5 Reasons Why Students Should Get Involved with Microfinance!
School has officially started. And for most students it feels like their life is over. “I have a paper to write”, “You won’t believe how much I have to read”, or “Just let me sleep two more minutes” are all common excuses to avoid friends, homework and sometimes class. And to all these students I say get out there and get involved with microfinance! Here are some great reasons why:
- You do have free time… I know you do and you know you do.
- College is the best time to find the things you’re passionate about and volunteer your time to them. A great way to do this AND get your friends involved is to create a student group. ACCION USA has campus initiatives around the country bring microfinance to the student population. They provide access to amazing resources to help you educate yourself and your friends about ACCION USA and US microfinance. Or you can just come volunteer with us!
- It’s a great way to meet people with similar interest. Sitting in your dorm room you get to know your roommate… and while I’m sure they are a great person, you need to meet other people. Plus the people you meet through volunteering will stick with you and I can not describe to you some of the amazing, zany and generally wonderful people I have met while volunteering and the impact they have had on my life. Besides microfinance folks are great connections to have for the future, especially if is something you want to do professionally.
- Because it’s fun! Being young is about enjoying life and there is no reason why fun and giving back should not be synonymous. Need some inspiration? Check out Microbike. This event is a bike ride that supports microfinance. This year’s event is on October 3rd so you still have time to register and convince all of your friends they need to break out their bikes too.
- Finally, there’s nothing stopping you. It’s really that simple. School is important and your lives are busy but life will only get busier after college. Make volunteerism, giving back and helping your community a habit now because it’s a habit worth having.
Beer, Pita Chips, and Burritos?
Jim Koch (right), founder of The Boston Beer Company, can relate to the struggles of a small business owner. At yesterday's Brewing the American Dream U, he offered advice and expertise to over 150 local entrepreneurs.
Yesterday afternoon, the streets of Boston were damp and a bit dreary. But indoors, things were bright: teachers dispensed knowledge, students absorbed every word, and both listened and learned from each others’ experiences. But this scene’s setting wasn’t the halls of Harvard or MIT. Rather, it was the second-floor ballroom of the Park Plaza Hotel, where ACCION USA and The Boston Beer Company presented the inaugural Brewing the American Dream U: a free, half-day event for entrepreneurs in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries to receive expertise from leading local business owners.
Over 150 entrepreneurs attended. For four hours, they listened as fifteen experts shared advice and fielded questions on topics including “What I Learned on My Way to the Kitchen” and “Getting Your Product Ready for Retail.” The advice was timely, inspirational, and most importantly, honest.
Jim Koch, founder of The Boston Beer Company, discussed the salesman’s mentality (every time he walked into a bar, he had only a few seconds to determine why the people sitting at the counter should drink his beer and why the person behind the counter should sell it). Stacy Madison, founder of Stacy’s Pita Chips, explained the importance of targeted marketing strategies (it’s like a fire hose: you have to focus your efforts, not just spray aimlessly). And John Pepper, founder of Boloco, emphasized the necessity of resilience (he pitched his business to 39 investors before he heard the word “yes”).
The event was an important step in strengthening the Boston Beer Company-ACCION USA partnership – appropriately named Brewing the American Dream – which launched in 2008. In the past two years, the program has provided loans to small business owners in Massachusetts and, in doing so, saved or created 282 jobs.
The partnership not only involves loans but, more so, financial education and “speed coaching” events designed to empower entrepreneurs with the knowledge they need to build their businesses. Together, these programs support entrepreneurs and prepare them for the many challenges of business ownership. And judging by an e-mail we received from an event participant this morning, these efforts are working:
“I just wanted to let you know how awesome yesterday was. I was amazed at how eager and enthusiastic all the panel members, Sam Adams, and ACCION were to lend a hand to micro entrepreneurs. It was truly inspiring and empowering. As a member of the food industry, I have many friends and colleagues with big dreams of starting their own venture and I’m certain they are not aware of these incredible resources available to them. I am excited to spread the word, and to seriously consider pursuing my dream as well.”
Help “brew” this entrepreneur’s dream by donating here.
Tags: accion usa, boloco, Boston, entrepreneur, Financial Education, jim koch, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, small business, stacy's pita chips
Microfinance Week In Review- Week Ending September 24
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- Business Networking Events -Bloomberg Business Week
- Obama Among “Small Businesses” Facing Higher Tax Rate- Bloomberg Business Week
- A PHD Dropout Shakes Up the Beauty Biz- Time Magazine
- Federal Microloans Big With Small Businesses- San Diego Union Tribune
- Don’t Cap Microfinance Lending Rates- The Economic Times
What’s a Bike Doing In ACCION USA’s Bathroom?
What is MicroBike, and how do I get involved?
Upper Manhattan (10 miles) – Tanto Dulce Café, 3446 Broadway (at 140th Street)
The Diversity of Green Business
- Today’s green businesses include much more than just organic farms and alternative energy. Image via Wikipedia
What do you think when you hear “green business”? Is your imagination stuck in the same old stereotype? A solar energy company, an organic farm? Yes, we love solar and organic as much as the next guy, but I’m always reminded by our entrepreneurs that green colors every industry.
Case in point, check out Triple Pundit’s yearly “Green Business of the Year” nominees. The industries on the voting block range from a chocolatier, organic clothing, biodegradable diapers, to professional printing!
A quick web search brings up a number of green business directories. My favorite is Green America’s with 194 separate and distinct green business categories for you to search.
So when ACCION USA announces the dates for our Green Webinars this fall – don’t be shy. Any business can be a greener business. Make sure you’re following us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the updates and visit www.accionusa/green for in depth tips and information.
