Chronicle: Nebraska Opportunity Exchange

CHRONICLING THE STORIES AND PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I’M ROB MCCARTNEY. YOU KNOW, NEBRASKA HAS ROUGHLY 180,000 SMALL BUSINESSES. THOUSANDS ARE HERE IN THE METRO. THIS MORNING WE’RE TALKING ABOUT AN UPCOMING EVENT THAT HELPS GIVE THEM A LEG UP. IT’S CALLED THE NEBRASKA OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE. LEADERS SAY THE NO IS A NONPARTISAN, BUSINESS DRIVEN INITIATIVE HELPING LOCAL BUSINESSES CONNECT WITH BIGGER ORGANIZATIONS, GIVE SMALLER SHOPS GUIDANCE ON HOW TO ACCESS LOANS. IT COULD BE KEY FOR THE FUTURE. SO WE’RE LOOKING AT HOW THE EXCHANGE CAME TO BE AND EXACTLY HOW SMALL BUSINESSES CAN BENEFIT FROM IT. FIRST, WE WANT TO SHARE A LITTLE DATA ON SMALL BUSINESSES. THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PUTS OUT NUMBERS EVERY YEAR AS A PROFILE FOR WHAT’S GOING ON IN NEBRASKA. THIS MAP, AS YOU’RE LOOKING AT, SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE STATE. THIS IS FROM 2023. THE 2024 DATA COMES OUT LATER THIS MONTH. THERE WERE ABOUT 418,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE STATE, WORKING FOR NEARLY 182,000 BUSINESSES. THAT IS ABOUT 48.3% OF ALL NEBRASKA WORKERS. BIGGEST SMALL BUSINESS INDUSTRY IN NEBRASKA, BY THE WAY, IS CONSTRUCTION, FOLLOWED BY REAL ESTATE. AND AS I SAID, SOMETHING CALLED THE NEBRASKA OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE, WHICH STARTED TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES. IT’S LED BY THE URBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. HERE TO TALK MORE ABOUT IT IS WAYNE BROWN. HE’S PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE URBAN LEAGUE. WAYNE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING IN TODAY. APPRECIATE IT. OH THANK YOU. IT’S SUCH A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LIKE YOUR MISSION, AND I WANT TO ASK FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE URBAN LEAGUE DOES? YES. SO REALLY, THE URBAN LEAGUE IS A CONNECTOR. THE URBAN LEAGUE HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 1927, SERVING THE OMAHA COMMUNITY. AND WHAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO OVER THE YEARS IS REALLY PROVIDE SOCIAL CAPITAL, HOPE AND AGENCY TO FOLKS SO THEY CAN GET TO OPPORTUNITIES FROM SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES, WORK OPPORTUNITIES, AND NOW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. SO YOU DO A LOT. I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR WEBSITE AND YOU GUYS ARE MANY PLACES PEOPLE MAY NOT REALIZE. HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO FOCUS ON SMALL AND LOCAL BUSINESSES? GOTCHA. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STARTED WITH THE SCHOOL BASED PROGRAMS, WE’RE HOPING TO CONNECT FOLKS TO SCHOLARSHIPS. AND WE REALIZED, OH MY GOODNESS, YOU KNOW, IT’S DIFFICULT TO FIND YOUR WAY AND NAVIGATE THIS SYSTEM. AND THEN WE’RE HELPING PEOPLE FIND WORK. WE WERE HELPING THEM, YOU KNOW, FILL OUT RESUMES AND DO INTERVIEW PREPS. AND WE WERE HELPING THEM NAVIGATE THE JOB SYSTEM. AND WE’RE LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS. YOU KNOW, FOLKS JUST NEED A WAY TO GET CONNECTED. AND SO SO THEN WE STARTED RUNNING INTO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. SO AFTER, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 98 YEARS IN BUSINESS, SOME OF OUR FOLKS HAVE STARTED OPENING THEIR OWN PLACES. LITTLE COOKIE SHOPS AND CANDLE OPERATIONS. AND WHILE DOING THAT, THEY WERE SAYING THEIR BIGGEST STRUGGLE, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY’RE TRYING TO WORK HARD EVERY DAY. HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO ACCESS CAPITAL? AND SO WE TOOK THAT CHALLENGE ON. WE MET SOME REALLY GREAT FOLKS, WHICH WILL PROBABLY TALK TO YOU LATER, AND HELPED US TO CONNECT THOSE PEOPLE TO WHERE THE ACCESS IS FOR, FOR MONEY. SO THE REAL GOAL FOR THAT IS TO HELP SEED SOME OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, HELP THEM SCALE AND THEN SUSTAIN THROUGH CONTRACTING. AND SO HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE THAT SYSTEM? YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT THE CAPITAL. ARE YOU TALKING, AS YOU MENTIONED, JUST IS IT PRIMARILY MONEY OR IS IT OTHER THINGS AS WELL. DO YOU HELP THEM. SO YOU KNOW, RAJ CHETTY IS A RESEARCHER AND HE TALKS ABOUT THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS. THEY’RE ACTUALLY MORE POWERFUL THAN EDUCATION SOMETIMES. SOMETIMES IT’S ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW, RIGHT. THERE’S BEEN