Entrepreneurship

Kateri Gutierrez cofundadora de Collective Avenue Coffee en Lynwood en 2016, con grandes sueños de lo que el negocio podría hacer por su comunidad. A medida que su negocio creció, este compromiso con la comunidad se ha convertido en la base de Collective Avenue Coffee, desde su estructura empresarial hasta su misión e incluso cómo ha financiado su crecimiento.

When Chris Petrella found himself in the dark, he had a bright idea.

While camping with his son in 2012 he realized he didn’t have a way to power his electronics. After that trip, Petrella went to a camping supplies store and inquired about such a device.   

“I sketched it out for him [the store clerk]” and he told me it didn’t exist. I did a Google search, and it wasn’t found,” Petrella said. “I thought to myself this is so bizarre because I can picture this thing clearly in my mind.”

In today’s political climate, a lot of political leaders talk about wanting to help small business, but oftentimes don’t take their actual comments and concerns into consideration when working on key policy issues, like tax reform and healthcare. That’s why we tackled this challenge head on at Small Business Majority’s 2017 Policy Forum, which brought 50 small business leaders from around the country to our nation’s capital to discuss how to promote policy reforms that will help small businesses thrive.

America is facing a crisis so serious that it has the potential to cripple an entire generation of would-be entrepreneurs. Thanks to student loans, a whopping $1.3 trillion in debt is burdening 44 million American adults of all ages—even senior citizens. In fact, U.S.

As the owner of Pioneer Overhead Door in Las Vegas, Nevada I wear many hats: I’m the president, the general manager and most of the time I answer the phones. I have a lot of parts to play each day on the job and a lot of responsibility. That’s why I’m grateful for the fact that I haven’t had to worry about purchasing my group health insurance in years.

Women-led small businesses have a tremendously positive impact not only within their own communities, but across the small business landscape nationwide.

Even so, many obstacles remain, particularly in the area of financing. Because adequate capitalization is vital in operating and growing a company, this is a challenge which must be faced head-on for the business to succeed.

Fortunately, there are a number of steps women entrepreneurs can take to address this issue and help ensure that it doesn't become a stumbling block.

Keith Crawford knows the construction business inside and out. He began his career as a construction contractor, but stood apart for his business capabilities. He was often asked by competitors to close shop and work for them. After spending years as an admired authority on construction, Crawford finally launched his own consulting firm.

We often hear from small business owners that they feel like their voices are not heard on key issues that impact their small businesses. That’s why we brought 150 small business owners to D.C. for our second annual Small Business Leadership Summit. With its theme, “Recognizing the Power of the Small Business Economy,” this year’s Summit discussed how the small business case is too often misunderstood and misrepresented in the media, at the public policy table and at the ballot box.

During National Small Business Week, Small Business Majority is recognizing small business owners who strive to give back to their communities. Bryce Smith, owner of the Adel Family Fun Center in Adel, Iowa, is certainly one of them.

This is a guest post from Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This blog originally appeared on the SBA’s website.