What does entrepreneurship look like?

When we hear the word “entrepreneurship,” we tend to think of a venture-backed software company like Instagram or Uber collecting millions in monthly, recurring revenue. But the definition of entrepreneurship extends far beyond billion-dollar unicorn companies and exists in the form of necessity-based entrepreneurship.

For many, entrepreneurship is the only option.

Necessity-driven entrepreneurs often start businesses out of a direct need — the need for supplemental income to support their family, lack of career opportunities or simply seeking more flexibility in their working hours. Underrepresented communities, such as minorities and women, often make up the highest percentage of necessity-based entrepreneurs in communities.

The Minority 2018 Small Business Trends survey by Guidant Financial surveyed 2,600 business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, and found 45 percent of small businesses in the country were owned by minority ethnic groups and 26 percent were owned by women in 2018.

Enabling these entrepreneurs is important. This led me to take my experiences in innovation-based entrepreneurship and volunteer time with a Durham organization focused on necessity-driven entrepreneurs.

Located in the heart of downtown Durham sits an amazing non-profit, Helius. Helius is on a mission to enable opportunity out of necessity. The organization offers free business coaching and classes to necessity-driven entrepreneurs who lack the training and resources to be successful. Its goal is to enable these entrepreneurs to earn a fair living wage while also establishing economic freedom through small business ownership.

Programs offered through Helius range from classes and mentoring, to the facilitation of micro-loans. The main Helius program is LaunchDURHAM, which is the first stepping stone for many Durham entrepreneurs who seek training from Helius.

Through partnerships with ReCity, the City of Durham, Wells Fargo, Pacific Western Bank and many others, Helius offers its core training program — LaunchDURHAM. LaunchDURHAM is a 10-week program where selected Durham entrepreneurs learn about product or service development, customer segmentation, financial management, and how to look for funding for their businesses. By the end of the 10 weeks, entrepreneurs will have a working business plan and new skills to help them launch their business.

Entrepreneurs must apply to take part in this program and are selected based on two criteria: They first must have an existing business; and they must be earning less than a fair living wage through their business at the time of their application.

This is my first year participating with Helius as a mentor, and I was blown away by the awesome and inspiring LaunchDURHAM 2019 cohort class. Upon completing the 10-week training, entrepreneurs graduate to the next phase of their business development process — fully launching their business plan.

After graduation, LaunchDURHAM cohorts receive one year of mentoring from Helius staff and volunteers.

Graduation opened with a guest speaker, local entrepreneur and success story, Brian Hamilton. The 2019 Helius entrepreneur class then introduced themselves and pitched their businesses.

Business pitches ranged from late-night food delivery to transportation, cotton candy and in-home dog training.Their passion and energy were electric; the event left me exhilarated.

Here is the roster of the 2019 cohort you should be looking into:

  • Abigail Woten and Erin Payne are starting a flower delivery business like none other, employing special needs individuals
  • Anita Foreman, a birth and bereavement doula who runs The Doula Xperience. You can find out more at  https://www.thedoulaxperience.com/
  • Autumn Hovey, a certified public accountant and single mother working primarily online
  • Hassan Shaheed of 716er’s Food, a late night (9 p.m. until 2 a.m.) delivery and catering service, serving Buffalo, N.Y.-style cuisines.
  • Jackie Morin and her husband run WonderPuff cotton candy and sugar, including vegan and organic selections.
  • Jeremy White runs Next Level Transportation, providing state-wide chauffeur services.
  • Liz Machaffie has created Animal Insights, providing dog and cat behavioral services for the Triangle.
  • Matthias Payton uses natural teas and herbs to create tinctures for health and healing.
  • Miya Hairston has created a construction service company and is quickly growing throughout the Triangle.
  • Perry Tankard II is a DJ and special event creator for colleges and universities. You can see samples of his work at https://djpdogg.com/
  • Regina Mays works with addiction recovery and will be creating her business, WAYS, to serve this at-risk demographic.

I was inspired by the mission and goals of Helius — to enable everyone to support themselves with dignity in the face of racial, educational and financial inequity through their entrepreneurial endeavors. The ideas of this 2019 cohort showcased the reality of that mission, and they are looking for us — their community — to support them on this journey.

You can support Helius’s mission by becoming involved in multiple ways. If you’re excited about helping these entrepreneurs now and in the future to gain self-sufficiency while providing fair living wages for their employees, here’s how you can help.

Entrepreneurs come in various shapes and sizes, but some come with a dependency on seeing their ideas succeed so they can have opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be available to them.

Helius is working hard to create this reality. Supporting an environment like this in our community creates the vibrant place we’re all aspiring for in our city — where local ventures spark more sustainability and opportunity.

The Helius Foundation provides small businesses and necessity-driven entrepreneurs with free business training and coaching, and access to low-interest microloans.