While business accreditation and consumer support are at the core of BBB’s mission, that’s only the beginning. Roland’s team has also developed an array of programs, including educational summits, on-demand webinars, and a library of talks on the organization’s YouTube channel on topics such as developing and maintaining relationships with consumers, focusing on your business’s financial health, maximizing your online presence and creating a positive work culture for employees.
In addition, at its central Phoenix campus, BBB offers a 5,000-square-foot, open-concept coworking space called Ignite Sparked by BBB that’s available for as little as $10 a day or just a few hundred dollars a month, Roland says. Depending on how many staff members a small business might bring along, there’s enough room to accommodate up to 10 small businesses and start-ups in the coworking space.
“It’s a place for home-based businesses to hold client meetings, for example, more affordably and more professionally than a local coffee spot,” she says. “The coworking space is open and airy and provides a fully stocked coffee and tea bar and snacks.”
Past and present tenants include the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Imelda Happy Tamales, and the Arizona MBDA Business Center, which is federally funded by the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
To further support small businesses and entrepreneurs, BBB has created an online, self-paced business incubator program and a 10-week business accelerator program that, just since 2020, has graduated more than 260 small business owners. Participants learn about branding; search engine optimization; e-commerce and website design; marketing, social media and sales strategies; legal advice; best hiring practices and DEI; ethical guidance and funding options with financial tips. Called Main St. Accelerator, it’s designed especially for small businesses and is offered in partnership with Empower by GoDaddy.
BBB also administers a micro-finance program that provides zero-fee, zero-interest crowdfunded loans of between $1,000 and $15,000 for small businesses in need of access to capital. “These loans are intended for entrepreneurs who may be credit-invisible or otherwise unbankable to help them build up good credit so they can get a larger loan from a bank or the Small Business Administration,” Roland says.
