THE CHALLENGE
Minority-owned companies contribute greatly to the US economy (4.7 million jobs) and capital market ($700b annual revenue). But many Black and Latino businesses do not reach their full potential due to coaching, connections, curriculum and capital barriers.
African American entrepreneurs have had to close their doors at more than twice the rate of their White counterparts. Black-owned businesses declined by 41% and Latino-owned business declined by 30% between February and April 2020, compared with a 17% decline among White-owned businesses.
In addition, minority entrepreneurs are limited due to access to capital. On average, minorities are less likely to receive loans, and when they do, they
receive lower dollar amounts and higher interest rates.
THE SUPPORT
The Downtown Vegas Alliance is leading a collaborative effort with community leaders to create a 6-month Small Business Incubation Program (SBIP) that will address four major issues facing small business owners. The program provides:
- Program mentor business COACHING and peer support
- An opportunity to build CONNECTIONS with other small business owners and public and private organizations by participating in a Business Opportunity Fair
- A customized CURRICULUM that is designed for synchronous and asynchronous learning
- Access to CAPITAL by creating a Lending Circle for participants to build credit and receive short-term, no-interest loans
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
IN-PERSON LEARNING
IN-PERSON LEARNING
IN-PERSON LEARNING
Participants will attend one, two-hour workshop in person each month. Each monthly workshop will focus on a different topic and feature a guest speaker and structured working time. The goal of the monthly sessions is to help you apply your learning to your business. We’ll discuss: Operations and Customer Service; Legal, Staffing and Training; Finance and Accounting; Marketing and Advertising; and Growth Strategies.
LENDING CIRCLE
IN-PERSON LEARNING
IN-PERSON LEARNING
Based on Tandas which are popular in Latin cultures, participants will build their credit scores by contributing an agreed amount of money into a pool to creates a short-term no-interest loan that is paid to participants on a rotating basis.
Mentors
IN-PERSON LEARNING
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
Businesses that participate in the Lending Circle will be paired with mentors from the diverse chambers to work with them throughout the 6-month program. These mentors will help participants learn through their personal experiences and expand their network.
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
To complement the in-person sessions, participants will engage with an online learning platform. The online learning will be structured in two parts: one with pre-learning materials designed to unlock the maximum value of the in-person sessions, and one to provide resources and reference materials that you can use after the in-person session when applying new strategies to your business.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FAIR
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FAIR
Our program culminates with a celebratory Business Opportunity Fair during the final in-person session. The event features a “graduation ceremony” during which each participant is invited to give a brief pitch about their business. After the ceremony, participants host a display table to market themselves and their companies to the invited guests and local industry leaders. Our last Business Opportunity Fair was attended by representatives from Zappos.com, El Cortez Hotel & Casino, Bank of Nevada, Las Vegas Valley Water District, city of Las Vegas, Southwest Gas, Cox Communications and more local companies.
Membership
ONLINE LEARNING & TEMPLATES
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FAIR
Participants will receive a FREE one year membership in the Downtown Vegas Alliance, Latin Chamber of Commerce and Urban Chamber of Commerce. That's nearly a $2,000 value!
PROGRAM GOALS
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
- Increase the capacity of current business and provide them with growth strategies
- Build a culture of savings and increase financial literacy for businesses
- Develop a diverse supplier pipeline among local companies
- Create equity in supplier base by increasing supplier representation in underutilized diversity classification for companies
- Increase the economic impact for suppliers and communities
- Strengthen brand and relationships for program partners, participants and companies
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
- Economic impact resulting from this program will include business growth, new jobs provided, and taxes paid
- Create thriving communities by providing small and diverse businesses opportunities to grow and succeed
- Build a strong pipeline of employees, suppliers and services providers
- Economically stronger communities
- Small business growth
- Increased diverse suppliers
- Increased diverse spend
- Increased disposable income