94 percent of music publishers, 96 percent of sound recording industries, and 84 percent of book publishers.

As for policy remedies, among the necessary actions, our elected officials need to be advancing free trade agreements that provide for stronger IP protection around the global. Legislation that passed the U.S. House to ward off patent trolls is being considered by the U.S. Senate.  Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has also offered legislation.  Last year, the White House announced measures the Administration is supporting to protect innovators, and in his State of the Union address President Obama called upon Congress to pass legislation to remedy the patent troll scourge. (For additional information about the status of patent troll legislation see this recent article in The Hill.)

In terms of frivolous, opportunistic patent trolls, asymmetry exists in terms of costs. Plaintiffs can incur little costs while defendants (as noted above) can face crushing costs for their businesses. Therefore, as with tort reform in general, instituting a substantive loser pays requirement would be a positive reform.

I summed up the importance of strong IP protections in a recent SBE Council book  –  Unleashing Small Business Through IP: Protecting Intellectual Property, Driving Entrepreneurship – this way:

“The entire entrepreneurial process is dependent upon strong property rights and protections, including intellectual property. Without strong IP rights, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors simply would be far less likely to undertake the tremendous risks involved with creating and bringing a new or improved good or service to the marketplace. In turn, of course, consumers wind up with fewer choices and benefits, economic growth falters, and workers face reduced job opportunities and lower incomes.”

Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Keating’s new book, published by SBE Council, is titled Unleashing Small Business Through IP: Protecting Intellectual Property, Driving Entrepreneurship. It’s available from Amazon.com here.

MILWAUKEE (March 4, 2014) - Grace Matthews, Inc. and Silbond Holdings, LLC announced today that Silbond Corporation has been acquired by Evonik Industries AG.  Grace Matthews advised Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based O2 Investment Partners, LLC, and its affiliate, Silbond Holdings, LLC on this transaction. O2 Investment Partners, along with Centerfield Capital Partners and Silbond's management team, acquired Silbond in 2010.  After initial meetings in 2012, Silbond Holdings engaged Grace Matthews in a long-term advisory role to help prepare the company for a sale. As a leader in the field of specialty silicate materials, Silbond attracted a high level of interest from a number of potential strategic and private equity buyers.  Over the course of its engagement with Silbond, Grace Matthews worked with the owners and management to navigate through a series of challenging discussions with multiple interested parties. With significant expected synergies and complementary geographic locations and product lines, Evonik Industries successfully acquired Silbond Corporation in February 2014. "With its full line of high-purity specialty silicates, Silbond complements Evonik's functional silanes business like a missing piece of a puzzle.  The strategic fit between the two companies could not be stronger, and both the buyer and seller believe that the combined businesses will provide greater efficiencies and higher levels of service for the end markets," said Kevin Yttre, Managing Director at Grace Matthews. "Grace Matthews identified an excellent strategic partner for Silbond at an attractive valuation, and executed a highly disciplined process in this transaction," said Todd Fink, a Managing Partner of O2 Investment Partners.

 ABOUT SILBOND CORPORATIONSilbond Corporation, located in Weston, MI, is a leading commercial producer and distributor of tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS).  Silbond offers a full line of TEOS products as well as custom formulations developed for specific customer needs.  Silbond serves a broad portfolio of global industries, including consumer electronics and semiconductors, investment casting, protective paints and coatings, as well as other chemical processing industries.  Silbond produces TEOS in a unique and inherently clean direct reaction process utilizing silicon metal ethanol.  This process allows Silbond to consistently meet the highest requirement for purity, customer service and technical support. ABOUT EVONIK INDUSTRIES AGEvonik Industries AG, headquartered in Essen, Germany, is one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies.  Evonik operates through the following segments: Consumer, Health and Nutrition, Resource Efficiency, and Specialty Chemicals.  Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms.  Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.

Grace Matthews Announces Silbond Corporation’s Sale to Evonik Industries

Grace Matthews, Inc. is a middle-market   investment bank   focused on merger and acquisition advisory services.   In any particular assignment, our guiding principal is to help our client unlock the value of their business and assist them in achieving other personal and business goals.