Tags: Green Business
ACCION USA Partners Up with Count Me In!
By: Rachel Hynes and Elizabeth Garlow
Those that know ACCION USA know that we love to partner! Strong partnerships are critical to advancing our mission of lending, supporting and inspiring small business owners. Recently, we announced a new great partnership with Count Me In, a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote economic independence and the growth of women-owned businesses. Count Me In, like ACCION USA believes that entrepreneurs thrive with a combination of access to financial resources, education and support.
Exactly what does this partnership mean? Because of the strong support system that Count Me In provides entrepreneurs, many of their clients are in a growth period and looking for capital to take their businesses to the next level. ACCION USA is proud to partner with Count Me In to provide that capital to entrepreneurs across the country.
Furthermore, both ACCION USA and Count Me In are committed to the belief that knowledge is power for small business owners. Count Me In’s M3 Network builds confidence through coaching and networking opportunities. Both ACCION USA and Count Me In provide entrepreneurs with access to expertise through online webinars, online resources on growing a business, and advice on credit management and the fundamentals of running a small business. In fact, ACCION USA and Count Me In have already worked together to provide workshops for Count Me In meet up groups and lead online webinars on Credit Management and Business Survival Strategies for a Slow Economy.
It’s collaborations like this that give hard-working entrepreneurs the combined resources needed to build their businesses, better provide for their families and strengthen their communities.
Microfinance Week in Review- Week Ending September 17
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- Fast Growth For Your Small Business Isn’t Always Good -USA Today
- Business Groups to Fight Job Plans- The Wall Street Journal
- Small Businesses Can’t Get Loans from Bailed-Out Banks- Bloomberg Businessweek
- Business Groups to Fight Job Plans- Wall Street Journal
Tags: business, job creation, jobs, loans, obama, small business, Small business tips
Microfinance’s Android v.s. Pawn Shop’s Apple
was convinced she would climb into at any moment and float out of the subway door like a hovercraft. A middle school child across from me was operating Angry Birds with such speed and dexterity as to shame my similar attempts even gaming with a computer! Diversity of ability, of style, of language, of ethnicity, of origin, of purse size and of gaming ability all packed into one subway car.Can they all be served by the same financial institution?
Microfinance too has a personality. In a world of behemoth financial institutions, there exists a “new kid on the block”, or at least this is the perspective that microfinance in the U.S. takes of itself. Finally, an institution that can provide a giant purse AND the education to inform you that, maybe you don’t need that purse to be giant after all! Microfinance fills a gap in the market. The most common parallel I’ve heard explaining Microfinance’s place in the market is one with pawn shops and check cashing locations. However, the idea is that, because microfinance in the U.S. is a non-profit, it removes the possibility of usury from the equation. Yet microfinance has not displaced these previous institutions. Check cashing locations are still springing up everywhere, especially in the neighborhoods that can stand to gain the most from microfinance.
Microfinance, at the moment, seems best tagged as “a valuable option” rather than an answer to economic and financial woes. It does seem that pawn shops, check cashing locations and traditional banks all hold a particular and useful market share. Microfinance cannot cover these bases, nor should it necessarily try.
Why did the tall woman choose massive spike heels rather than flats or the petite woman a purse larger than her entire person (that did not even have hovercraft functionalities) rather than a backpack? Why was the middle school child using an Apple software phone rather than Android? As much as each company attempts to supplant its rival, it is in the competition that we, the consumer, are brought the best product.
Because of the existence of check cashing and pawn shops, microfinance has the opportunity to define itself differently. Microfinance offers a choice, an alternative to these more common and longstanding options. In keeping with the individuality, personality and needs of each individual, it is their choice by which institution they are best served.
Climate Change Bill Good for Small Business
Small businesses play a critical role in driving job creation and environmental security. With a struggling economy and high unemployment rate, it’s noteworthy that the number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007, according to a report (PDF) released in 2009 by The Pew
- Image via Wikipedia
Charitable Trusts. According to the study, the definition of “clean energy” includes five categories: “(1) Clean Energy, (2) Energy Efficiency, (3) Environmentally Friendly Production, (4) Conservation and Pollution Mitigation, and (5) Training and Support. The definition provides a groundbreaking framework for tracking jobs, investments and economic growth over time and allowing the public and private sector to evaluate the effectiveness of policy choices and investments.”
To accelerate the growth of clean energy and energy efficiency job growth, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included over $80 billion for energy efficiency and clean energy programs. Across the country, the Recovery Act is creating thousands of jobs to weatherize about low-income homes.
Today, Congress is working on an energy and climate bill that will create an environment for small businesses to drive innovation and create even more jobs with staying power. Putting this bill on hold will send a “terrible message” to small businesses, as EPA official Jared Blumenfeld said earlier this month with regard to California Proposition 23, a measure that would roll back climate change legislation in California until the state’s unemployment rate stays at or below 5.5 percent for a year. We must join other nations in our commitment to reduce our energy use and find new, cleaner source of energy. Passing the Climate and Energy bill will send a signal to the innovators within our small business community – energy efficiency and clean energy are the future.
And while our small business community has lead the way in this field, comprehensive energy legislation passed by Congress will allow them to achieve even more, providing the tools and incentives necessary for success. The Climate and Energy Bill is our chance to ride this wave of small business innovation to its full potential, create lasting 21st century jobs all the while securing our planet for future generations.
Tags: green
Microfinance Week in Review: Week ending September 10
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- Growth In Jobs Beats Estimates, Easing Concerns- New York Times
- WWF Issues call for Green Business Game-Changers- BusinessGreen.com
- Meet the CEO of the Biggest Company on Earth- CNN
- Yunus Receives SolarWorld Einstein Award- The Daily Star