Learning to Grow and Fund Your Small Business | Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Last month, the Skandalaris Center hosted a Lunch & Learn webinar focused on growing your business. Mel Lambert, Director of Adult & Community Services at Kirkwood Public Library shared valuable information highlighting what is available for small businesses and nonprofits as they search for local and nationwide grants and other sources of funding.

Before beginning to grow your business, you need to ask yourself some important questions: Who is my customer? Where are they living? What are they doing? What are their behaviors? What is happening in the industry? These are questions that Mel Lambert believes can help you immediately market more effectively. Lambert spent 13 years in advertising, followed by operating a small business for 3 years, before she moved to the public library realm. She is passionate about libraries maintaining free access to data for small businesses and nonprofits.

Mel shared that Demographics Now and Ibis World are a couple of specific resources available to research your target customer. Good news, WashU students have access to Ibis World through WashU libraries! Demographics Now is also available through local libraries systems, such as St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and the St. Charles City libraries. The use of these resources is valuable in determining where to grow your business. Statista, which is available at Kirkwood Public Library, is also a unique resource that can generate complex graphs for presentations and pitches with its ability to layer data from consumer insights. Mel recommends the creation of Mosaic profiles or Marketing Avatars where you can view how one specific customer may respond to certain business strategies.

In terms of finding partners, investors, and grants, Mel recommends several resources. These include:

All are available through major libraries and WashU libraries, but Candid is only available in-library, meaning you must access the website while at a local library. For nonprofits, Mel recommends you begin at Candid and for STEM based ideas, Grants.gov. Grants for Individuals is particularly great for students as there are also scholarships available. Since most small business grants are selective and few, the SSBA a great place to start for guaranteed loans with competitive terms. However, Mel asks that you contact her before consulting the SBA so that she may introduce you to one of her connections.

A key takeaway from Mel’s presentation is to be prepared. Put together a spreadsheet calendar of potential funders with information accumulated from many different sources. Create a script or template for communication efforts to organizations or individuals. Ibis World provides Call Preparation Questions and Candid provides templates for emails. Additionally, LinkedIn Learning offers courses and video tutorials for small businesses covering topics from elevator pitches to block funding. LinkedIn Learning is available through STL libraries with a library card or with a WUSTL email. The use of these resources can help you effectively and efficiently communicate with others for the benefit of your business.

Mel shares the newest grant opportunities from the US Chamber on her LinkedIn page. For upcoming events and opportunities, check out the Kirkwood Public Library calendar and the Skandalaris Center website.