Genesis Block 2030 Vision is to Support Entrepreneur Self-Sufficiency and Power Regional Supply Chains

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses make up over 99% of all businesses in the United States.

North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall in August 2024, announced that tens of thousands of jobs could be created with even a small increase in the rate of North Carolina businesses reaching self-sufficiency. These new jobs would add an estimated $1.5 to $ 2 billion to North Carolina’s economy each year, according research conducted in a collaboration between the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and Fayetteville State University faculty. Considering that 44% of all U.S. workers are low-wage earners, fostering entrepreneurship presents a powerful pathway to mobilizing the future workforce.

Since its establishment in February 2020, Genesis Block has emerged as a cornerstone organization in North Carolina's Cape Fear Region, dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship with a particular focus on supporting minority-owned, women-owned, and local small businesses. More than 90% of the founders we support are women-owned businesses, with over 85% identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Entrepreneurship serves as a powerful driver of community prosperity, job creation, and cultural diversity.

According to research, most companies claim self-sufficiency when they generate annual revenues of $50,000 or more. Below $50,000 in revenue, most entrepreneurs do not work fulltime in the business.

Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of work in the United States. Nationally, 81.9% of small businesses operate as a sole proprietor (with no employees). With the average small business owner earning $69,119 — approximately 16% above the national average salary of $59,428 — this represents a workforce of nearly 27 million people. Small business owners are also employment drivers. According to data provided by LLCfit.com small business owners are drivers of employment and provide economic resiliency

Small Businesses as Engines of Job Creation and the Future Workforce

– Small businesses employ a total of 61.6 million people.
– Small businesses employ 45.9% of the US workforce.
– Small businesses create 1.5 million new jobs each year.
– Small businesses create 64% of new jobs in the US.
– The average small business employs 24 employees.
– 81.9% of small businesses have no employees.

Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of work in the United States. Nationally, 81.9% of small businesses operate as a sole proprietor (with no employees). With the average small business owner earning $69,119 — approximately 16% above the national average salary of $59,428 — this represents a workforce of nearly 27 million people.

Recent insights and analysis highlight the untapped economic potential within entrepreneurship, with a focus on entrepreneurs achieving “self-sufficient” status. Research reveals that 37% of businesses classify as “self-sufficient,” while 45% are categorized as “aspirational” — indicating they have yet to reach self-sufficiency but aim to do so.

This raises a critical question: How can entrepreneur support organizations, economic development agencies, and local and state entities establish best practices to help entrepreneurs transition from “aspirational” to “self-sufficient”?

Genesis Block’s solution is to offer comprehensive, wraparound services that support entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey — from idea conception to revenue generation and scaling. Our approach consists of five key phases: providing training and technical assistance, offering production spaces for product testing and development, and leveraging marketing platforms to strengthen brand visibility and build a loyal customer base.

Over 90% of the founders we service are women owned firms and over 85% are Black, indigenous and people of color. Some of the challenges that entrepreneurs face in these communities are lack of programs targeted at inclusiveness, community engagement and systems designed to support community and Main Street entrepreneurs.

As we enter our fifth year of collaborating with hundreds of unique founders and companies, we have identified seven key elements that contribute to the success of entrepreneurs:

1. The Successful Entrepreneur Mindset
2. Vision-to-Product Methodology
3. Business Networks and Mentorship Opportunities
4. Access to Critical Resources for Success
5. Affordable Production Spaces and Digital Connectivity
6. Utilization of Data and Unique Insights
7. Support for Long-Term Strategic Planning

Over 90% of the founders we service are women owned firms and over 85% are Black, indigenous and people of color. Some of the challenges that entrepreneurs face in these communities are lack of programs targeted at inclusiveness, community engagement and curriculums designed to support community and Main Street entrepreneurs.

The Successful Entrepreneur Mindset

Mindset serves as the mental framework that shapes an entrepreneur’s vision for what they aim to achieve and who they aspire to become. It encompasses their ambitions, aspirations, and the actionable strategies that drive progress toward their goals. At Block Academy, mindset workshops form the cornerstone of every course. As founders advance, our facilitators and mentors provide guidance in cultivating the mental and emotional resilience necessary to thrive as successful business owners.

