Obama’s SBA rolls out entrepreneur training and microloans for formerly incarcerated individuals

Obama visits prison
Source: Whitehouse on Tumblr
This week, the leaders of the SBA, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and microlender Justine PETERSEN announced the formation of the Aspire Entrepreneurship Initiative, a groundbreaking new $2.1 million partnership to expand access to entrepreneurial education and microloans for formerly incarcerated individuals, with a specific focus on those who are parents. Initial rollout for the initiative is planned for Detroit, MI, Chicago, IL, Louisville, KY and St. Louis, MO.

“Entrepreneurship and small business ownership are proven paths toward wealth creation and financial independence especially for people who might otherwise feel trapped by their circumstances” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “America remains a land of opportunity, a place where we believe in second changes for those who have paid their debt to society. Entrepreneurship can be a ladder of opportunity for citizens who have paid that debt but are still struggling to find employment after incarceration. With the training and startup tools provided through this partnership, these American citizens can finally start to rebuild their lives and restore their relationships with their families and communities.” read more

Women Entrepreneurs Rock event at legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Mon 10/19

womenentrepreneursrock bannerTo facilitate a real dialog about topics important to women in business, the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at Brookdale Community College will hold its second annual “Women Entrepreneurs Rock” (aka WeRock) at a legendary music venue in Asbury Park on Monday, October 19. The event is free and open to the public.

19 October 19 2015
6-9pm (networking until 10)
The Stone Pony
913 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712

A report in The State of Women Owned Businesses, 2014 from American Express OPEN says: read more

Start-ups need a long runway to succeed

According to Florence Lowe, Founder & CEO of SQBlueSky, the commonality all start-ups need to succeed is a long enough runway – the resources needed to ramp up to full flight when they’re getting started. The resources won’t be the same for every company. Some teams will need a lot of money to burn through while in the start-up phase, others (like Florence) count heavily on personal experience and a fabulous team, others benefit simply from applying themselves 100% to the task of getting their business fully operational. And, Florence says, read more