What's your favorite thing about your local library? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
With a background in culinary arts, Gail McGee, 47, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, always had a flair for baking. But when her cakes for her children’s birthday parties would unfailingly field a flurry of compliments and inquiries about where she brought them, “I said, ‘let me go ahead and just make this thing a business,’” she says.
So, in 2019, she launched Confectionately Yours, Gail, a catering business that whips up such tasty treats as cakes, cupcakes and candy in the Baltimore area. One day, while perusing her local library’s web site, she saw that they offered entrepreneurship classes and networking events. She took several classes and even had the opportunity to showcase her cupcakes at one of the events as a sponsor, giving her a valuable opportunity to win new customers. “You meet so many different people at the events,” she says. “Some are in a similar mindset as you.”
To meet the needs of local entrepreneurs many libraries across the country have amped up their entrepreneurial resources including the Durham County Library in North Carolina, the Plano Public Library in Texas and the Glenview Public Library in Illinois.
When you’re trying to grow a business, those connections can be invaluable. Whether you’re looking to start a business or grow your side hustle, your library may be able to provide a bevy of free resources that can help. For example, as McGee discovered, the Baltimore County Public Library system offers the Entrepreneur Academy, a free seven-week course taught by business experts expounding on such topics as business plan creation, taxes and marketing. The library also offers additional classes both online and in-person as well as other services such as free headshots and popup shops where local entrepreneurs can sell their wares.
Addressing a need
Libraries have always been a trusted source for research and information. In 2018, the Urban Libraries Council launched an initiative with the Kansas City, Missouri-based Ewing Marion Kauffmann Foundation to turn local libraries into hubs where entrepreneurs could find resources to help them grow their businesses.
One day, while perusing her local library’s web site, she saw that they offered entrepreneurship classes and networking events. She took several classes and even had the opportunity to showcase her cupcakes at one of the events as a sponsor, giving her a valuable opportunity to win new customers.
The initiative was particularly geared toward helping small business owners in underserved communities where business capital is often harder to get. Only three percent of startup businesses that receive venture capital funding are Black owned. Furthermore, a 2023 study by Brigham Young University found that Black entrepreneurs are more likely to be offered loans with unfavorable conditions than white entrepreneurs, even when the Black business owners have stronger credit profiles.
To meet the needs of local entrepreneurs many libraries across the country have amped up their entrepreneurial resources including the Durham County Library in North Carolina, the Plano Public Library in Texas and the Glenview Public Library in Illinois.
A springboard to entrepreneurial success
If you’re hoping to turn a business idea into a stream of income, be proactive about working with your local library. That’s what Quandra Gray, 40, of Dundalk, Maryland, did when she asked her local library if she could host a workshop there to discuss microgreens, vegetable seedlings that she sells through her business What The Sprout.
Not only did she get a ‘yes,’ and hold workshops at six different libraries, but through the experience she was able to refine her business pitch and market her business at the same time. “What it did for me was it helped me refine my workshops,” she says. “My first one looked very different from my last one.”
Both Gray and McGee suggest that sister entrepreneurs make the most of their library’s resources by taking the following steps:
Make friends with your librarian. “Start to build a relationship with the people behind the desk,” says Gray. Let them know you’re an entrepreneur looking for information. Not only might they point you to an entrepreneurship program, but they may point you toward books and other resources that can help.
Ask if you can start a business book club. Many libraries offer free meeting space for book clubs within the community. By meeting with other entrepreneurs you can learn from each other and build a support team.
Let them direct you to other services. While the library may have the answers to many of your questions, it may not solve all of your dilemmas. But they might be able to point you in the right direction, McGee says.
Both women agree that the library should play a role in your quest to educate yourself even if you’re just looking for the best business books to read. Be willing to ask for help, Gray says. “Their literal job is to help and to serve.”
What's your favorite thing about your local library? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
