The Chairish Small Business Award ($2,500)

• Applicants must be 18+ and the company must be owned by a U.S. citizen
• Business must be in the design field (interior design, graphic design, architecture, fashion, etc.) and cannot exceed over $1 million in revenue annually
• Business must be an early stage business, having launched in the past 12 months or working to scale operations as a growth-stage business if launched over 12 months ago
• Applicants must provide up to a 500-word statement of how they’d use the funds to support their business, and design a “mood board” of their ideal workspace using Chairish products.

You can review full details on our site.

Are you a Chamber Member struggling to obtain the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF)?

The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.

Sign up to receive email alerts from SBA as additional information about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund becomes available.
 

PEORIA CHAMBER INVESTS IN BIG DATA ENABLING SMALL BUSINESS WITH SIZEUP!!!!

SizeUp West - Peoria, Glendale, Surprise is a free, robust business analytics tool designed to support small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of stages, from the entrepreneur looking to start their first business to a seasoned business owner looking to expand their customer base.

SizeUp West can assist in providing answers to:

• Where should I start my business in the West Valley?
• Who are my competitors and how do I perform compared to the them?
• How can I find more customers?
• How do I identify the best places to locate and advertise my business?
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You can find the tool in the Members Login area here:

From October 2021 to April 2022, the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, in partnership with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Thunderbird School of Global Management, will be implementing the second edition of the Consular Entrepreneurship Program for Women of Mexican Origin in Arizona.  The objective of this initiative is to provide Mexican women with the necessary tools to start or grow their businesses.

Throughout the program, participants complete DreamBuilder, a free online learning course developed for women who want to start or grow a small business. In addition to completing the DreamBuilder course, the women attend virtual conferences with experts on entrepreneurship topics, participate in a pitch competition and obtain a list of useful resources for small businesses.
 

Dates:​

• The first stage of the Program will be from October 6 to November 17, 2021.
• The second stage will be from December 2021 to January 2022.
• The third and final stage will take place between January and April 2022.

https://forms.gle/fh3VHQQf4e8mEs5k8

2. Send a letter to: economicospho@sre.gob.mx
The letter must be 1 page in length, in which the applicant must write the reasons to participate in the Consular Entrepreneurship Program. In addition, the letter must include a commitment to complete the DreamBuilder program and to participate in at least 5 weekly meetings. The letter must be signed by the applicant.

3. Once the first two steps have been completed, applicants will be asked to participate in a virtual interview. The deadline to complete the first two steps is August 27th.
Acceptance to the Consular Entrepreneurship Program for Women of Mexican Origin in Arizona is subject to completion of the registration steps and the selection process. Space is limited.
 

Minority-owned businesses are rising out of the pandemic 

New Cox Business Comeback Survey paints a resilient and hopeful picture  

According to the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, minority-owned businesses are unique in that 56 percent are family-owned seeing an average revenue of $110,000 compared to non-minority-owned businesses that generate $500,000 on average per year.  The stakes are higher for minority-owned businesses in Arizona because the success of the family is directly tied to the success of the business and there are fewer cash reserves to cushion economic downturns, much less the ongoing impact of a global pandemic.  

In recognition of Small Business Week, Cox Business has studied the challenges of minority-owned businesses aiming to catch a glimpse of the issues they face, and more importantly, how they rise above.  The results of the 2021 Cox Business Comeback Survey paint a resilient and hopeful picture, particularly for minority business owners under the age of 45.   

Less than half of businesses with owners 45 years and older have returned to pre-pandemic financial levels while more than half of businesses owned by someone younger than 45 have reached or exceeded their pre-pandemic levels.  Regardless, nearly 90 percent of surveyed minority business owners are hopeful about growth in the next year and the future of their businesses.  

Minority-owned businesses are investing in their future with 83 percent having received funding from the Payroll Protection Program and nearly 75 percent received personal stimulus funding.  Of those that received funds, 81 percent put their stimulus money back into their business.  

Most minority business owners 18 to 44-years-old are keen on implementing new products and services like eCommerce this year, as well as new technologies into their business processes.  Yet, of those owners 45 years and older, less than half are saying yes to new technology.  

Nearly half of the respondents promote their businesses as minority-owned and 43 percent believe that being minority-owned has generated more sales in the last year.  Fifty-five percent of those under 45 have posted or commented in response to the current social justice movement with 20 percent claiming to be very vocal and 41 percent claiming to post or comment very sparingly.  For the most part, those 45 and older were not vocal at all.  Resoundingly, 85 percent of those who have posted on the subject have seen a positive response to their business’s voice in the movement.  

Minority-owned businesses are looking for support from large enterprises with 55 percent of those surveyed indicating they want improved supplier diversity; 54% would like increased minority-specific grants and 45 percent are looking for more mentorship or advisory programs with business executives.  

During Small Business Week, and throughout the year, Cox Business supports small businesses throughout the state by providing them vital telecommunications services while also purchasing their services and supplies to keep our business humming.   

Ed Aaronson is Vice President for Cox Business, Arizona. Cox Business provides voice, data, internet and managed cloud services for small and regional businesses nationwide, including health care providers; K−12 and higher education; financial institutions; and federal, state and local government organizations. Cox is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through broadband applications and services. The largest private telecom company in America, we proudly serve six million homes and businesses across 18 states.