Wheatmead Funding, a small-business funding broker in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, works with four sectors its lending partners have confirmed: restaurants, retail and inventory-led businesses, construction, and medical and dental practices. Eau Claire County Census figures for each are below, with the funding structures that usually suit them. Partners decide each request.
The four sectors in Eau Claire County, WI
| Sector (NAICS) | Employer establishments | Paid employees | Under 5 employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade (44-45) | 382 | 7,483 | 34.0% |
| Food services and drinking places (722) | 263 | 4,697 | 22.4% |
| Ambulatory health care (621) | 217 | 4,828 | 41.5% |
| Construction (23) | 210 | 1,949 | 63.8% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. These four groups account for 1,072 of the county's 2,753 employer establishments. County context for the office city is on the Eau Claire County data page.
Restaurants and food service
Kitchens run on equipment and weekly wages. Restaurant and food service financing covers coolers, ranges and fit-outs, payroll gaps and what partners ask of a new restaurant.
Retail stores
Stores pay for stock and fixtures long before customers pay them. Retail store financing looks at shelving, registers and stock-buying for the county's 382 retail employers; the mechanics of borrowing against stock are on the inventory financing page.
Construction and specialty trades
Eau Claire County had 210 construction employers in 2023, 144 of them specialty trade contractors, and 63.8 percent of all construction employers had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Another 748 construction businesses had no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Residential permits covered 727 new housing units in the county in 2025, after 590 in 2024 and 1,145 in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey); those counts cover new homes only, not commercial work or remodeling.
Small crews usually ask about equipment financing for machines and trailers, and working capital for materials and wages before a progress payment arrives.
Medical and dental practices
Ambulatory health care had 217 employer establishments in Eau Claire County in 2023, including 58 physician offices and 36 dental offices; the dental offices employed 501 people between them (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). A further 323 ambulatory care businesses had no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
Practices mostly ask about equipment financing for chairs, imaging and diagnostic tools, and lines of credit for the wait between treatment and insurer payment.
Businesses outside these sectors
Partners have not confirmed agriculture or trucking, and those requests fall outside what we arrange. Other sectors are case by case; a short call tells you quickly whether a partner may fit.
By Wheatmead Funding · Updated