ABOUT US
PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT
There are over 5,000 small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods throughout Tacoma. Urban Business Support helps them to stay and thrive in their communities.
OUR VISION
Urban Business Support is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose vision is Development without Displacement. Investment in low-income communities should not push out the current residents. It should improve their lives.
OUR MISSION
Urban Business Support gives businesses in gentrifying communities the resources to adapt, survive, and grow in the changing marketplace emerging around them to retain diversity of business ownership.
OUR SERVICE AREA
Tacoma
Seattle/King County
OUR SERVICES
Urban Business Support does not just train businesses. We build leaders.
We provide business training, personal credit counseling, and leadership skills. Courses are available in three flexible formats, depending on how deep you want to get and how far you want to go.
Business Plan in a Day
The Business Planning App, from Centro Community Partners, is a free mobile business plan tool. In six hours, Urban Business Support walks entrepreneurs through a series of fun activities using the app to create a bare-bones business plan. The app is available in English, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese. This program is free.
Entrepreneurship Program
The 30-hour Entrepreneurship Program teaches business owners about strategy, business finance, market analysis, operations, personal finance, products and services, and leadership skills, resulting in a robust business plan. The program is free, but requires an enrollment deposit, refunded upon completion of the course.
Advanced Mentor Program
The 8-week Advanced Mentor Program pairs each graduate of the Entrepreneurship Program with a MBA student advisor and helps develop and implement their growth plan. This course is free, but requires participation in the Entrepreneurship Program.
PARTNERS
STRATEGY
