Celebrating the Black Entrepreneurs You’ve Heard Of—and Recognizing the Ones You Haven’t
Black entrepreneurship has a rich tradition, but not without its challenges.
Shop Small, Strengthen Your Community
The best way to support your small business community this season is to be a customer.
What Most Marketing Advice Doesn’t Tell You
CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part IV — Learn the next step for business survival in this fourth article in a series on how we're adapting our own small business.
The Key to Finding Solutions is Making Mistakes
CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part III — Learn the next step for business survival in this third article in a series on how we're adapting our own small business.
We Created a Program to Help Businesses Rebuild. Here’s What We’ve Learned So Far.
Entrepreneurs are made, not born.
I’m Ready to Get Creative With My Business. Now Where Do I Start?
Design thinking is just a fancy term for problem solving—but how exactly do you do it? A chief creative breaks down the basics of design thinking for entrepreneurs.
The Secret to Creativity Is Not What You Think
Entrepreneur psychologist and author Shelley Prevost reveals the key to becoming more creative in order to solve problems in your business.
Don’t Shoot for Creativity Until You Complete This Important Step
CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part II — Discover the most essential thing to do as an entrepreneur before you can creatively solve your business problems.
Creating Connections for Struggling Businesses through the Refocus Workshop
How Pasco EDC's SMARTstart used the CO.STARTERS Refocus business recovery workshop to reach unsupported entrepreneurs in their community and connect them to vital support.
What We’re Doing as a Small Business to Survive the Pandemic
CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part I — Hear firsthand from our COO about what we’re doing right now (and you can too) as a small business to survive the pandemic.
Marketing as a Human Being to Human Beings
Marketing expert Jacqui Jones shares tips on how to market authentically during a crisis.
Black Dreams Matter, Every Day
Meet nine Black business starters who are paving the way for dreams.
An Insider’s Guide to Getting Grants
Tips for grant writing to fund your community work from a former grant officer—the second in a series on funding by CO.STARTERS Director of Program Development Rebekah Marr.
Moving Your Small Business Online
Dane Johnson from The Nice Center gives practical tips for what small business owners need to do (and what they don't) to start selling and marketing online.
Straight Talk about SBA Loans
Small Business Majority's Brian Pifer answers questions about COVID-19 funding and gives tips for helping small businesses manage their cash flow.
CO.STARTERS Launches New Initiative Focused on Small Business Recovery
A five-step Road to Recovery framework to help entrepreneurs adapt now and for the future
We Talked to 150 Entrepreneurs
Here's what we're learning from our community of entrepreneurs about how to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
This Simple Tool Could Save Your Business
While the CO.STARTERS Canvas is most often used for people who want to turn an idea into a business, we believe this simple tool can help any business owner who is stuck and guide you through this time of uncertainty.
Building Community Immunity
What happens when “together” gets cancelled? How do we continue our mission of supporting business starters and growing communities in the face of catastrophic circumstances? How do we support each other when the word “community” itself feels like a threat?
There’s More to Funding than Grants
Other ways to fund your nonprofit idea—the second in a series on funding by CO.STARTERS Director of Program Development Rebekah Marr.
Building a Front Door for Entrepreneurs through a Wayfinding Program
How The Company Lab (CO.LAB) used a Wayfinding program for early-stage entrepreneurs to position themselves as the front door for entrepreneurs in their community.
Soul Care for the Ecosystem Builder
Shining a light on burnout among entrepreneurs and the people who support them
Burnout is not a new topic for the business world. The nature and risks of employee burnout have been extensively researched in relation to large corporations. Burnout among entrepreneurs has only recently started receiving more attention.
A recent […]
Navigating the Stages of Community Growth
A Model for Starting and Sustaining an Entrepreneurial Community
By Enoch Elwell
Entrepreneurial culture is changing
There’s something exciting afoot if you look through the negative national narrative on the decline of small cities and towns across the United States. Despite suffering significant economic loss which spawns a culture of grim survival, a growing number of communities are beginning to break […]
Supporting Latinx Entrepreneurs Means Building Relationships of Trust
The Latinx community in the U.S. is large and growing. As entrepreneur support organizations seek to support Spanish speakers starting new businesses, they need to understand that engaging this community effectively and respectfully may require some new ways of thinking.
Bridging the Rural Opportunity Gap
Creativity is key to innovation in rural areas. In Part 3 of our series on Overlooked Aspects of Inclusion in Ecosystem Building, Matt Dunne from Center on Rural Innovation shares key learnings from years of work addressing the opportunity gap in rural communities.
How to Have Difficult Conversations
Conversations about inclusion in ecosystem building can be difficult because they bring up issues that may become contentious and polarizing. In Part 2 of our series on Overlooked Aspects of Inclusion in Ecosystem Building, we have a conversation with author Meg Bolger about how the art of facilitation can make these conversations more effective and productive.
Including the 50+
People over 50 are likely to be overlooked as potential entrepreneurs, yet also make up a growing percentage of new entrepreneurs. A program created by AARP Foundation is helping communities tap into the potential of these founders and help them succeed.
It Takes a Village to Build an Ecosystem
Exploring the Many Roles of Ecosystem Building
By Enoch Elwell, CO.STARTERS Founder & Visionary
As the ecosystem building approach to economic and community development gains interest and credibility, the title of “ecosystem builder” has emerged to represent a specific type of community leader. This title signifies important distinctions in the intended outcomes as well as the type […]
New Resources from National Partners
CO.STARTERS is in a unique position, supporting starters with tools for launching, supporting grassroots leaders all over the country and around the world with curated resources and tools to build better community support systems for starters, and collaborating with national partners to encourage ecosystem building.
Here are a few new resources […]
Tips for Getting Starters Unstuck
By Enoch Elwell, CO.STARTERS Founder & Visionary
You spend a lot of your time helping new entrepreneurs get started, and you know this problem when you see it. An email pops up from a small business founder, asking you for more help with the same problem you talked about last week. They can’t seem to make any progress. You want […]
Putting Microlending into Practice: A Community Case Study
By Rich Bailey
Many small businesses believe that bank loans aren’t a viable financing option for them. However, there is a lesser known but well established option that is much more accessible — the microloan.
Lending in small […]