KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Anyone with an idea, passion or side-hustle can learn how to turn their dream into reality during Global Entrepreneurship Week in Kansas City this week.
From Monday, Nov. 8, to Sunday, Nov. 14, KCSourceLink is helping organize and host a series of networking events, workshops, and question and answer sessions. The sessions are offered online, in-person and in a hybrid style.
The free event allows entrepreneurs in any phase of their business to attend one session or as many as they’d like. Registration is required and can be completed on the event’s website.
“The wonderful thing about Global Entrepreneurship Week is it’s really of the community, for the community, by the community,” explained Jenny Miller, a network builder at KCSourceLink. “These events are generally taught by entrepreneurs themselves who are succeeding at what they’re doing or have an expertise they’re willing to offer for the rest of the community.”
Miller said entrepreneurs have thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her office saw huge spikes in people using its services in the months following early lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.
Data from Kansas City, Missouri, show it issued more business licenses in 2020 than 2018 or 2019, and numbers through November of 2021 outpace any of those previous years.
In its annual “We Create Jobs” report, KCSourceLink showed an increase in startups creating new jobs. First-time employers with fewer than 20 employees created 16,009 new jobs in Kansas City in 2020. The number had averaged 15,193 the previous four years.
“These businesses are economic powerhouses for our community. They create the culture of Kansas City,” Miller said. “We’re able to go to our local coffee shops or buy from local artisans, and then they’re creating the jobs and bringing economic vitality to Kansas City.”
The owners of Cafe Corazon hosted a kickoff event Monday morning at their Westport-based coffee shop. They spoke with KSHB 41 News about what challenges they faced when first opening, from designing the layout of the cafe to finding investors, and more.
“You really have to dig deep into what logo you want to represent who you are,” co-owner Curtis Herrera described a challenge most entrepreneurs may not consider. “I would have to say that is a huge part of business, is finding that logo that will catch people’s attention and will fit what you are doing and what your product is.”
Kansas City’s Global Entrepreneurship Week events are part of a worldwide effort to support small businesses taking place simultaneously in 170 countries this week.