RESEARCH CONNECTED TO YOUR SOCIAL GROUP AND HOW HIGH THAT YOU GET FINANCIALLY. AND SO SOCIAL CAPITAL, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW AND WHO ARE AROUND YOU IS ALMOST AS VALUABLE AS THE ACTUAL CAPITAL OF MONEY. THERE ARE THOSE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS CAN CONNECT YOU AND TAKE YOU TO LIKE BREADCRUMBS TO OPPORTUNITIES. SO IT’S BOTH RELATIONSHIPS AND THE DOLLARS. AND THE GOAL IS TO CONNECT SMALL BUSINESSES WITH REAL. WHAT IS YOUR WEBSITE REAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. I FOUND THAT INTERESTING. LIKE REAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. WHAT’S THAT MEAN? YES. SO SO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DON’T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME. THEY’RE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH THEIR HEAD DOWN LOOKING AT THAT BUSINESS, RUNNING, WORKING THAT THING, WORKING HARD EVERY DAY. AND SO EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, PEOPLE WILL COME AROUND AND SAY THERE’S AN OPPORTUNITY AND THEY’LL GO TO THIS OPPORTUNITY AND THEY’LL SIT IN A CLASS AND THERE’S NOT MONEY AT THE END OF THIS THING. AND SO THEY WASTE THEIR TIME. THEIR TIME IS MONEY. SO THESE ARE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE’VE CURATED THAT THESE ARE REAL OPPORTUNITIES. IF YOU COME TO SOME OF THE NEBRASKA OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE PROGRAMS, IF YOU COME TO THE URBAN LEAGUE PROGRAMS, IF YOU DO AND YOU WORK THE PROGRAM AT THE END OF THAT, THERE COULD BE A CONTRACT WAITING FOR YOU. WE ALSO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH INVEST NEBRASKA, WHERE WE HAVE MONEY AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE SEED CAPITAL FOR SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES. SO CONTRACTING SEED CAPITAL, WE’RE LOOKING AT REVENUE BASED REPAYMENT. WE’RE LOOKING AT SOME TYPE OF VENTURE CAPITAL AS WELL. SO THEY’RE REAL DOLLARS IN THESE RELATIONSHIPS. YOU KNOW TALKING ABOUT THE YOU MENTIONED NEBRASKA OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE. WHAT WHAT WAS THAT DISCUSSION LIKE WHEN IT WHEN YOU SAID, HEY, LET’S COME UP WITH SOMETHING ALONG THESE LINES. WELL, FIRST MY TEAM LOOKED AT ME AS THOUGH I HAD A PROBLEM. THEY WERE LIKE, WHAT ARE WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHO ARE YOU GETTING THIS INTO? BUT AGAIN, SOCIAL CAPITAL, WE RAN INTO APRIL HIBLER, WHO WAS JUST AN EXPERT IN THIS FIELD, AND SHE REALLY EXPLAINED THE THE PROBLEM. AND I’M LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS, WAIT A MINUTE. WE’RE HELPING PEOPLE GET TO SCHOOL AND COLLEGE OR HELPING PEOPLE FIND WORK. SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THE BIGGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE STATE. WE HOW DO WE COMPLETE THIS CIRCLE? AND SO WE REALLY EXPLORED THIS ISSUE TOGETHER, REALLY CONNECTING THE DOTS AND FINDING THE GAPS AND TRYING TO FILL THOSE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE THAT EXISTS AND REALLY ACTUALLY CREATING SOME THAT AREN’T THERE. RIGHT, RIGHT NOW. AND WE’RE GOING TO TALK TO APRIL HERE SHORTLY. ONE OF THE THINGS YOUR MISSION STATEMENT POINTS OUT IS YOU’RE ADVOCATING FOR ECONOMIC SELF-RELIANCE. I MEAN, THAT’S THAT’S BIG. I MEAN, THAT’S THE GOAL, RIGHT? EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE ECONOMICALLY SELF-RELIANT. YES. HOW DO YOU GET THERE? IS IT IS IT JUST THE CONNECTIONS? I MEAN, IS IT A LIFELONG PARTNERSHIP WITH THE URBAN LEAGUE? IT IS. IF YOU WERE TO STOP BY THE URBAN LEAGUE ON ANY GIVEN DAY, YOU’LL FIND KINDERGARTNERS THERE AND YOU’D FIND FOLKS WHO ARE 65 PLUS REALLY ENJOYING COMMUNITY. BUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT I’M TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL CAPITAL, I’M TALKING ABOUT REALLY BRINGING FOLKS TOGETHER. AFTER THE PANDEMIC, FOLKS FELT ALONE. AND SO THE URBAN LEAGUE IS THERE TO BRING PEOPLE IN. THE URBAN LEAGUES ARE THERE TO THEN INTRODUCE YOU TO OTHER FOLKS, AND THEN BRIDGING CAPITAL TO ALL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE. BUT IT’S NOT JUST THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. IT’S HOPE. A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IS WE CALL THEM TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES. WE DO IT FROM THE YOUNG FOLKS WE WORK WITH TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR WORK, TO THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT? I’M NOT HERE BY MYSELF. