Supporting Small Businesses

The best ideas at Self-Help often come from people who ask: how can we do more to support the communities in which we operate? Business Train grew out of that thinking. Launched as a pilot program serving Self-Help members across North Carolina and the Chicago, Illinois, area, Self-Help’s Business Train is a business coaching program that connects small business owners with guidance and grant-funded third-party services in accounting, marketing and growth strategy, and supports their path to accessing capital. In its first year, the program supported 30 businesses.

Self-Help’s Business Train grew from our awareness that business owners can benefit from technical assistance and coaching that goes beyond what a lender can offer. Our commercial lending team includes staff dedicated exclusively to small business financing, and Business Train is a natural complement to that work. More broadly, supporting small and locally owned businesses is woven into how Self-Help operates: our supplier diversity commitment prioritizes local businesses to support our operations, and our real estate team seeks local partners for property management needs. A thriving local business creates jobs, builds wealth and strengthens communities, and Self-Help looks for every opportunity to support that.