Small business development helps retain business establishments and allow existing businesses to thrive and create regional job growth.  Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), small business support strategies are part of the vision that entails supporting regional economic prosperity.

While economic development efforts are centered around recruiting new businesses and helping existing ones expand in a region, workforce development partners assist with the expansion and retention activities of existing businesses. 

This entails sector strategies for entrepreneurship training, skill upgrading, and other start-up business support activities, as well as layoff aversion strategies.

Self-Employment Assistance for Entrepreneurs Toolkit

States can effectively administer their Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program by utilizing the SBA’s deep expertise in small business mentoring and training, and by collaborating with SBA’s nationwide network to provide SEA program participants with easy access to essential knowledge to start their own businesses and to grow and create jobs.

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) collaboration with the Department of Labor helps ensure that states have the tools and resources, such as this SBA SEA Toolkit, to begin and sustain successful entrepreneurship training programs.

Small Business Partnership Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to assist you in building strong partnerships between the workforce development system and small business-serving organizations to strengthen entrepreneurship and self-employment in your community.

Please click here to view the related webinar that brought workforce professionals together to discuss their experience and best practices in building these relationships.

Texas Layoff Aversion Guide