BizTimes Milwaukee

As nonprofit organizations engage their communities through social media, creating measurement plans to gauge the impact of their social media efforts can help them communicate across platforms more effectively.

When Polyfab Corp. lost its biggest customer last year, the company had to figure out how to make up for a loss of 36 percent of its business.

Wisconsin credit unions grew their combined net income by 96 percent in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Their net income grew to $164.7 million, up from $84 million for the first three quarters of 2011.

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?

I recently met someone who used the term “social business” instead of the common “social media” vernacular. Whichever term, social media activities must be strategic extensions of a business' marketing and communications plans. If not, it's a waste of time and resources.

When there is an elephant in the room, it is best to acknowledge it. For the United States, the next four years will be Obama. For China, the next 10 years will be Xi.

Christy Schwan, president and owner of Brookfield-based Stellarus Benefits Inc., approaches her business with the same fearlessness she has when snowshoeing out into the unknown.

The Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative is looking to expand into Ozaukee County for its fourth retail store location, as it has acquired property in the city of Mequon at the northeast corner of Mequon Road and Wauwatosa Road.

While John Koss, founder of Milwaukee-based Koss Corporation, introduced the world to personal listening capabilities with stereo headphones in 1958, today his son Michael Koss is introducing personal listening to the Internet.

Albany-Chicago was recognized with an Economic Impact Award at the 2010 Kenosha County Business Excellence Awards because it made...