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES I DID NOT SEE. AND WHEN THAT HOPE LIGHT COMES ON, IT’S JUST AN AMAZING THING. AND HOPE IS POWERFUL. HOPE IT WILL MAKE YOU APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP YOU THINK YOU’RE QUALIFIED FOR. HOPE WE’LL MAKE YOU APPLY FOR A JOB YOU DIDN’T THINK YOU COULD GET, AND HOPE WILL MAKE YOU LEAVE YOUR JOB. AFTER YOU’VE BEEN WORKING A SIDE HUSTLE FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS. IS THAT THAT THING THAT MAKES YOU GO AND BE ENTREPRENEURIAL? SO HOPE IS A BIG PIECE OF THIS. AND THE AGENCY, THE URBAN LEAGUE, HAS BEEN THERE TO COACH FAMILIES THROUGH THIS IN IN EDUCATION, THROUGH WORK AND FOR THESE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT YOU COULD DO THIS. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES ON THE OTHER SIDE GETTING THEM TO AGENCY. THAT’S BELONGS TO ME. AND THEN THAT GETS YOU TO RESILIENCY. AND THEN ONCE YOU GET TO THAT RESILIENCY THEN THAT GETS YOU TO THAT REAL ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. SO REAL REAL LIFE DOLLARS I LIKE THAT. AND SOME PEOPLE MAY I MEAN YOU WORK WITH ALL KINDS OF BUSINESSES, RIGHT? I MEAN ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE INVOLVED. I MEAN BUT THERE IS A REAL THERE’S A THERE’S A NEED FOR MINORITY LED BUSINESSES, RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE’S A THERE’S A CHALLENGE THERE. YEAH. THERE’S SOME INFRASTRUCTURE. SO MY WIFE IS A PHYSICIAN. SHE HAS HER OWN PRACTICE. SHE WANTED TO OPEN UP A FACILITY IN NORTH OMAHA WHERE THE URBAN LEAGUE IS. IF YOU LOOK AROUND NORTH OMAHA, YOU DON’T SEE A LOT OF COMMERCIAL BUILDING SPACE. SO THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES. BUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET BEHIND SOME OF THESE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, SOME THAT ARE CONTRACTORS AND CONSTRUCTION FOLKS, THEY’LL START BUILDING THOSE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE PIECES. THEY’LL START BUILDING THOSE ROOFTOPS, AND THOSE BUSINESS OWNERS WILL COME IN AND OPEN UP THAT PIZZA SHOP OR THAT COFFEE SHOP, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE ONE OF OUR KIDS HAVE A SUMMER JOB THERE. YOU KNOW, IT REALLY STARTS TO DRIVE THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, OMAHA HAS ALL THIS OPPORTUNITY. ALL THE PIECES ARE THERE. WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO CONNECT THEM ALL. AND FINALLY, HOW DOES SOMEONE GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU GUYS AND WHAT SHOULD THEY DO? GOT YOU. YOU CAN ALWAYS COME AND LOOK AT OUR WEBSITE AT THE URBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA DOT ORG. YOU CAN ALWAYS COME DOWN AND SEE US ON 3040 LAKE STREET. WE’VE BEEN THERE AGAIN SINCE FOR A LONG TIME, SO YOU CAN ALWAYS COME THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR. YOU CAN ALWAYS GIVE US A CALL ON OUR PHONE NUMBER, WHICH IS ALSO CONNECTED TO OUR WEBSITE. SO YEAH, ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO STOP BY. YOU’RE ALWAYS WELCOME. IT’S ALWAYS A PLACE YOU CAN CALL HOME. NICE WAYNE I APPRECIATE, LIKE I SAID, I LOVE THE MISSION. BEST OF LUCK. THANK YOU MUCH. YOU BET. WELL, NEXT HERE ON KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE. A LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER IS GOING TO JOIN US TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE NEBRASKA OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE HELPED HIM. AND LATER, PREPARATIONS OF BUSINESSES HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO GET READY FOR THE CONFERENCE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS THAT THEY NEED.

Nebraska has roughly 180,000 small businesses with thousands in the metro.KETV Chronicle looked into an upcoming event that helps give them a leg up. It’s called the Nebraska Opportunity Exchange.Leaders said the NOE is a nonpartisan, business-driven initiative that helps local businesses connect with bigger organizations, giving guidance on how to access loans to help in the future. Segment 1: In the video player aboveSegment 2:Segment 3:

OMAHA, Neb. —

Nebraska has roughly 180,000 small businesses with thousands in the metro.

KETV Chronicle looked into an upcoming event that helps give them a leg up. It’s called the Nebraska Opportunity Exchange.

Leaders said the NOE is a nonpartisan, business-driven initiative that helps local businesses connect with bigger organizations, giving guidance on how to access loans to help in the future.

Segment 1: In the video player above

Segment 2:

Segment 3:

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