Less than one year ago, rookie business owner Mina Johnson-Glenberg found herself with an abundance of new opportunity. The founder and president of The NeuronFarm, LLC, Johnson-Glenberg was thrilled to learn that her young company was the recipient of several phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants totaling more than $1.3 million. In the wake of hiring more employees and moving her business out of her home and into a new downtown Madison office, she was ready to take The NeuronFarm to the next level.

As a research-based educational software company that creates Web-based applications to increase literacy and reading comprehension in children and adults, The NeuronFarm touts the logo, "We grow brains." Now it was time for Johnson-Glenberg and her associates to "grow" their business.

But what the business really needed was some good advice from people with business experience … an advisory board. And that is where the LEAP Program (Launching Entrepreneurial Advisory Panels) at the UW-Madison School of Business comes in. By matching female entrepreneurs in the early growth phases of their businesses with seasoned business advisers, LEAP provides business owners with customized and focused business advice. Under the guidance of their advisory panels, they can explore each step of their business's development, and ultimately come away with the specific advice and direction they are searching for.

During its short history, the LEAP Program has been invaluable in helping a wide variety of Madison-area entrepreneurs take their businesses to higher levels. Despite a range of many different products and services that were offered by the more than 30 businesses participating in LEAP, they all had several things in common. They all shared the characteristics that made them eligible for the LEAP Program. To be eligible, a business must be primarily owned and operated by a woman (or women), have been in existence for several years, have at least three employees and have so far earned less than $2 million in gross revenues.

While there are some exceptions to these baseline criteria, they all add up to define female-run businesses that are poised to grow, improve and flourish. And LEAP has been available at that critical turning point by matching eligible entrepreneurs with a panel of experienced advisers. Typically comprised of four to six men and women from the Madison business and professional community, the panel members volunteer their time in providing quality mentorship that is not usually available to small businesses at this stage in their development.

After applying to the LEAP Program, Johnson-Glenberg participated in a lengthy interview designed to determine what kind of panel would best fit her business's needs. Marian Walluks, creator and coordinator of the LEAP Program, has long recognized the importance in matching entrepreneurs with knowledgeable advisers. Walluks' strategy for seeking out effective advisers is linked to the same good business practices she has always followed: being flexible, giving space, listening, accepting criticism and — most of all — staying committed to the entrepreneur.

"Each business uses our program in a very different way," says Walluks. "There is no one specific way to measure success, so there are no definite expectations." She is also quick to point out that the interaction between entrepreneurs and their advisory panel is not meant to smother or put pressure on small businesses. "We don't look over anyone's shoulders, and we don't breathe down their necks," says Walluks. "But do we expect them to set up meetings with their panels on their own and follow through."

Walluks stresses that LEAP participants are usually not start-ups or even new businesses. "Many of our participants have been in business a number of years, but are just at a critical stage — sometimes facing a growth step and sometimes just what I call a ‘big change' step. We try not to deal with the most basic startup issues, because there are many other resources available to do that."

Walluks' time and dedication in creating an advisory panel for The NeuronFarm paid off in only a few months time. "They have all been key to our decision-making process; each person on the board brings something different and something vital," says Johnson-Glenberg. "While they've committed to participating for 12 months, I'm already in denial about when the end date approaches."

Like all LEAP panels, The NeuronFarm advisory board is a diverse and experienced group of individuals. It includes Shirley Baum, a former superintendent of Madison schools; Craig Billings of Madison Valuation Associates; Patty Kramer, a human-resources expert; William Kunkler of Fiorie Companies; Belinda Mucklow, a professor of finance and accounting at the UW-Madison School of Business; and Fran Nahabedian, a marketing consultant, formerly of Berbee. Johnson-Glenberg is most appreciative of their experience and sound marketing advice. "They all have opinions that are respectful and valuable," she says, "and they seem to enjoy their time on the panel and learn a lot from each other."

The creation of the LEAP Program is yet another example of how UW-Madison reaches out to the business community and shares its expertise. What first began at the UW-Madison School of Business' Women in Business Council in 2001 — at a "grassroots level," according to Walluks — LEAP is now a collaborative effort led by the Women in Business Council and supported by the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the UW-Madison School of Business, the Small Business Development Center, and numerous community organizations, individuals and entrepreneurs. The growth of LEAP has led to increased corporate support, and the law firm of Cullen, Weston, Pines and Bach is currently the program's chief corporate sponsor. Additional sponsors are being sought, Walluks notes.

One very satisfied LEAP "graduate" is Linda Remeschatis, president of Wisconsinmade.com. Like Johnson-Glenberg, Remeschatis started her company — an Internet specialty food and gift store that sells more than 1,000 products made exclusively by Wisconsin artisans — on her own out of her home. While still based in her home, Wisconsinmade.com has enjoyed substantial growth since its creation in 1999 and now includes four employees.

Remeschatis' connections with the Wisconsin Woman Entrepreneurs and Women in Business Council are what led her to apply to LEAP early in the program's development. She recalls that she was looking for some trusted advisers to help her with critical decision-making, as well as provide more guidance in setting and meeting business goals. "I didn't have any kind of advisory board at that point, and although I'm fairly self-motivated, I found it was easy to get bogged down and forget about the big picture," she says. "Once I had a panel to meet with, I had to bring something to the table each time, and this forced me to actually define and reach my goals."

Now, more than four years after first participating in LEAP, the program continues to support Remeschatis and Wisconsinmade.com. When several members of her original advisory panel were no longer able to volunteer, the LEAP Program helped to replace them. Remeschatis' current board includes Janice Durand, owner of Little Luxuries gift shop; Greg Hermus of Robert W. Baird; Barbara Steffan Finley of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Toni Hendrickson of Associated Bank; and Paul Gibler of Connecting Dots.com.

According to Remeschatis, the most beneficial aspect of working with her advisory panel was the development of a sound business plan. "Prior to LEAP, my business plan had all been in my head — it was not put together," she says. The panel also helped Remeschatis with a marketing plan. "They're your eyes and ears out there in the community. They bring in ideas and help promote the business," she says of her advisers.

Johnson-Glenberg of The NeuronFarm is so pleased with her involvement in LEAP after only a few months that she is encouraging those with any business experience to consider volunteering as an adviser. "You don't have to be a pro, but as a mentor, you can provide all kinds of knowledge that entrepreneurs don't necessarily have," she says.

Remeschatis shares a similar belief and has already taken the opportunity to promote LEAP and ensure that the program continues to thrive. She has spoken to female entrepreneurs interested in joining LEAP, as well as to new advisers about the role that LEAP has played in growing her business.

"It's my way of saying thanks and giving back to the program at this time," she says.

Visit our archives to read articles from previous issues of the UW Business Wire.

For more information about the LEAP Program, women business owners can contact Marian Walluks at (608) 221-1374 or mwalluks@itis.com.