Akron’s small business owners can receive financial counseling

A new initiative dedicated to breaking down financial barriers and strengthening small businesses will soon focus on Akron-area entrepreneurs. 

The City of Akron has been selected to participate in the Small Business Boost Initiative, a program led by the national Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. The initiative aims to provide local, small business owners with financial counseling to help them better manage their personal finances.

As one of seven municipalities chosen for this program, Akron will connect its small business support services to the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) initiative operated by United Way of Summit & Medina. Through this collaboration, Akron received $90,000 in support from Principal Foundation, a global nonprofit organization committed to helping people build financial security.  

Summit and Medina County residents can schedule financial counseling appointments online or by calling 2-1-1.

The program seeks to help small business owners tackle the personal finance barriers that often stand in the way of growing their businesses, according to a news release from the city. Counselors at financial empowerment centers will work one on one with low- and moderate-income individuals to manage their finances, including paying down debt, increasing savings and establishing and building credit — at no cost to participants. 

“Our small businesses are the heart of our community,” Mayor Shammas Malik said in the release. “We want to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses as well as manage their own personal financial journeys.”

Pilot program shows decrease in delinquencies, increase in savings

The program will also provide Akron Financial Empowerment Center counselors with specialized training on the relationship between personal finance and business growth. They will learn how to guide entrepreneurs as they navigate entrepreneurial ecosystems and drive business outcomes by improving personal finances.

Akron previously participated in the one-year Small Business Boost pilot program, which began in March 2022. The pilot explored how financial counseling could help business owners stabilize and improve their personal finances. 

Of the 529 small business owners across the five pilot locations — Akron; Lansing, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Rochester, New York; and Polk County, Iowa — 19% of clients reduced the number of delinquent accounts and 8% increased their savings, according to an Urban Institute report. 

In this new version of the program, the city will work with Progressive Alliance Community Development Corp., North Hill CDC and The Well CDC’s Akron Food Works team, but the program is open to all small businesses in the city, the news release stated.

“Small business ownership can be a powerful pathway to opportunity, helping entrepreneurs build financial stability and wealth for themselves, their families, and their communities,” said Jonathan Mintz, president and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, in the news release. “But for too many people, personal finances are an obstacle to a strong start.”