Over the past 15+ years, Next Street has conducted comprehensive small business ecosystem assessments and developed recommendations for inclusive economic development in 30+ cities and regions nationally. In many of these places, NXST’s research has led to the launch of new strategies, programs, and collaborations. Read on to learn more about how some of our place-based assessments have led to ongoing work that is driving equitable small business development for underserved entrepreneurs.  

Chicago / Cook County, IL

In 2018, Next Street partnered with CRF, The Chicago Community Trust, the Polk Brothers Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase to conduct an ecosystem assessment of small- and medium-sized businesses in Chicago. Building on that assessment, NXST completed an additional landscape assessment for broader Cook County, with the goal of driving initiatives that leverage the County’s public investments and assets.

Together with the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, in 2020 we launched the Cook County Business Assistance Program, which was rebranded as the Cook County Small Business Source in 2022. The Source is now a nationally recognized program that brings together a network of 30+ local Business Support Organizations to provide small businesses with one-on-one business advising, a resource library, and grant opportunities. Since its inception, the program has engaged more than 67,000 small businesses and connected 3,000 businesses around Cook County with $50 million in grants. The Program has prioritized historically marginalized businesses in undeserved communities with 77% of the served businesses owned by people of color, 62% owned by women, and 94% considered microbusinesses.

Los Angeles, CA

From 2019 to 2021, with support from JPMorgan Chase, Next Street partnered with Common Future to produce a set of small business support and capital ecosystem analyses in select cities across the country. In Los Angeles, Next Street and Common Future partnered with Lendistry, Concerned Capital, and a collection of local stakeholders in Los Angeles County to examine the current state of play for the region’s 10,000+ small businesses and the supporting ecosystem, with a specific lens on local businesses owned by people of color and the COVID-19 response and recovery.

The research was then synthesized and shared with a coalition of over 45 local stakeholders, led by Lendistry and Concerned Capital, to inform strategies co-created to address the historical inequities for small businesses owned by people of color, deepened by the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, as Los Angeles prepares for a series of mega events and infrastructure projects, culminating in the 2028 Olympics, Next Street is advising a regional collaborative to develop a comprehensive small business and supplier strategy called “Get in the Game,” which includes strategies around business outreach and matchmaking, access to supplier financing, business support and management education, and buyer engagement and supplier diversity.

New York City, NY

As part of the 2019-2020 work funded by JPMorgan Chase, Next Street and Common Future partnered with New York City-based Progress Playbook, CGR Consulting, and a collection of other local stakeholders to assess NYC’s small business communities and supporting ecosystem, again with a specific lens on local businesses owned by people of color and the COVID-19 response and recovery.

A coalition of more than 45 local stakeholders, led by Progress Playbook and CGR Consulting, leveraged the assessment to inform strategies to address the historical inequities for small businesses owned by people of color that were further emphasized by the pandemic.

The findings and recommendations for the report led to the launch of the NY Small Business Funders Collective, a group of philanthropic entities that are strengthening the local small business ecosystem; the Collective has secured over $2.1 million in funding deployed to foster inclusive economic growth

Also building on recommendations from this research and our long partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, we launched NYC Funds Finder, a first-ever online funding marketplace dedicated to NYC small businesses and featuring free financial advice.