Better Family Life, Inc. has opened its new Business Development Center to support people who want to start a small- to mid-size business or get help with an existing business. The center specializes in working with disadvantaged, minority and women entrepreneurs, including Missouri Workforce Assistance (MWA, previously known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF) customers.
Carrollton Bank and Better Family Life have also partnered to introduce the Better Family Life Micro Loan Fund, which will provide loans from $500 to $5000 to new and existing businesses and startups in the St. Louis community. Carrollton Bank is providing $50,000 to start the fund.
Better Family Life is a not-for-profit community development corporation that works to stabilize inner city neighborhoods and serves more than 50,000 children and adults, including the underemployed, unemployed and skill-deficient. The new center was created in part by a $500,000 grant from the Community Development Agency and comprises the third floor of the Better Family Life Cultural, Education and Business Center, located at 5415 Page Blvd. in North St. Louis.
“For many years we’ve helped our clients find their place in the workforce, but many of them yearn to start their own businesses,” said Malik Ahmed, CEO of Better Family Life. “This program and funding will provide them with the training and the resources they need to do that.”
Carrollton Bank is a privately held, employee-owned community bank with $1.4 billion in assets and nine offices.
“Small businesses are vital to helping communities grow stronger,” said Darryl Tyler, a commercial banking officer with Carrollton Bank. “As startups, most of these businesses would not ordinarily be considered by banks for loans. But with a program like this, we can take a little money and make a big difference.”
In order to receive the micro loans, individuals and businesses must participate in the Better Family Life Entrepreneurial Training and Support Program, which is managed by the Center for the Acceleration of African American Business (CAAAB).
Program participants take an intensive weeklong workshop covering the critical aspects of business ownership, including sales, marketing and accounting. This is followed by a six-week mentorship program where participants work one-on-one with a business coach and attend business workshops. They complete business plans and determine their financial needs. To increase the likelihood of long-term success, participants get ongoing access to experts and mentors through the program.
The micro loans can be used for basic startup capital, lines of credit and all specific and evaluated business reasons. Loans will be available to borrow beginning on January 1. Loan applications will be reviewed by a committee that includes BFL, Carrollton Bank and other program partners.
The center offers classes and one-on-one coaching on everything from business plan development, marketing, affordable loans and financial assistance, product development, consumer research and business expansion.
Services are provided by CAAAB, Better Family Life and other partners, including Washington University Brown School of Social Work and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
The center is also part of Better Family Life’s vision to revitalize North St. Louis with its Page Corridor Redevelopment Plan, which includes a $20-million housing renovation project of 100 homes on Page Boulevard.
“Investing in Page Boulevard is key to creating important economic and social change in North St. Louis,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed hopes the center will spur more businesses to open and thrive in the Page Corridor area and attract new business into the area, including grocery stores, art galleries and additional new residential construction.
“BFL aims to spearhead residential and commercial redevelopment in the city’s West End community along Page Boulevard, by connecting this corridor to development in St. Louis County and promoting the city’s North Side as a desirable place to live, work and raise a family,” Ahmed said.
“This initiative, coupled with its efforts to bridge the gap between north and south St. Louis, will strengthen the revitalization of the St. Louis metropolitan area.”
For more information, visit http://betterfamilylife.org/contact-us/ or call (314) 367-3440.