Just about every business person I talk to is telling me much the same thing. “We need to find ways to grow our business and ways to cut overall expenses.” The best place to start is with your people. Whether you’re a business owner or HR manager, you still need to be concerned with your staff’s overall wellness. A well employee is a more productive employee.

More productive employees are the ones who get your company to the next level. Having a corporate wellness initiative creates a positive environment and gradually can change the direction of your company culture in a very positive way. A Wellness program can save your company money on those mounting insurance premiums and claims. That savings can be used for business building initiatives in your marketing department, or perhaps capital investments. So you can see, it’s in your best interest, to build a team of management, HR and marketing professionals that can create excitement and buy in from all employees by helping to Market Wellness to the internal customer.

The evidence is mounting. A 2009 survey published by Fidelity Investments showed companies gained a 200% ROI by offering wellness programs. Even more compelling, a 2011 report issued by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) found that corporate wellness programs have shown saving–to-cost ratio of $3 for each dollar invested. That is a 3:1 ROI that companies can take to the bank! Further, companies that provide employee incentives (including promotional products, company stores or corporate gifts) as part of a wellness program appear to earn the best ROI of all. “Offering incentives increases participation of 60%”, says Melissa Van Dyke, IRF President. “Incentives also have a long term impact.”

So, you may want to ask what can we do with that extra ROI and cost savings on insurance? Doesn’t it make sense to have happier, healthier employees that are more productive and improve the bottom line all at the same time? It is win win!

For information to set up or improve a corporate wellness program, contact: Jeanie Brown at Quality Resource Group 262-754-2032 / jeanieb@quality-resource.com

Workplace Wellness: 2.5 Trillion Spent Annually on HealthcareJeanie Brown, Quality Resourse Group

It is sometimes difficult to stay abreast of all the IT changes and sort out what is important and what is not. 2014 brings increased intensity to many trends that have been building for years. Even though these technologies have been a hot topic for some time, they are rapidly developing and the savvy business leader will stay tuned in to these technologies.

TREND 1 – Mobility

We have been talking about working remotely forever, but today’s mobility is a whole different thing. Today’s workforce expects to be able to access the information they need any time of the day from a variety of devices. They want tablets, smartphones, and laptops to all interact seamlessly with the information they need to work, and want to be able to work from anywhere they choose.

Mobility presents the challenge of making the services they need available from a mobile device. In addition, it creates a whole new level of security concern as the local network gets extended into the public Internet. It also means more devices to track and support as frequently people are accessing things from three or even four devices.

All of this creates a need for advanced tools to track, manage, and secure mobile access to the network. If you are experiencing an increase in mobile access, it may be time to consider a MDM or Mobile Device Management solution. These types of solutions come in many forms, but most allow you to eliminate the risks of lost or stolen devices. They also let you control and shape bandwidth usage so that users don’t create slow-downs on your network. In addition they have important security tools that keep your information from being stolen.

TREND 2 - BYOD

BYOD is not new at all, and it relates very closely to mobility. Many of our team members want to access the system from their own devices. Most organizations are allowing at least a certain level of BYOD. The most common BYOD access is to email through a smartphone, tablet, or home computer.

The BYOD trend cannot be ignored, however it brings significant security and data protection concerns. What happens to the data on a personal device after an employee leaves your company, and how does that get enforced? What are the security issues surrounding having family members see confidential information? How can we prevent an employee who leaves from taking information with them or sabotaging the network?

Many of these issues can be helped by employing a MDM solution as mentioned previously, and MDM and BYOD management tools are rapidly blending together. For many, it is time to take a deeper look at how to manage this access. Regardless of what software management tools you might choose, a well-thought policy on BYOD may be in order, even if you have been allowing it for a long time.

The 5 Important Tech Trends Business Leaders Should Not Ignore in 2014Scott Hirschfeld, President, CTaccess, www.ctaccess.com

TREND 3 - Information Theft

<YAWN> I can almost hear the collective tune-out now, but information theft is at an all-time high and spiraling out of control – think “Target”. The importance of security even in the small to medium sized business is HUGE. The old security measures are not enough.

