Yolanda Jones gets to the office at Yolanda’s Construction Administration & Traffic Control (YCAT-C), which she founded in 2010, every day at 6 a.m. There’s a lot happening. YCAT-C has $6 million in contracts earned or lined up for this year, its biggest year so far. She’s got something in the pipeline that could add another $10 million in annual revenues and perhaps 20 more employees in the next year. And, oh, NBA star LeBron James gave Jones a shout-out recently on Facebook and Twitter. She won a small business contest he held last fall. Read More

The craft beer industry has expanded rapidly in recent years. Between 2009 and 2016, the number of craft breweries expanded from 1,596 to 5,234, according to the Brewers Association. The number of craft breweries increased by 16.6 percent between 2015 and 2016 alone. Read More

Small businesses are the engine of America’s prosperity and when they succeed, good jobs are created, economic opportunity is abundant and healthier communities are created. With this in mind, we’ve teamed up with the nation’s largest, nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system, Kaiser Permanente, to support urban businesses in Los Angeles and Oakland so our inner cities can thrive. Read More

Among its devastating effects, Hurricane Katrina had a destructive impact on regional employment. The storm, and its aftermath, eliminated more than 190,000 jobs in New Orleans alone. In the months following the disaster, employment rolls fell precipitously and remained stubbornly low, even as investment in the city began to increase. Now, over 10 years later, the New Orleans economy is bouncing back, and a focus on clusters and entrepreneurship are some of the major drivers of the city’s post-Katrina growth. Read More

This fall, small businesses in Greater Boston will have the opportunity to participate in a pioneering program: “Cultivate Small Business,” recently launched by Santander Bank in partnership with ICIC, Commonwealth Kitchen, and Babson College. This initiative will support entrepreneurs and their businesses in the food industry with resources and education to help them sustain and grow. Read More