State and Local government are committed to community revitalization and creating new jobs through business development. Along with state and local governments, groups like community development centers, public policy organizations, and faith based organizations are all developing effective strategies to educate, empower and support the development and growth of new business enterprises.

All of these organizations are providing some form of business assistance. In some areas the assistance is excellent, in some cases the support is comprehensive but there is no consistency or continuity. There is no industry standard for business assistance.

This business assistance gap impacts a vital link in the current economic empowerment process, the financial institutions. Too often we hear that many of the businesses are not bankable, i.e, they lack a sound business plan, or they don’t meet the credit criteria, or their cash flow statements do not demonstrate debt service capacity, etc. The result? Money is left on the table, businesses do not get the capital they need, businesses fail, and fewer jobs are created.

The challenge for all of us who are supporting entrepreneurship empowerment is to develop a level playing field in terms of the quality and efficacy of the assistance that is being provided to entrepreneurs. If the goal is to empower business development, then we must find a way to raise the standard of business assistance so that the education, tools and resources entrepreneurs need to start, capitalize and sustain businesses are widely and consistently provided. Our vision is to raise and level the playing field so that all small businesses are provided the depth and breadth of support that is needed to be adequately capitalized from the start-up phase through the growth stage so that more jobs are created and economic development is achieved.

Entrepreneurship Advantage, Inc. is your Partner in empowering entrepreneurship growth and development in your community. We are the premier service provider of training programs, workshops and program facilitation for everything related to entrepreneurship. Whether the organization needs a workshop on bookkeeping for small businesses, facilitation of a meeting between Bankers and community business advisors, or train the trainer programs, EA is the solution.