Main Street Launch operates at the nexus of small business development and community economic development, but what does that really mean?
Economic development requires long-term, ongoing actions from community members and governments to improve a neighborhood’s (or city’s or country’s) standard of living and economic health. That means that the folks that live in the place experiencing economic development have access to quality education, jobs, opportunities, the chance to build wealth, and that the barriers to advancement are being eliminated.
At Main Street Launch, we believe that small businesses can offer economic development solutions. We invest in small businesses as an economic development driver because small businesses give the entrepreneur an opportunity to build wealth and assets, small businesses create local jobs for community members, and small businesses offer opportunities in places where opportunities may be lacking. Entrepreneurship allows individuals to control their destiny in a different way than working as an employee does. Entrepreneurship can help individuals sidestep barriers that have limited their advancement in traditional employment by creating opportunities for themselves.
By focusing on small businesses, we are supporting economic development engines. It takes more than just small business development to increase a community’s standard of living, and our partnerships with municipalities, other nonprofits, and the small businesses themselves are what lead to economic development overtime.
You can read more about defining economic development by clicking here or here.
Learn about Oakland’s economic development plans by clicking here and here.
Learn about San Francisco’s economic development plans by clicking here and here.
