How ATLinBusiness Provides Equitable Access to Wealth Building for Atlanta Business Owners – Atlanta Small Business Network
“Even the most ambitious entrepreneurs with big ideas cannot go it alone,” said Mayor Andre Dickens as he announced the opening of five small business resource centers in Atlanta. The centers are part of Invest Atlanta‘s ATLinBusiness program offering no-cost, one-on-one business consulting and coaching, including sales, web development, HR, and more. Joining us today to discuss the program in more detail is Jeff Morris, Small Business Technical Assistance Program Manager with ATLinBusiness.
Transcription:
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Welcome, and thank you so much for joining us on the show.
Jeff Morris:
Thanks for having me, Jim.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure. So there’s a lot of people that are saying, “Okay, what is this program all about? What do you mean no cost and you’re going to help me grow my small business?”: So we want to know all about the program, but before we dive into that, tell us a bit about yourself.
Jeff Morris:
Well, I’ve been in Atlanta since the early ’90s and started in small business because I had a small men’s tie store on Auburn Avenue.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Jeff Morris:
Back in the early ’90s.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. That’s great.
Jeff Morris:
So we come full circle with this right now.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. So you know what small business owners are going through each and every day, right?
Jeff Morris:
I do.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. That’s fantastic. So, for those entrepreneurs that are out there, that are hearing about the program for the first time, tell us about ATLinBusiness and why the program was started.
Jeff Morris:
Well, ATLinBusiness came out of the American Rescue Plan.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Jeff Morris:
And we heard our clients, and it was to serve our clients in their communities to meet them where they are.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Jeff Morris:
They said they have challenges with COVID-19.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah.
Jeff Morris:
And the pandemic and financially having a hard time getting back up. So we created this program to help them and to go into communities and bring them the services that they needed.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s fantastic. So I would imagine you’ve got a lot of happy people to see you coming in with your cape on, and saying, “We are here to help in a very big way.” And so many people in Atlanta, we’ve spoken to a number of them …….