Built by Philly helps businesses connect and grow. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs shared their ideas for improving Philadelphia’s small business environment. It starts with better access to capital, services, customers, and the overall ecosystem.
Built by Philly helps businesses connect and grow. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs shared their ideas for improving Philadelphia’s small business environment. It starts with better access to capital, services, customers, and the overall ecosystem.
Available Capital
Loans and credit-building resources should be more affordable and more accessible.
Research
Each year, there is an estimated gap of $7-8 billion between supply and demand of capital for Philly small businesses.
There is a gap for small businesses seeking $100k – $250k to scale. See more insights on the capital landscape.
Featured Work
The Collective is building a Black Real Estate Impact Fund to fill a capital gap for developers.
The Greater Philadelphia Financial Services Leadership Coalition is setting up a $100M fund for loans and grants to BIPOC-owned businesses.
Guidance and Support
Business owners want more guidance and support to access capital that is available.
Research
Philadelphia has historically had few SBA 7(a) lenders. As a result, few lenders were able to process PPP loans at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. See more insights on the capital landscape.
Featured Work
Built by Philly is exploring the development of an online navigator that tailors recommendations for Philadelphia business resources, including capital and business services.
Equity Investment
Stronger connections should be made between entrepreneurs and equity investors.
Research
Equity investments in Philadelphia have historically been concentrated in high growth and tech-enabled industries. See more insights on the capital landscape.
Featured Work
PAGE Capital Subcommittee is working to connect capital resources to BIPOC businesses.
The Philanthropy Network‘s Mission-Aligned Investors Cohort seeks new ways of shifting capital into the community.
Targeted and Accessible Support
Business owners want to see services that are more specific and representative of BIPOC communities.
Research
Service accessibility for business owners is dependent on trusted relationships, word of mouth marketing, and key logistical factors like geography, language, and digital capability. See more insights on the business service landscape.
Featured Work
Black Squirrel is made up of leaders in West Philadelphia who together offer hyper-local capital, service, and business outreach.
The Merchants Fund’s Beyond the Grant program addresses a gap in hands-on, longer term service.
Professional Services
Stronger connections need to be made to affordable, high-quality professional services.
Research
Interviewed entrepreneurs and business service organizations identified gaps in access to quality professional services, especially business planning, taxes, and legal support. See more insights on the business service landscape.
Featured Work
The Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce developed a Bookkeeping Bootcamp to provide temporary free access to the KPMG Spark bookkeeping platform along with financial management coaching.
Peer Networks
Business owners want more opportunities to learn from each other.
Research
Many interviewed business owners expressed a strong wish for peer networks and mentors. Many also are – or want to be – mentoring and fostering new entrepreneurs in their communities. See more insights on the business service landscape.
Featured Work
BLACtivate! is an entrepreneur-led connector of Black-owned businesses to customers, resources, and community partners. Its Mastermind group is a collective of business owners who gather to share information and collaboration opportunities.
Online Presence
A digital presence is vital for small businesses.
Research
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for businesses to be online. Interviewed entrepreneurs identified a shortage of support with digital marketing and attracting customers from other neighborhoods. See more insights on support for customer access.
Featured Work
The Temple SBDC is implementing the Pennsylvania Digital Transformation and eCommerce Program (PADTEP), which provides free support with digital literacy, web development, e-commerce, cyber security, and digital marketing.
Intentional Opportunities
Systemic discrimination limits market opportunities for BIPOC entrepreneurs and must be addressed.
Research
Interviewed entrepreneurs want to see stronger City commitment to connect BIPOC businesses to public contracts, including better promotion of City contracts. See more insights on support for access to markets.
Featured Work
The Diverse Procurement Collaborative is a commitment of 100 of the largest employers in greater Philadelphia to increase the diversity of their contracting networks.
Procurement Resources
With the right resources, more businesses could tap into contracts and procurement opportunities.
Research
While assistance with certification is available, there is a shortage of resources to support BIPOC businesses in winning and building a pipeline of contracts. See more insights on support for access to markets.
Featured Work
PAGE Prep is Economy League’s capacity-building program for Black-owned businesses who are already in the procurement pipeline and seek to expand their access to customers.
The Role of Small Business
Small business owners build Philadelphia. Philadelphia owes its support to small business owners.
Advocacy and Decision-Making
BIPOC entrepreneurs must have a seat at the table to advocate for critical changes.
Research
Interviewed entrepreneurs called for streamlining the process of engaging with the City. Currently, there is a perceived disconnect between decision-makers and entrepreneurs. See more insights on the ecosystem.
