By Regional Administrator Calvin Goings,
U.S. Small Business Administration
Executive Director Beto Yarce, Ventures

At the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) one of our major strategic goals is to strengthen entrepreneurial education, counseling, and training resources to support the needs of existing businesses and new start-ups.

The 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance Program is one of SBA’s means to achieve that goal by providing specialized assistance to important underserved markets.

The program provides high-quality assistance, such as training, executive education, and one-on-one consulting to eligible small businesses, which include:
• Participants in the 8(a) Business Development Program
• Small businesses that are owned and controlled by economically and socially disadvantaged individuals;
• Small businesses located in areas of high unemployment or low-income; and,
• Small business owned by low-income individuals.

Here in Region 10, we are working hard to better serve our underserved communities with our existing partnerships and looking to create future partnerships. That’s why the 7 (j) Program is so important.
So what happens when you provide customized one-on-one technical assistance with tailored, hands-on training for product based businesses? You guessed it! They thrive. Ventures (formerly known as Washington C.A.S.H.) received a $196,000 7 (j) grant from the SBA this year to do just that.

Their retail business incubation program focuses on the unique needs of retail and wholesale product based businesses such as those selling handcrafted jewelry and accessories, gourmet shelf-stable food products, bath and beauty products, custom art and more.

Why is this program important? To start with, at least 150 low-income entrepreneurs in King and Snohomish Counties will benefit. Entrepreneurs like Francine Moo-Young, who was born in Jamaica and comes from an eclectic family mix of cultures and ethnicities (European, Chinese and Caribbean). Francine’s love of textiles comes from her grandmother and great aunts who taught her to sew by hand. Although she studied at multiple universities, she finally obtained a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

After moving to Seattle, Francine learned about Ventures from the unemployment office. After taking the courses provided by Ventures, Francine now creates functional and wearable art in a small 12’ x 14’ studio space in the heart of Georgetown. She sells her clothing at the Ventures retail store at Pike Place Market (1501 Pike Place, on the “blue” level).

Ventures stores are staffed by retail experts to make sure that they attract customers and generate sales, but more importantly, Ventures staff is dedicated to providing customized technical assistance to vendors to help them make sales and improve their businesses.

Francine likes mingling and learning from other local entrepreneurs who have a passion for creating or growing things. She has learned so much from her interactions with other small local businesses and the Ventures programs. Isn’t this what makes Seattle a magnet for entrepreneurs?
At the SBA we are committed to better serving our underserved markets and partnerships, like these with Ventures, are leading the way toward that goal.

So if you are a budding entrepreneur with an income at or below 80% of the HUD area median income and living in King or Snohomish counties, contact Ventures at 206.352.1945, to see if you qualify to participate in one of their next rounds of Product classes. And, the SBA also provides classes and workshops. Contact the Seattle District Office at 206.553.7310 to learn more.

The SBA provides 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance through third-party for-profit and non-profit service providers. Depending on the types of service to be provided, the Agency enters into grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts with qualified service providers. The majority of these requirements are awarded competitively.

**Over the past 20 years, Washington Community Alliance for Self Help (CASH) has impacted over 6,000 entrepreneurs in the Puget Sound region with life-changing small business development services. As they celebrate their 20 year anniversary, they announce a new name and brand that better communicates the breadth of training, resources and support available to their clients.

If the new name, Ventures, sounds familiar, it is because their retail store has carried the name Ventures since 2010. They adopted the store’s namesake because it conveys the entrepreneurial, innovative and hardworking spirit of their clients.