• The Big Idea Mindset: Students in Jumpstart Academy receive the Big Idea Mindset workshop aiming to shift their thinking to support Idea validation.
• The Scientist Mindset: As students progress to determining the appropriate customer and market for their solutions, we shift focus to becoming more curious, inquisitive and information seeking.
• The Visionary Mindset: Wits Begin is an incubator programmed designed to help students build a sustainable business model. The Visionary Mindset enables founders to align more with their value add to the customers they serve.
• The CEO Mindset: The CEO Mindset workshop focuses on preparing founder with executive level skills training and provides a comprehensive approach to team building, return on capital and preparing business owners for growth.

Over the past four years, Genesis Block has engaged with hundreds of entrepreneurs and founders, building close relationships with business owners at various stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Demo days and brand development events have developed an ecosystem that generates founders with higher success rates.

Vision 2 Product Methodology

Block Academy offers inclusive access to comprehensive entrepreneurial education and support through a range of online courses, accelerators, and incubators. Its mission is to equip aspiring and established entrepreneurs with the technical skills to identify challenges and develop innovative solutions at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey.

With training in finance, marketing, operations, and business management, Block Academy empowers entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools necessary to build sustainable and thriving businesses. The program supports founders by tracking their progress, guiding them through each phase of entrepreneurship, and connecting them with vital resources to ensure long-term success.

Here’s a brief overview of Block Academy programs tailored to each stage of entrepreneurship:

• Get It Started Bootcamp is a 2 hour introduction to business workshop.
• Jumpstart Academy is an 8 week program designed for Idea validation.
• Customer Findz is an 8 week program designed for customer identification and product-market fit.
• Wits Begin is an 8 week program designed to help founders develop a sustainable business model for their solutions.
• SmallBiz Spark is an 8 week program designed for businesses seeking capital or have received capital as part of their growth strategy.

With the average small business owner earning $69,119 — approximately 16% above the national average salary of $59,428 — entrepreneurs represent a workforce of nearly 27 million people.

Business Networks and Mentorship Programs

• Conversations to Contracts: Conversations to Contracts is supplier diversity platform supporting diverse owned business growth, integration into regional supply chains, workforce training and community engagement. The quarterly event connects local diverse businesses to large organizations and anchor institutions. The goals of Conversations to Contracts is to:
• Enhance regional supply chain capacity
• Increase supplier diversity and diverse business participation
• Elevate local entrepreneurial talent
• Advance regional supply chain workforce
• Meet the Neighbors: Consistent monthly meetups are important for entrepreneurs at all stages of development providing the knowledge sharing, business networking, access to resources and accountability needed to become a successful founder. Meet the Neighbors is the monthly meetup for Genesis Block founders and the broader small business community.
• Chef’s Vision: Creating a sustainable local food ecosystem is essential for addressing social determinants of health and serves as a vital measure of community prosperity. At the heart of this effort are food entrepreneurs, who play a pivotal role in driving change. Chef’s Vision is a monthly meetup that brings together the Block Eatz Food ecosystem and the broader community to foster culinary innovation, support local food entrepreneurs, and develop creative solutions to challenges in the food industry.

Over 90% of the founders we service are women owned firms and over 85% are Black, indigenous and people of color. Our solution and structure is cohort based and builds trust, collaboration and creativity in an inclusive environment with systems and mentors designed for their needs.

Connect Entrepreneurs to Essential Assets for Success

• Incubators and Accelerators: Genesis Block is expanding its incubator and accelerator offerings in 2025 to include: Get it Started Bootcamp, Jumpstart Academy, Customer Findz, Wits Begin, SmallBiz Spark and the C2C Accelerator. These programs focus on training, mentorship, and commercialization support for startups and small businesses.
• The Coalition: Genesis Block is a member of the Coalition in an effort to build collaboration and streamline regional entrepreneur support services. The Coalition is a collaboration of not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to help create and grow successful businesses in the region. The goal of The Coalition, which was established in 2016, is to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to access the resources most suited to their particular needs.