Featured Work
Built by Philly is connecting partners through an interactive platform and leadership structure that creates space for entrepreneurs to influence future initiatives and policies.
Resource Navigation
Business resources should be easier to navigate.
Research
Organizations in Philly’s small business ecosystem reach only a fraction of the BIPOC businesses they set out to serve. Clearer connections built on trust are needed. See more insights on the ecosystem.
Featured Work
Built by Philly is exploring the development of an online navigator that tailors recommendations for Philadelphia business resources, including capital and business services.
Copyright © 2021 United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. All rights reserved.
Start-up loans from banks can be difficult to get, so many entrepreneurs have had to use their own money, borrow from friends or family, or find more expensive sources of capital.
Many find that their potential to scale up or reach more customers is limited by access to capital.
Small businesses have difficulty securing capital when lenders assess their risk as borrowers in the same way they would assess larger businesses.
Business owners describe the difficulty of finding and securing affordable capital and want more support on where to look.
Many faced challenges securing emergency funds during outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Entrepreneurs should have resources to connect to investors who provide support beyond capital.
For example, businesses selling consumer products have a more difficult time securing capital from equity investors.
Affordable loans for real estate acquisition can have a strong positive impact on the growth and stability of a business, but the capital can be hard to find.
Philly has a shortage of highly focused supports to guide business owners through unique points of the journey in their industry. Industry-specific resources that do exist have provided significant value.
Business owners have called for clearer intentionality among providers to serve BIPOC business owners, as well as greater BIPOC representation among the providers themselves.
Misconceptions related to starting a business can make the process more difficult. Clearer information and narratives around entrepreneurship would create more opportunity.
Business owners have challenges finding professional service providers (like lawyers, accountants, marketing professionals, and consultants) that fit their budget and offer high-quality services.
Peer networks are a valuable tool to find quality professional service providers through recommendations and trusted referrals.
Business owners can access goods and services more affordably by exchanging their own goods and services with each other.
Many interviewed entrepreneurs noted that the best guidance comes from a someone who can speak from personal experience. Opportunities to learn from peers or mentors are most in demand.
Some are creating resources or networks to share information with their peers. These learnings are especially valuable because they are tailored to certain industries or cultural backgrounds.
Mentoring relationships often have the benefit of being more personal, more targeted, or longer-term than other peer-based learning opportunities, but it can be difficult to find the right fit.
Several programs make a point of developing cohorts or networks among participating business owners. The relationships built in these programs often offer long-term benefits of a peer network.
Peer business owners understand the often-difficult, often-rewarding road of entrepreneurship in a way that others cannot. The small business community plays an important role as support system.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused customers to look online more regularly for purchases and experiences, and business owners had to move quickly to adapt.
E-commerce, social media, and well-built websites reach more customers in and beyond Philadelphia. Support building a strong web presence would help more small businesses meet customers digitally.
Efforts to include BIPOC business owners in contract awards cannot be an afterthought. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) should be included from the very beginning of the process.
Tapping into larger projects allows small businesses to pursue and achieve continued growth.
Contracts should be awarded to the best bid, not just the lowest bid. Factors like past performance and inclusion should be weighed more heavily.
Networking helps entrepreneurs find clients and prepare to respond to contract opportunities, but networks can be hard to break into.
Contractors can charge lower prices if they have a more consistent stream of projects, but they often need to charge more while they are growing.
Bidding successfully requires a lot of capacity and connections, especially for smaller businesses going after contract or subcontract opportunities.
For a myriad of reasons — from personal attention to detail, to tailored products and services, to community-minded actions — small businesses improve their communities and the city as whole.
Business owners often use personal capital. Especially in times of economic uncertainty, financial stability is risked as entrepreneurs work to keep the business running.
Several interviewed business owners spoke of the whole-hearted effort that goes into running a small business, sometimes at the expense of their personal time.
Business owners themselves are the experts on what is needed in the ecosystem and are best positioned to inform small business policies and programs.
Several business owners have experienced challenges with the enforcement of regulations. Several have called for more support in complying with regulations before fines are handed out.
Certain taxes and regulations are relatively stringent in Philadelphia, and changing them would benefit small business owners.
While myriad services and capital resources exist in Philadelphia, they are not well organized or easy to find.
Business-serving organizations can play a vital role in helping entrepreneurs connect with the resources they need.
Entrepreneurs want an accessible, unified place to begin when looking for different types of resources.
