National

A few years ago, Rachel Bernier-Green was looking for an outlet from the stress of her intense job at a multinational accounting firm and discovered a passion for baking. It didn’t take long before friends and family were encouraging her to sell her baked goods to the masses. Rachel founded ‘Laine’s Bake Shop, LLC in 2013 using a shared kitchen space, working on the side to get her business off the ground. After a few years of baking part-time, Rachel decided to finally quit her job and start a bake shop full-time with her husband Jaryd. 

April is often associated with spring cleaning and reorganizing, which means you finally made the time go through that overflowing junk drawer or to organize last year’s financial statements for the tax filing deadline. But when it comes to your finances, you can use this time to do more than just file your tax return documents thanks to the resources provided as part of National Financial Literacy Month.

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Throughout Women’s History Month, we celebrate the economic, social and political contributions that women make to our world. Women account for roughly half of the American workforce, attain higher levels of education than men and are an increasing share of primary or solo breadwinners. There is no doubt that for America to thrive, we must promote the economic empowerment of women. Central to women’s economic success is women’s entrepreneurship, which contributes significantly to overall economic growth and prosperity.

Entrepreneurs are a vital component of a thriving American economy. Indeed, small businesses represent 99% of all employer firms and account for half of our nation’s jobs and economic output, and their creativity spurs innovation in all sectors of the economy. That’s why it’s important to take time to appreciate our country’s entrepreneurs during November, which is National Entrepreneurship Month.

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.

Open enrollment to purchase health insurance plans for 2018 through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual marketplaces has started and there are some important changes for small business owners to note this year. If you’re a self-employed entrepreneur or have employees who need coverage through Healthcare.gov, check out these key facts about this year’s open enrollment below.

Starting a business and starting a family at the same time is no easy feat. Just ask Chanceé Lundy, a new mom who is also co-owner of Nspiregreen LLC in Washington, D.C.

“The cost of child care can be incredibly burdensome for small businesses, especially in large cities,” Chanceé said. “Since I had a child, I’ve had to be very disciplined in juggling my time–particularly because child care facilities where I live are very expensive and typically have a waiting list of one year or more. This can be crippling to a new business owner who did not foresee these issues.”

Despite months of speeches, speculation and tweets suggesting that the federal government would not continue to provide critical payments that support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, President Trump still has yet to announce a final decision on the future of cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSRs), which help reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs for low and moderate-income enrollees.

Are you a small business owner looking for alternative funding options beyond a traditional bank loan? A CDFI loan might be the answer you’ve been looking for.

While traditional bank lending is down, organizations called community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, are stepping up to fill the void by focusing on supporting small businesses and local economies in a holistic way. So what is a CDFI?

Michelle Mauricci, a true entrepreneur, has owned not one, not two, but three small businesses. Her current business, Think Possible, located in Reno, Nevada, is a personal business-consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs navigate their health coverage options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), among other services. Michelle also receives her own coverage through the ACA’s individual marketplace, and credits the healthcare law with allowing her to follow her entrepreneurial dreams.