America Says It Supports Small Business.
Now It’s Time to Support the Organizations That Support Small Business.
By Bob Dickerson
Executive Director, Birmingham Business Resource Center (BBRC)
For decades, Americans have heard political leaders, corporate executives, philanthropists, and economic development professionals extol the importance of small businesses.
We are told that small businesses are the backbone of the economy. We hear speeches about entrepreneurship, innovation, job creation, minority business growth, and the importance of local enterprise. During crises, we praise entrepreneurs as resilient. During elections, candidates promise to support them. During economic booms, we celebrate them as engines of prosperity.
And yet, behind all of that rhetoric lies a difficult truth:
Many of the organizations actually doing the hard, daily work of helping small businesses start, survive, grow, access capital, create jobs, and build wealth are themselves underfunded, understaffed, and operating below optimal capacity.
That must change.
Do we want symbolic support for small businesses?
Or real infrastructure capable of producing measurable economic transformation?
Because the truth is this:
Strong businesses require strong support systems.
And strong support systems require investment.
Not charity.
Investment.
Investment in institutions with track records.
Investment in trusted community leadership.
Investment in organizations with deep relationships and proven outcomes.
Investment in long-term operational sustainability.
For 30 years, BBRC has remained committed to this work because we believe entrepreneurship changes lives, strengthens families, stabilizes communities, and creates pathways to wealth and dignity.
For 30 years, BBRC has remained committed to this work because we believe entrepreneurship changes lives, strengthens families, stabilizes communities, and creates pathways to wealth and dignity.
If we truly want more businesses to succeed, we must invest not only in businesses themselves, but also in the systems that support them.
The reality is that entrepreneurship supports infrastructure matters.
Businesses do not scale from motivation alone. They need access to capital, markets, technical expertise, financial acumen, procurement opportunities, and trusted advisors. Especially in underserved communities, entrepreneurs often rely heavily on intermediary organizations to bridge gaps that traditional systems were never designed to close.
Yet too often, support organizations are expected to produce transformational outcomes while operating with short-term grants, inconsistent funding streams, aging technology, insufficient staffing, and limited operational reserves.
We celebrate outcomes while starving the institutions responsible for producing them.
To be fair, I understand part of the challenge.
There are many organizations with missions tied to entrepreneurship, economic mobility, housing, workforce development, and community revitalization. Government agencies, banks, foundations, and corporate donors face difficult decisions about how to allocate finite resources.
But we should also be honest about another reality:
America consistently underinvests in long-term capacity building.
We fund programs.
We fund pilot initiatives.
We fund ribbon cuttings.
We fund reports and studies.
But we rarely fund institutional strength.
We rarely invest sufficiently in the people, systems, technology, research capacity, marketing infrastructure, data management, talent retention, and operational stability necessary for organizations to operate at the level communities actually need.
Imagine asking a hospital to function without enough doctors, outdated technology, and unstable operating revenue—then criticizing its outcomes.
That is often what happens within the small business development sector.
If we are serious about inclusive economic growth, then we must become equally serious about sustaining the institutions that make that growth possible.
This is especially important now.
Economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, technological disruption, shrinking public resources, banking consolidation, and growing wealth disparities are placing enormous pressure on entrepreneurs—particularly small and historically underserved businesses.
The need for trusted, community-based business support organizations has never been greater.
At the same time, expectations placed upon these organizations continue to grow. We are expected to deliver measurable outcomes, sophisticated technical assistance, capital access solutions, workforce alignment, procurement readiness, AI preparedness, financial education, and data-driven reporting—all while competing for fragmented and often insufficient funding.
That model is not sustainable.
As BBRC celebrates 30 years, this moment should not simply be about looking backward. It should also be about asking serious questions about the future of small business development in America.
What kind of entrepreneurial ecosystem do we truly want?
Do we want symbolic support for small businesses?
Or real infrastructure capable of producing measurable economic transformation?
Because the truth is this:
Strong businesses require strong support systems.
And strong support systems require investment.
Not charity.
Investment.
Investment in institutions with track records.
Investment in trusted community leadership.
Investment in organizations with deep relationships and proven outcomes.
Investment in long-term operational sustainability.
For 30 years, BBRC has remained committed to this work because we believe entrepreneurship changes lives, strengthens families, stabilizes communities, and creates pathways to wealth and dignity.
But sustaining that mission for the next 30 years will require more than applause for small business.
It will require commitment to the organizations helping small businesses survive and succeed every single day.
The rhetoric has been strong for years.
Now the investment must match it.