Inequities in Small Business Ownership in the NWA area.
How might we reimagine the model for local marginalized restaurarantuers to be able to provide accessible resources and financial stability?
Co-lead a project to research inequity across the Northwest Arkansas area and pinpoint issues with resource disparity among small business owners.
“If the barrier is distance, money, knowledge, or stigma, we have to offer tools and information that are closer, cheaper, and less trained by stigma. To fight poverty, we have to see and study the barriers and figure out if they’re cultural, or social, or economic, or geographic, or political, and then go around them or through them so the poor aren’t cut off from benefits that others enjoy” - Melinda Gates
Our research method.
Our team used mixed methods of research through different channels by delegating specific niches to each team member to focus on. We conducted qualitative focused interviews with local restaurant owners, external research databases (Bizminer , ESRI, First Research), and past reporting by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center.
Customer Discovery.
Historical Context.
Racial inequality was an obvious factor in our research due to the fact that systemic racism and deeply rooted governmental bias have led to clear gaps in equality across races. This factors into the everyday lives of minotirites and can have massive impact on economic stability, particularly for small business owners.
Lack of Relationships + Trust.
Through our focus interviews, we recognized many business owners in underrepresented groups felt lack of trust in financial institutions due to historical predatory practices. We also recognized cultural factors that lead to some gaps in funding for small business owners.
Summary of Customer Discovery.
Our solution was then prototyped from here by realizing need for assisting groups that are often left behind in the journey of entrepreneurship.
Main tools used
PPP Loan Demographic Analysis- Excel
Our team sifted through data on what types of business were lent PPP + Restaurant Revitalization Fund loans based on NAICS code. The office we worked with had data on basic demographics of each business owner so that we were able to filter statistics on differences between key groups and perform quantitative analyses to validate our qualitative findings.
First Research + Bizminer
The office we were collaborating with in the Small Business Administration gave our team access to industry + market reports that analyze specific industry niches by NAICS code. This allowed our team to dig a bit deeper into the financial situation and demographics of restaurants in the local area. This was our main source of quantitative data that validated inequity in geographic area and by types of business owner.
Powtoon
Although atypical, our team used this video creation tool to create animations within our presentation to convey a story through visuals. Due to the conceptual nature of our solution, it made the most sense to connect a persona and story-line to the final pitch.
Our final pitch + Solution.
This project fostered discussions of how we can connect as a community to equalize the playing field in entrepreneurship- I am excited to see how the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation continues this research and looking forward to staying connected as an alumna.