Seattle, WA – The inaugural Enterprise Nexus event, a collaborative effort by WorkSource Seattle King County and the Seattle Public Library, brought together a diverse group of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and resource organizations last week. The event, held at the North Seattle WorkSource offices, aimed to provide vital support and connections for Black entrepreneurs and small business owners in the region.

Amanda Williams, Chief Marketing Officer for Denkyem, highlighted the importance of such gatherings. "Events like this are really important to help people get connected to community and resources," Williams stated. 

Denkyem, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), focuses on creating safe pathways for Black entrepreneurship and innovation, offering loans up to $100,000 to help businesses scale. Williams emphasized the value of networking for solo entrepreneurs, noting, "A lot of people that we work with are solo entrepreneurs and so they don't have a board of directors or people to talk to."

Harpreet Marwah, Operations Director for the Onetop Operator Team at WorkSource Seattle King County, explained the catalyst for the event. Marwah noted that after joining WorkSource a couple of years ago, there weren't many workshops or events specifically for entrepreneurs. "Something that I heard come across repeatedly when talking to our customers... was that they also want to explore opening their own business," he explained. 

This feedback, combined with a meeting with Jay Lyman from the Seattle Public Library, sparked the idea for the Enterprise Nexus event. Marwah expressed satisfaction with the turnout, stating, "It's been wonderful. It's definitely beyond our expectations.”

Jay Lyman, the Entrepreneur and Nonprofit Support Program Manager at the Seattle Public Library, emphasized the library's long-standing commitment to supporting small businesses, a service that dates back to the 1890s. Lyman highlighted a key offering: "I think one of our biggest draws is our access to free market research." He elaborated that the library invests in expensive databases that help entrepreneurs understand their competitors, target markets, and industry trends. 

Lyman also emphasized the human element, with librarians are “expert researchers” who can find answers in ways that databases cannot. For Lyman, the event was all about connections, both between entrepreneurs and the various resource organizations. He hopes attendees "walk away with a pocket full of business cards... and more importantly… a personal connection with at least one of the partners that are here."

Fyniecko Glover Jr., Community Outreach Coordinator for WorkSource Seattle King County and the Workforce Development Council, echoed the sentiment of responsiveness to community needs. He noted an "influx of people coming into our centers that were interested in entrepreneurship or they were struggling in the job market and finding employment." The event aimed to uplift programs like WorkSource's Self-Employment Access Program (SEAP) and provide "necessary resources to funnel that and channel that to bring it to ideation all the way to the community." Glover expressed optimism for future events, stating, "We look forward to continuing to grow in this event and putting this event on for years to come."

The Enterprise Nexus event showcased a collaborative spirit among various organizations, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), Small Business Development Centers, BUILD 206, and CDFIs. The overarching goal is to foster economic mobility and sustainability by empowering individuals to start, grow, and scale their businesses, ultimately contributing to the vibrancy of the Seattle King County region.