Ventures believes small business ownership can change lives. Now, more than ever, small business owners need access to training, coaching, and capital in order to turn their dreams of financial independence into realities.  

But, thanks to visionary thinkers like The People’s Institute Northwest, NALCAB, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, the GSBA, and standforyourmission.org, we are learning that entrepreneurs need something even bigger than skills and capital to succeed…  

…they need communities and institutions that support their goals and help remove barriers to financial success.  

That’s why we are proud to announce that Ventures is expanding to include the vital service of public policy advocacy to our suite of services for the community. Our goal is to drive systemic change by lobbying government agencies and lawmakers to create public policies that are conducive to small business growth in our region. We will work to get issues that relate to small and microbusinesses “on the table” for policy-makers. Issues like this one: 

Did you know that it currently costs an aspiring food truck owner $1,070 to get an operating license from King County Public Health, and then an additional $380 for a one-day vending license each time they want to park on the street and sell products? For people in the Ventures community, who earn an average of $23,000 per year and don’t typically have the credit or collateral for big start-up loans, these costs are huge barrier to opening food businesses. Ventures wants to help create new policies that make it easier for underserved communities to succeed as small business owners.  

To help us create systemic change, we are hiring a new full-time Director of Advocacy and Publicity to join our team. We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable about the factors influencing small business success, who is well-connected with policymakers, and who is ready to enthusiastically advocate on behalf of microbusinesses here in the Pacific Northwest. Is this you or someone you know? If so, please read more and apply. This position is made possible by generous funding from the Satterberg Foundation. Thank you Satterberg! 

Ventures will leverage our new advocacy position to lobby within the bounds of IRS-sanctioned 501c3 nonprofit organizations. We will not advocate for specific political candidates or parties but rather will advocate on behalf of low-income individuals, underserved communities, and small business owners. In fact, we’ve established a full public statement reiterating our stance as a nonpartisan institution.  

Will you join us in working to make a bigger impact in our community? Tell us what laws or policies you would like changed; send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Advocacy Idea.” To follow along as we work to change policies in our region, follow us on Facebook or Twitter or subscribe to our email list.