Wells Fargo and the Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI) hosted a listening session with 10 Austin-based small business owners to highlight their testimonials of resilience and perseverance during this year’s National Small Business Week. During the celebratory event, Wells Fargo awarded EGBI with a $30,000 grant that will enable the nonprofit to continue empowering businesses, while expanding economic development in Austin’s underserved communities. In addition, each of the 10 small businesses were surprised with $1,000 grants to help aid in the success of their respective businesses. The businesses included:
Armonia – Armonia is the cultivation of Latin heritage, celebrating the connection of home and body through nurturing goods that evoke the memories and home essentials that carry stories.
Better Foundation Fitness – BFF identifies major issues that hinder fitness milestones and teaches effective workouts that build the best version of their clients including individuals overcoming injuries.
Collected Abundance Julianna Chung is a professional organizer and owner of Collected Abundance. She serves seniors, families and individuals to declutter together at home for a stress-free, more organized life. Julianna is here for you during life transitions and disaster relief, building a caring community together!
Dulce’s Cleaning Services – This company takes pride in offering exceptional cleaning services for your home and community. From residential and commercial cleanings to construction cleanup, office maintenance, Airbnb turnovers, and events, this company provides exceptional quality service every step of the way.
Gaines Royal Transport – Gaines Royal Transport (GRT) is a non-emergency medical transportation service that provides rides to mostly seniors and people with disabilities.
Kitty Bird Photo – Photographer is a connection artist that captured warm and expressive images of business events and branding portraits for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Austin. As a collaborative and creative, she offers genuine images that elevate brands and foster community at business events.
LCR Food Services, LLC – Make every occasion a culinary masterpiece with Canapé by Marianne Renauld. LCR Food Services specializes in crafting visually stunning grazing tables and providing personalized catering experiences.
Reycast Media – Reycast Media LLC creates high quality video for broadcast distribution and engaging social media content (video & audio) for brands and businesses. With two decades of experience in the broadcast industry, Reycast Media brings your vision to life in English & Spanish.
Smiley’s Recycling & Resale – Smiley’s Junk Removal and Recycling believes that a difference can be made in the impact on landfills only by recycling, reusing, and up-cycling the items picked up from residents and businesses of Austin, TX and the surrounding area.
Kiki Roman hair designer – Full service hair services with specialty in hair color.
“EGBI has been a strong advocate and resource for the small business community in Austin,” said Christopher Rios, Wells Fargo Vice President of Community Impact and Philanthropy. “We understand that access to capital remains a key barrier for minority-owned and-led businesses. We hope that these grants will serve as an extended lifeline to help EGBI and these inspiring business owners continue to flourish and serve their mission.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses play a significant role in the economic landscape of Texas, comprising 99.8% of all businesses in the state. These businesses employ 4.9 million individuals, representing 44.5% of the workforce in Texas.
The listening session allowed Wells Fargo to hear from the struggles, milestones, and successes that 10 small business owners and clients of EGBI have experienced in the last year. The small business owners who participated have demonstrated exceptional dedication and resilience in their entrepreneurial pursuits with the support of the Economic Growth Business Incubator in 2023. These entrepreneurs shared their experiences of overcoming challenges and driving growth in their businesses and communities. The business owners are a mix of the different industries that represent the true face of small business owners in our community, including a hairdresser, a cleaning company, a media production company, a photographer, a residential organizer, a transportation company, a personal trainer, a product retailer, and junk removal company. In 2023, nearly 500 individuals in the Austin area have benefited from the comprehensive coaching, training, and support provided by EGBI to aspiring and existing business owners facing barriers to success. EGBI was presented with a proclamation honoring their commitment to helping small business flourish in Austin.
“In May 2023, EGBI was named the number one business incubator in the city of Austin by the Austin Business Journal due to number of local businesses assisted,” said Larissa Davila, Executive Director of EGBI. “Our vision is to empower every small business to become profitable, sustainable, and an asset to the community, we try to reduce as many barriers as possible we can for the small business owners to be successful.”
