Elena Ellingson-Cosenza's blog

Small Business Majority network members participate in the White House’s inaugural Regional Small Business Summit

On March 15, Small Business Majority network members, alongside other small business owners and advocates, attended the White House’s inaugural Regional Small Business Summit. The entrepreneurs met with U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and other Biden-Harris administration officials to discuss how to help Main Street thrive.

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California small business owner shares her journey from academia to entrepreneurship

With a master’s degree in computer science, another master’s degree in information systems and an interdisciplinary PhD, Lisa Kaczmarczyk never planned on becoming an entrepreneur. After working in the tech industry as a developer, she transitioned into academia as a university faculty member teaching computer science where she also gained experience obtaining grants from the National Science Foundation. Lisa thought she would be doing this type of work forever.

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Small Business Speaks: Two Days in Washington with Small Business Majority

On September 26 and 27, Small Business Majority hosted an advocacy fly-in event, “Small Business Speaks: Two Days in Washington with Small Business Majority.” Nearly 30 entrepreneurs from the organization’s national and state Small Business Councils attended the event to build community and ensure that federal policymakers heard the true voice of small business.

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Shop Inland Empire Pop-Up Market

On July 29, Small Business Majority co-hosted the Shop Inland Empire Pop-Up Market with the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce in San Bernardino, Calif. Pop-up markets are a unique and emerging venue for hopeful entrepreneurs to launch their small business dreams. As commercial rent costs continue to rise and workforce shortages pose challenges to small businesses, pop-up spaces and marketplaces offer a low-cost entry point for small business owners to test their products and market their business to community members. 

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California childcare provider emphasizes the importance of a small business community

Cristian Corona is the owner and founder of Little Sprouts Language Immersion Preschool, located in Los Angeles, Calif. After having her first child, she began working in the childcare industry and went back to school. This inspired her to open her first childcare center, which opened in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

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The economic impact of reproductive healthcare on small businesses

On June 28, we co-hosted a webinar with the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) to discuss the economic impact of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade on women small business owners. Small Business Majority’s National Women's Entrepreneurship Director Rachel Shanklin presented our new research on access to reproductive healthcare and how women entrepreneurs view it as essential to their financial security.

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