In response to the growing waiting list of food entrepreneurs and the increasing demand for licensed kitchen space to expand programming, Block Eatz is developing a Food Innovation Campus concept aimed at creating a hub for culinary entrepreneurship, offering expanded resources, training, and facilities to support food-based businesses and drive innovation in the local food economy.

Production Spaces and Technology

• Genesis Bridge: Genesis Bridge is a supplier diversity platform that offers digital marketing, certification management, vendor pairing, and connects diverse businesses with contracting opportunities. The software platform oversees entrepreneur performance and accreditation, hosts an index for factors influencing business creation and sustainability, and assigns digital scorecards for small businesses pursuing funding opportunities. Key features include vendor pairing, messaging, contract management, RFP handling, certification oversight, digital profile creation for marketing, and verification tools. This platform provides inclusive support, reduces barriers, and empowers entrepreneurs to establish and bolster their digital presence for their businesses.
• Block Eatz Food Campus: Block Eatz supports local food entrepreneurs with quality training programs, affordable food production space, partnerships with local workforce development programs and access to a robust business network to build their brand. Block Eatz is developing a Food Innovation Campus concept aimed at creating a hub for culinary entrepreneurship, offering expanded resources, training, and facilities to support food-based businesses and drive innovation in the local food economy.
• The Block Eatz Food Incubator serves as a hub for testing new food products, operating a licensed shared-use kitchen commissary, and supporting local initiatives. These include programs focused on food security, sustainable local food systems, and food as medicine — enhancing community well-being while fostering culinary innovation and entrepreneurship. Block Eatz Food Campus aims to facilitate $6.5 million dollars in revenue generation for local food entrepreneurs and over $8 million dollars in economic activity.

Genesis Block is developing a cutting-edge collaborative software platform (Genesis Bridge) designed to manage, track, and analyze data from key initiatives such as Conversations to Contracts, the SmallBiz Spark Ecosystem, and the Regional Small Business Innovation Index. This platform will serve as a comprehensive tool to streamline data collection and provide actionable insights to inform best practices for various stakeholders.

Leverage Data and Unique Insights

• In the United States, over 28.9 million businesses operate without access to comprehensive data to analyze the environments in which they function. Addressing this critical gap, Genesis Block, in partnership with UNCW, the Swain Center, UNCW CIE, and the Coalition, is developing a Regional Small Business Innovation Index. This initiative seeks to bring transparency to the “real economy,” commonly known as the Main Street economy or locally driven economics. Currently, comprehensive datasets for critical factors such as enterprise creation, business sustainability, and failure trends are lacking. This limitation hinders the ability to design effective policies, allocate resources appropriately, and conduct meaningful gap analyses.
• According to The Potential & Success of North Carolina Startup Businesses report, adopting policies and initiatives to help just 5% of “aspirational” businesses to become self-sufficient will create 24,550 new jobs annually. At a salary of $40,000 annually, those jobs would generate $980 million in new wages. When considering an economic multiplier effect, an increase in consumer spending, and an increase in tax revenues, the overall economic boost would range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion each year.
• The Regional Small Business Innovation Index aims to inform decision makers providing actionable insights into these key areas of business sustainability for entrepreneurs in these segments. By equipping stakeholders with accurate and relevant data, the index will drive practical policy changes, enable targeted resource allocation, and support the development of a more robust and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. This tool will empower communities and entrepreneurs alike, fostering growth and innovation at the local level.

Support Long Term Planning

• Three year success target: Entrepreneurs in Jumpstart Academy determine their goals and success target for the next three years as a framework to develop sustainable business models.
• Five year exit strategy: Entrepreneurs in SmallBiz Spark plan for the exit and what’s next. Often entrepreneurs forget to plan for their exit leading to higher fail rates and unsuccessful ventures.

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Greater Wilmington Business Journal: https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/insights/girardnewkirk/237