Special Edition NAWRB Magazine: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

 

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NAWRB is proud to introduce our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Volume 9, Issue 2 Magazine that offers an in-depth look into how the recent COVID-19 pandemic has affected diversity, equity, and inclusion in many facets of the housing and real estate ecosystem. This issue features the voices of different minority groups, who have all been affected by the current public health and economic crisis in unique ways – from Blacks and Asian Americans who have suffered from perpetual racial bias and discrimination in our nation’s troubled history to the adverse impact the pandemic has had on the aging population and the economic growth and security of women. Continue reading

Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities

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Veterans are in the minority of the American workforce and female veterans are an even smaller subset of the population, however, the impact veterans and women veterans can make to society can be huge. This is a point made by NAWRB Magazine contributor and Army Veteran Erica Courtney as she moderated our panel Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities.

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Why Irvine?

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When people are looking to start or move a business to Irvine, it always starts with answering the question: Why Irvine? Everyone knows that there are certainly less expensive places to start or locate a business – any city in North Dakota or Alabama for starters – but there isn’t a smarter or better place to start or locate a business than Irvine, California. And that all began with the stunningly forward thinking vision that transformed 93,000 acres into an economic powerhouse and one of the most livable cities in the United States. 

Everyone knows the story of the Irvine Company. The family who owned 93,000 acres in what is now Orange County, and the company directors that followed, took a long view of this land and its place in the evolution of the area. They adopted a powerful proposition that the land, and all those who would live and work on it, would be best served by a Master Plan that fostered the highest quality of life through preservation of “nonrenewable” assets and resources. 

An encroaching sprawl south from Los Angeles compelled the Irvine Company to take stewardship of the land in the 1960s in ways that would shape the City of Irvine and other communities in the area into the 21st century. They conceived of artfully designed neighborhoods and villages, acres of open space and livable neighborhood centers and regional centers that would support an economic powerhouse of Fortune 500 companies and robust, cutting edge industry clusters in the Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology and Digital Arts & Media, just to name the top performers.  

The notion that a balance of “working, living, learning and recreational environments-all integrated in a logical and aesthetic fashion” was the core value that defined the design, its implementation and its sustainability. And it stood in stark contrast to how other communities and cities in the U.S. had evolved throughout the decades characterized by cycles, changing economic drivers and personalities, demographic patterns and investment, or lack thereof.
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Submit to the 2018 NAWRB Top 50 WOSB Revenue Awards!

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NAWRB is excited to launch the first and only earning recognition program for WOSBs within the housing ecosystem. As we celebrate these diverse sectors and merge industries into one list, we are raising awareness of leading women-owned small businesses and helping form profitable collaborations to propel women’s economic growth.

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Small Business Optimism Highest Since 1983

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According to the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, small business optimism reached a level of 107.5 in November 2017, a hike from 103.8 a month before and a level that hasn’t been reached since 1983. Moreover, eight of the 10 components NFIB measures as part of the index also increased; notably, “Expected Better Business Conditions” had a 16-point gain, and “Sales Expectations” rose by 13 points.

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Shop Small on Small Business Saturday, November 25, 2017

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Amid the excitement of the holidays and special days for consumers like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we can’t forget Small Business Saturday! Taking place the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it is a day to patronize and celebrate our small businesses and all that they mean and contribute to communities across the country. Join NAWRB in shopping at a small business this weekend.

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House Passes Bill Helping Entrepreneurs Raise Capital from Friends and Family

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The House of Representatives has passed legislation making it easier for entrepreneurs to access capital from their friends and family. With the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act, private businesses would be able to seek community-based financing of up to $500,000 a year for the purpose of hiring new workers and expanding their business.

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Celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week!

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National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) is dedicated to celebrating veteran, service member, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouse entrepreneurs from October 30 – November 3, 2017. Throughout the week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), alongside SBA district offices, resource partners and communities around the country, will host local and virtual events centered on “access to capital, federal and commercial procurement opportunities, and entrepreneurial training.”

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SBA Lending Grows in 2017

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that its small business lending activity displayed consistent growth in fiscal year 2017. In FY2017, the SBA approved over 68,000 loans in the 7(A) and 504 loan programs—providing $30 billion to small businesses—and increased lending to women, veterans and emerging communities alike.

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Google and Amazon the Next Big Small Business Lenders?

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Google and Amazon could shake up the small business lending market and dislocate banks as entrepreneurs’ primary funding resource, according to a discussion led by Karen Mills, Harvard Business School Fellow and former White House administrator for small businesses, at LendIt Europe 2017.

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