Blogs

In honor of National Small Business Week, we asked several members of our national Small Business Council to share their expert advice on starting and running your own business. 

Our panel includes

Harland Henry: CEO and founder of SunBiz Showcase Alliance, an economic and community development advocacy company focused on the development of small enterprises based in Tampa, Florida. 

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that would benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. Over the coming months, we’ll be sitting down with members of our Outreach Team to provide an introduction and let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

This week we are spotlighting Bianca Blomquist, Small Business Majority’s Northern California Outreach Manager.

Kenitra “Keni” Dominguez was determined to expand Red Bay Coffee’s employee benefits when she became the sustainable coffee company’s Director of People and Culture in early 2018.

“Finding good employee benefits takes time, dedication and resources, and before I came to Red Bay, there was no one serving in a dedicated HR or people operations capacity, so I was essentially starting from scratch,” she said.

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that would benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. Over the coming months, we’ll be sitting down with members of our Outreach Team to provide an introduction and let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

To kick off Women’s History Month in March, Small Business Majority recently hosted a Twitter chat, “Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs” to share tips and resources for women entrepreneurs from business organizations and entrepreneurs around the country. Many of our wonderful partner organizations participated, included the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), SBDC East Los Angeles, Washington D.C. SBDC, the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago, SBA’s Nebraska District Office and more.

Small business owner Natalie Dubose recounts the night of Nov. 24, 2014, like a scene out of the movie “Independence Day.”

“Every shop in downtown Ferguson leading up to mine and past mine was destroyed. I found furniture from the law firm across the street, that the protestors had used to break the windows,” she said.

In honor of Black History Month, we’re sharing tips and tools for black entrepreneurs as well as stories of successful entrepreneurs. We recently spoke with Shawna Collier, Senior Loan Counselor at Justine Petersen, to ask her about the obstacles that black entrepreneurs face and resources they can use to overcome these challenges.

We are proud to partner with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), a national organization that promotes economic empowerment for Black entrepreneurs through advocacy work and by providing resources and tools. USBC is the umbrella organization for over 100 Black Chambers and small business associations through the country that deliver local support to small business owners.

In 2015, Kristine de la Cruz, owner of Crème Caramel LA and co-owner of Frankie Lucy Bakeshop in Los Angeles, traveled to Washington D.C., to participate in one of Small Business Majority’s policy-focused events. Four years later de la Cruz joined us again–a little closer to home–for the “California Small Business Summit: Building Local Economies” to learn how she can expand her businesses. She wasn’t disappointed.

There are many reasons to start a small business, but for longtime entrepreneur Letha Pugh and her wife, Wendy, their gluten-free bakery was born because Wendy’s Celiac disease prevented the family from going out for meals.