Every business needs to take a closer look at practices. One critical factor is policy, which can be as simple as password strength and change requirements. Another is educating users about best practices to avoid danger. We should also be considering advanced detection tools, upgrading existing protection and looking at new solutions like MDM. And, it is important to follow best practices for applying patches, updates, and taking other preventative measures. If you have not done a security review, it is time to plan one.

TREND 4 - Cloud

Cloud hosting is not going away. It continues to gain momentum, and becomes more attractive as connectivity to the Internet gets faster and cheaper. We have heard about the Cloud at length for the last several years, but even the Cloud is maturing and changing. Options exist that just were not there before at prices that were unheard of just a few years ago.

Cloud hosting is not some sort of utopia as many see it. However, it is a viable and good solution for many companies as they look to replace hardware, implement new software, or consider new ways to provide consistent user platforms. If you haven’t considered Cloud options lately, you might find benefit in doing a review of the options and how they might impact your technology.

TREND 5 – Automation

Automation of office process is something we all strive for a different levels. This is a technology area that continues to develop at a rapid rate and produces huge results.

Consider the benefits of automating a simple process like purchasing. What if an employee could place a request by web form? The web form request would then flow for approval to their manager. Once their manager approved, a purchasing person would make the purchase and store the purchase order and supporting materials in a paperless binder. Then when the goods arrived the receiving documents and invoice were stored automatically. The invoice could be routed for approval, the AP processing would run, the check would be cut, and all done with very little paper, and no searching, matching, storing, and routing of paper. Automation brings huge benefits and is the often overlooked IT strategy in an organization.

These trends may hold some benefit for your organization, and may present some risk. Don’t overlook them this year as you plan to make 2014 great. Take another look and insure that these exploding growth areas in technology are being considered and addressed well in your organization.

Article submitted by IBAW member Mark Truesdell.

AT&T has a great small biz offer in Milwaukee  You’ve probably heard the buzz about our great new offer for small businesses in select markets.1 And the best part? Milwaukee gets to take advantage of the offer! For eligible customers, we’re offering up to 12 months of free AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet up to 6 Mbps service2 – representing an average savings of $420.3 Which customers are eligible?1.     New AT&T wireless business customers adding Mobile Share Value 10GB or higher plans; or2.     Existing AT&T mobility business customers migrating to AT&T Mobile Share Value 10GB or higher plans; or3.     Existing business customers on Mobile Share Value 10GB or higher plans The free AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet service offer includes download speeds of up to 6Mbps. Qualifying small businesses that choose download speeds faster than 6 Mbps will receive a monthly credit of $35 a month for up to 12 months.  In addition, small businesses migrating from DSL to AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet are eligible for the promotion when the customer has a 10GB or higher Mobile Share Value plan. Visit AT&T’s closest store, call 855-877-4288, or a visit att.com/bizinternetoffer to learn more about this fantastic new offer. 1.      Offer available to select small businesses. As geographic and service restrictions apply, small businesses or employees reaching out to small businesses should go to www.att.com/uverse/availability to see if they qualify.

2.      Free Internet Offer:  New AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet limited to 768k up to 6Mbps (where available) with no MRC for 1 year; requires acceptance of standard terms for AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet; dynamic IP provisioning only (additional charge for static IP); standard charges for CPE apply (subject to rebate for qualifying customers); tax and additional surcharges apply; standard charges, taxes and surcharges apply following 1 year of service.   Offer may not be combined with   $150 New Broadband Reward Card offer. Available to new and existing business customers with a qualified AT&T service agreement (“Business Agreement”) with Corporate Responsibility Users on a Mobile Share Value plan of 10GB or higher. Offer not available to consumers/Individual Responsibility Users.  Higher Internet speeds available at reduced rates.

