WISCONSIN ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

When COVID-19 struck, Wisconsin business owners found themselves in an economic struggle unlike anything they had ever experienced before. While federal, state and local organizations were doing their best to mobilize assistance programs, business owners were left to find these disparate resources on their own. It was a time-consuming search for help that took their focus away from the immediate needs of keeping their businesses in business.

In just two weeks, we rapidly developed a single, go-to resource that aggregated COVID-19 programs and resources available to Wisconsin businesses in one, easy-to-digest destination. Focus Forward not only served as the go-to hub for information on financial assistance, but also provided helpful tips and advice about running a business in this “new normal” through quick-to-digest livestreams, videos and podcasts. The Focus Forward website packaged together everything a business owner needed to ensure they could keep their business moving forward.

Focus Forward proved to be a valuable tool for business owners to keep moving forward throughout and beyond the pandemic. In just its first few months, the website saw an unprecedented 227% month-over-month increase in subscribers, clearly showing that it met an important need for the hundreds of thousands of small Wisconsin businesses that needed help recovering and rebounding from COVID-19.