Small Business Majority and Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute (RMMFI) convened an Inclusive Small Business Roundtable on December 4 with Colorado policymakers and agency leaders and a group of diverse small business owners ahead of the upcoming 2025 legislative session. The goal was to help legislators and agency attendees better understand the experiences and barriers that entrepreneurs face when starting and growing their businesses.  ..read more

Alberto Sanchez is the newest member of Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team, supporting entrepreneurship in Southern California. Our outreach team helps entrepreneurs on two fronts: It advocates for policies that benefit small businesses and it offers webinars and in-person events that offer entrepreneurs tips on how to grow their businesses ..read more

We encourage you to shop small all year round, but especially during this holiday season. If you purchase an item through a small business on this list, take a photo and post it on social media using #IShoppedSmallBiz to encourage others to do the same ..read more

Although Jessi Burg loved her career in seasonal industries like environmental education, outdoor guiding and agriculture, she faced a big problem. “I wanted to make a living wage,” she said.  With that goal in mind, the future Colorado entrepreneur thought about the small business owners she knew. They seemed to have more control over their wages, work schedule and life. This realization led her to found a landscaping business, Pears to Perennials, in 2016 ..read more

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Shawna Wells never predicted she’d be the founder and CEO of two small businesses. While building a career in education as both a teacher and a principal, she became involved in business and executive coaching, which led to an important realization.  “People really needed to have conversations about who they were, what they wanted to become and what was the impact they wanted to leave,” she said.  ..read more

Karla Yatckoske always thought she’d become a classroom teacher because of her passion for education. But while following her dream, she encountered a problem. While teaching, she noticed that students in a classroom of 25 were at wildly different academic levels. Karla said “some couldn’t read at all and others were bored with the curriculum and needed to be challenged more.”  ..read more

Over the past few months, Small Business Majority network members participated in roundtable discussions with the White House National Economic Council. Small business owners from across the country had the opportunity to voice their top concerns, share their experience with federal small business programs and suggest issues they would like the federal government to address. As small businesses continue to navigate an ever-complex economy these roundtables helped the Biden-Harris administration better understand the evolving needs of America’s entrepreneurs ..read more

Evera Ivy never planned to take over the family business. In the early 1970s, her parents moved the family from Chicago to rural Pembroke Township, Ill. to start . Evera and her siblings initially didn’t want anything to do with the farm. However, another farmer in the area once told her that “Land is the one thing that cannot be produced or reproduced.” That wisdom stuck with her and opened her eyes to the value of her family’s land and business.  ..read more

Entrepreneurship runs in Dusti Budd’s family. was originally owned by her step-dad, Steven Lloyd. Around 25 years ago, Dusti worked under him until he sold the business. Fifteen years later, Dusti was taking business classes at Colorado Mountain College, which required her to create a business plan. This later inspired her to buy Capitol Deli and open a location in Newcastle, Colo ..read more