3. Migrations from DSL: Migrations from DSL to AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet  eligible for the Free Internet Offer with qualifying Mobile Share Value Plan and limited to 768k up to 6Mbps (where available) with no MRC for 1 year; For migrations from DSL, the following conditions apply:  requires acceptance of standard terms for AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet; dynamic IP provisioning only (additional charge for static IP); standard charges for CPE apply (subject to CPE waiver for qualifying customers); tax and additional surcharges apply; standard charges, taxes and surcharges apply following 1 year of service. Offer may not be combined with $100 IP Migration Offer Reward Card  offer. Available to new and existing business customers with a qualified AT&T service agreement (“Business Agreement”) with Corporate Responsibility Users on a Mobile Share Value plan of 10GB or higher. Offer not available to consumers/Individual Responsibility Users.  Higher Internet speeds available at reduced rates.

June 20thRegistration open

at IBAW.com

“Manufacturing Matters”Featuring Kent Lorenz & Rich Kalscheuer

“What’s Grinding My Metal”Special Roundtable discussion for

manufacturers featuring Lt. Gov. Kleefisch

Event Sponsor

All of us that are tuned into business and industry have heard the phrase, “The skills gap.” Quite frankly, I have heard it so many times, I have reached some thoughts that I would like to share.

First off, how did we get here? This “skills gap” didn’t happen overnight. I believe it all started in the mid-70s when good parents said; “you don’t want to work in that old factory like I did all my life.”

Or maybe these same parents, with good intentions of course, felt a little better at the block party saying to their friends, “little John is headed off to college instead of taking welder training.”

Now we move to the mid-80s through the mid-90s and, of course, our educators and government, with good intentions, were listening and the push was for everybody to go to college. Shop classes started to disappear and industry started to go global. Robotics entered the picture and, sadly, the pride of being a person that makes things was diminished.

But let me state that NOTHING happens until something gets made, and NOTHING happens until that something gets sold. This is what runs the world. So what’s the answer?

I wholeheartedly believe that the company or organization that tries to find the best talent it can get and then takes the time to train them will be the ones standing in the next 25 years. The fact that 66 percent of our Wisconsin companies provide 20 hours or less of training definitely needs to change.

Every good manager knows the better he trains the workforce, the easier and more productive the operation is. I don’t care what type of business you run, proper training always wins and helps reduce employee turnover.

You’ve heard the figures before, 8,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day of the year for the next 20 years.

Ask yourself how this will affect your workforce?

Let’s talk.

Mark Honadel is a Business Development Director at Goodwill TalentBridge. Email: mhonadel@goodwillsew.com.

Skills Gap: It’s Everybody’s ProblemMark Honadel, Goodwill TalentBridge

Register now at IBAW.com

EVENT SPONSOR

“MANUFACTURING MATTERS”With Kent Lorenz and Richard Kalscheuer

Join the IBAW, TDMAW and First Business Bank for a morning of high energy and vital information as we gain insight on the evolution and health of the manufacturing industry here in Wisconsin, the nation and around the globe.

Kent Lorenz is President of the Midwest Region of Ellison Technologies, a provider of advanced machining and robotic automation solutions to North American metal-cutting manufacturers and their global affiliates.

Rick Kalscheuer is a certified insurance counselor for R&R insurance with an expertise in OSHA Compliance, International Exposures and Safety Programs.

PLUS...A Special Manufacturing Roundtable

with Lt. Gov. Kleefisch

Stay for a roundtable discussion at 9:15 with Lt. Gov. Kleefisch:

“What’s Grinding My Metal...”

What keeps you up at night? Taxes? Regulations? DNR? EPA? Workforce?

Share your thoughts and voice your concerns with Lt. Gov. Kleefisch during this special manufacturer’s roundtable discussion.

