Calling all small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers: What questions do you have about funding your hustle? Are you looking for ways to access capital? Struggling to raise children, and a new business? Don’t understand how to keep your books?
Whatever your issues, Broke in Philly, a collaborative of 19 local news organizations led by Resolve Philadelphia, wants to help. The collaborative, which provides solutions-based reporting on issues of poverty and economic justice, will take over Venture Café in University City on Thursday for a free event, Funding The Hustle, aimed at helping underserved entrepreneurs take their ideas to the next level.
“One of the reverberating causes of economic struggle we think about in Philly is jobs and workforce development, and how the opportunities that people have to be entrepreneurs and business owners are often blocked by socio-economic barriers,” says Cassie Haynes, co-executive director of Resolve Philadelphia. “The City is branding itself as entrepreneurial and friendly to new social enterprise startups, but is leaving entire swaths of communities out.”
According to the Enterprise Center, a partner in the event, the average business needs 12 to 18 months to improve its credit score, and nearly 25 percent of small business owners struggle to access the capital they need to grow. Funding the Hustle, Haynes says, came out of trying to envision what economic development and opportunity looks like to the average Philadelphian, without access to the resources they need, and how they might benefit through collaboration between other entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The five-hour, drop-in-when-you-can event will include workshops on funding and business plan basics; crowdfunding; work-life balance; and design-thinking; as well as a “generosity marketplace” where attendees can trade services with each other. There will also be free headshots, a pop-up newsroom, and office hours to learn skills like QuickBooks.
While the event is intended for and will focus on businesses in West Philadelphia, entrepreneurs throughout the city are encouraged to attend. Event partners include The Enterprise Center, University City Science Center, the Sustainable Business Network, the West Philadelphia Promise Zone and Resolve Philadelphia.
Thursday, July 18th, 3 pm-8 pm, FREE, Venture Cafe Philadelphia, 3675 Market Street. Get your tickets here.