Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber announcement.
The Pierce County community now has a new way to find and support BIPOC, women, and veteran-owned small businesses. PCBAmap.biz is an online directory launched this week that spotlights the businesses started by Pierce County Business Accelerator program (PCBA) graduates.
The businesses offer a variety of goods and services from restaurants and catering, to retail, to salons and spas. The directory is searchable by businesses location and category and includes an interactive map.
The PCBA is a program of Pierce County Economic Development, administered by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. The PCBA serves entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Pierce County to help foster innovation and create wealth-building opportunities, with a focus on BIPOC, veteran, and women-owned businesses.
About the PCBA Program
The Pierce County Economic Development Department leveraged $5M of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish the Pierce County Business Accelerator (PCBA) program in October 2021. The City of Lakewood is a municipal partner. The program is serving 200 BIPOC, veteran and women business owners: 93% of the businesses are minority-owned, 70% are women-owned, and 14% are veteran-owned.
PCBA participants receive six weeks of traditional business training by instructors, trainers, and coaches who reflect BIPOC communities and offer instruction in several different languages. Business owners and entrepreneurs have access to grant funding to match capital raised for their business (up to $10,000), assist with costs related to commercial rent or lease payments (up to $6,000), and professional services (up to $5,000). The program helps create jobs for early-stage businesses and retain jobs for small businesses.
The PCBA is managed in partnership with Next Consulting, Asia Pacific Cultural Center, The Black Collective, Mi Centro, Tacoma Urban League and Korean Women’s Association. The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce administers the program.
To learn more about the PCBA, visit www.pcba.biz.
I am a military veteran and my wife is not white.
I checked into business funding thru the VA many years ago.
I was told that there was a program which was mandated but not funded – useless.
I have never leveraged my wife’s skin for financial favor.
Somehow, I have been able to succeed in business in spite of these facts, and many other hardships that had to be navigated along the way.
The same bureaucracy that is hell-bent on “anything but a white man”, is currently suing me to remove the entrance and loading dock from one of my properties, which dates back to 1918 when the building was built, and 1994 when I received my occupancy permit from the same.
I highly doubt that a BIPOC would be treated the same way.
My favorite people are business people who can perform a positive transaction with a customer.
I read a great article years ago, “Everyone sells”.
It boiled down to every interaction, business or personal, we have with each other is a transaction of some sort – good, bad, or somewhere in between.
Some people are better at sales/life than others, but that does not make it unfair.
It just means you may have to try harder or accept less until you improve.
I worked exceptionally hard for a long time. That was my strength. Smarter people may be able to shortcut that, but it’s hard to replace hard work and dedication, to produce a positive outcome.
Delayed gratification over impulsive desires is also key to establishing a solid base in business/life.
If these program instructors did not teach these things, then they set these privileged folks up for probable failure, unless the bureaucracy plans to subsidize these businesses into perpetuity with other people’s money.
I wish anyone who takes on the life-long challenge of business, the best of luck and good fortune.
I look forward to patronizing your businesses if the need arises.
If you succeed on your own, you will become more conscious of the bureaucracy as it treats you more like a milk cow or a lamb for slaughter, than a valuable tax-paying asset to the community.
What else would you expect from people who preach diversity, equity, and inclusion, only to pick and choose winners and losers in the most segregated way possible?
Brian makes some valid points. As for me, I’m an overnight succes–it only took 30 years! 🙂
I can understand support for veterans owned businesses because they have served our Country and there are earned benefits that accrue. It’s about what they have done not just what they happen to be. However, even then I’m going to check out their reviews on line before I make that decision. Same would go for any business regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. To predicate support based upon race, ethnicity or gender alone would seem discriminatory and potentially unwise fiscally. After all I expect value for my money.
Are we supposed to say thank for for the segregation?