It’s with great pleasure that we announce the recognition of EGBI for a prestigious CAN Butler Award in the Spirit of Collaboration category. EGBI’s nomination for the prestigious CAN Butler Award in the Spirit of Collaboration category is a testament to its exceptional dedication to community advancement in Austin. Through its innovative programs and initiatives, EGBI has fostered a culture of collaboration, bringing together diverse stakeholders to address pressing issues affecting community well-being. By forging partnerships with civic, business, and community groups, EGBI has amplified its positive impact on the community.
The Butler Awards, named in honor of Fred Butler, CAN’s first Executive Director, hold a special place in the hearts of those who champion community advancement. These awards shine a spotlight on individuals and organizations that exemplify the values of collaboration and leadership.
The core of EGBI’s approach is the belief that collaboration is essential for driving meaningful change. By creating a conducive environment for dialogue and cooperation, EGBI has mobilized collective action to address complex challenges effectively. As we celebrate this achievement, let us acknowledge the tireless efforts of EGBI’s team members, partners, and supporters, whose dedication and passion have been instrumental in driving progress.
We are honored to receive Platinum Seal of Transparency for 2024 by Candid. The Platinum Transparency Rating is the highest level a nonprofit can achieve, signifying an exceptional commitment to transparency in sharing, our goals, strategies, financial data, capabilities, achievements, and progress.
The Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI) provides training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business. Barriers include education, finance, and language. We believe that all businesses should be profitable, sustainable, and an asset to the community.
Notes from the nonprofit
Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI) is a non-profit organization which provides training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business. EGBI believes that all businesses should be profitable, sustainable and an asset to the community. To that end, we offer a comprehensive package of business coaching, group workshops, and support services for aspiring and existing businesses. We frequently work with micro and small business owners and a lot of the businesses that we work with are still in the design state and are not active yet; or they have been in business for less than five years. Some of the businesses who partner with E.G.B.I. could be considered informal businesses and the owners are ready to transition into a more structured business entity. Typical businesses that partner with E.G.B.I. are mom & pop businesses and lifestyle businesses.
Executive Director: Larissa Davila
Main address
1144 Airport Blvd Ste 260
Austin, TX 78702 USA
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Economic Growth Business Incubator aims to be a better organization and increase our impact in the community while moving towards a more self-sustainable model for funding because we want to… Read more
Our programs
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
What are the organization’s current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Training, Coaching and Support
EGBI is industry-agnostic, in that we work with aspiring and existing business owners who bring the expertise around their idea; and we bring business practices, strategic thinking, and other resources. Many of our clients come with years of industry experience; but lacking opportunities to advance in their place of employment, choose to start their own business. Their knowledge of the industry gives them the competitive advantage to be successful. However, they often lack the business acumen to manage a successful business. Through our training, coaching, and support services, we assist our clients to understand how to run and manage their business effectively and efficiently.
TRAINING EGBI’s signature program is a two-part, foundational workshop series: Build Your Business PLAN and MANAGE the ABCs of Business. These workshops are geared to help participants focus on their business idea, develop a useful plan, and learn the tools to manage their business.
COACHING EGBI offers private coaching sessions: one-on-one time for clients to explore deeply their business idea and strategy. Coaches help clients develop their business model, create financial projections using spreadsheets, identify specific strategies for marketing their business, and work through next-step action plans with an accountability partner in EGBI. Private coaching often uncovers life issues and barriers in the way of moving forward; and the opportunity to identify experts, resources, tools, and opportunities to resolve these issues.
SERVICES EGBI offers bookkeeping support, helping our clients set up manual systems for very young businesses, and moving to QuickBooks Online as soon as it makes sense. EGBI can offer an hour of questions and answers, set up services, support for payroll through an online partner, and monthly reconciliation services. As part of our monthly service, we review financial statements with our clients, practicing how to use these statements to manage and grow.