7:00 AM - 7:30 AM - Networking 7:30 AM - Breakfast & Program 9:00 AM - Main program ends

9:15 AM - “What’s Grinding My Metal...”Cost: $32.00

Includes full breakfast

Location: The Wisconsin Club900 W.Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee

FRIDAY, JUNE 20th

National Legislative Priorities

2014

1- Delay of the Affordable Care Act

2 - Support the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage

3 - National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths

4 - Pro Growth Tax Reform

5 - Increase Access VISAS for Immigrants with Advanced Degrees & Start Ups

State Legislative Priorities

2014

1- Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks

2 - Pro Growth Tax Reform

3 - Address the Structural Deficit of WI DOT 4 - Predictable Sand Mining Regulation

Hi-Crush Partners LP

IBAW Legislative Priorities Online

State Legislative Priorities

- Workforce Development / Technical College Benchmarks

- Pro Growth Tax Reform

- Address the Structural Defict of WI DOT

- Predictable Sand Mining Regulation

Click here to view.

National Legislative Priorities

- Delay of the Affordable Care Act

- Support the Existing Level of the Federal Minimum Wage

- National Energy Policy Capitalizing on our Strengths

- Increase Access VISAS for Immigrants with Advanced Degrees & Start Ups

Click here to view.

THANK YOU SPONSORS...

AT&TIndustrial Towel & UniformBlomquist BenefitsAssociated BankSikichGodfrey & KahnPark BankLauber CFO’svon BriesenVrakas / BlumAdvantage Leasing

Grace MatthewsSimandl Law Group, S.C.BSI - Design, Build, FurnishK & S TechnologiesJudson Commercial Real EstateReinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, S.C.Hypneumat Mfg

Sponsor support helps IBAW continue to bring insightful programming to small

business owners.

Ask about becoming a sponsor today!

G e t C o n n e c t e d . G e t I n s p i re d . G e t I n f o r m e d .

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors who make your IBAW programing possible.

BLOMQUIST BENEFITS

Become an IBAW sponsor and join us in helping Wisconsin small business.

To learn about the benefits of sponsorship, contact Steve Kohlmann by clicking here.

K & S Technologies

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Political Advocacy • Education • Networking

www.ibaw.com / 262-844-0333 / IBAWOffice@gmail.com

We can’t be responsible how you feel after attending our meetings.

IBAW’s Business Presentation Series offers high level speakers on timely business topics keeping you informed and exhilarated.

Quality programming every month.

That’s IBAW.

“As a result of listening to the speakers today I was able to find and lookup the WI Lean Govt. working group and booked appointments with three departments so far this afternoon.” - Mark Truesdell, CTAccess / Computer Technologies of Wisconsin, Inc.

“...I am much better informed and educated on a plethora of topics.”

- Todd Poston

FIVE STAR Programing

PLEASE CHOOSE THE APPROPRATE CATEGORY FOR YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE GROWTH AND STABILITY OF SMALL BUSINESS

AMOUNT

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN COMPANY ANNUAL DUES

1 – 5 $215

6 – 15 $275

16 – 25 $375

26 – 49 $470

50 or more $600

Sustaining Member $700

Special! – Pre pay breakfast meetings – 12 for the price of 10 $300

ENCLOSED AMOUNT:

Membership Application

Name____________________________________________________________________________________

Company_________________________________________________________________________________

Type of Business___________________________________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip_____________________________________________________________________________

Phone____________________________________Fax_____________________________________________

Email______________________________________Website________________________________________

PAYING BY CHECK ? Make checks payable to IBA – and mail to: IBA 960 Timber Pass Brookfield, WI 53045 WANT TO PAY ONLINE? You can also pay by Mastercard / Visa at the IBA Membership page. www.ibaw.com

________________________________________________________________________ The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin is a not-for-profit entity filed with the IRS under 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. As a not-for-profit association, the members of The Independent Business Association, Inc. are allowed to deduct a percentage of dues that are not used for lobbying purposes. For the year 2013 based on the total income of the association and the lobbying expenses as reported on the Wisconsin State Ethics Board Lobbying reports for 2011 the percent of dues that were used for lobbing purposes is 10%. Therefore, the percent of dues that would be tax deductible is 90%.

IBAW 960 Timber Pass

Brookfield, WI 53045

Office: 262-844-0333 WWW.IBAW.COM