In honor of National Small Business Week, we’re celebrating the unique and enterprising spirit of entrepreneurs who contribute to our communities. Created by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) over 50 years ago, the event is co-hosted by SCORE and shines a spotlight on the innovation and hard work that...
By definition, microenterprises are businesses that require less than $35,000 in capitalization to start and have fewer than ten employees. Most are focused on the owner’s personal expertise—consulting, design, lawn care—and may not require a physical location. Microenterprises—both online and brick and mortar— represent about 77% of overall businesses in...
Spring is a season of growth and new beginnings that often leads to a renewed sense of energy and motivation. If you’re feeling like your entrepreneurial ecosystem engagement has been dormant, you’re not alone. During the pandemic, many ecosystem builders have felt challenged maintaining meaningful engagement with their network. As...
All things SourceLink was the theme of our March 17 SourceLink Affiliate Quarterly Conversation. We announced new projects including: ChiBizHub website redesign, Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA) – Evergreen BizLink, Ecosystem Building Leadership Project, SBA Community Navigators Pilot Project and welcomed new clients and affiliates: Monroe County – Launch 734,...
Today marks the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an annual initiative that shines a light not only on the value entrepreneurs bring to our communities and global economy, but also the importance of building infrastructures that make it easier for them to start and scale their businesses. SourceLink℠ partners with...
The ins and outs of starting a business are challenging to any aspiring entrepreneur but are even harder to overcome for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. While there’s much to celebrate about milestones achieved for the LGBTQ+ community, there’s still much more work to do in the business world for LGBTQ+ equality. Although a 2020 Supreme Court ruling nationally outlawed employee firings based on gender or sexual orientation, it...
During our March Quarterly Conversation, affiliates discussed the challenges moving from individual entrepreneur support organizations to a collaborative, community-based model. The affiliates that joined the conversation in March wanted to learn more about engaging with the resource partners in their network, so SourceLink® set aside time in April to continue...
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the creation of a new Community Navigator Pilot Program to place significant financial resources into organizations that wish to be hubs of entrepreneurship support and ecosystem-building efforts in their communities—particularly those organizations with deep roots in targeting underserved business communities. While it appears...
While creating a diverse ecosystem that supports diverse entrepreneurs is emerging as an important economic development strategy, many communities struggle with how to create an environment that truly fosters inclusivity. Hear from minority entrepreneurs, and those who work with them, ways that you can foster inclusivity and diversity in your...
We asked a few ecosystem builders we met at the Kauffman Foundation's ESHIP Summit to share their takeaways on entrepreneurial ecosystem building.
