Navigating Main Street To The Other Side of Covid: A Conversation With Mark Madrid, The Small Business Administration's Office Of Entrepreneurial Development On The Launch Of The Biden Administration'

For the first time since February of 2020, small businesses are shifting their focus towards the future instead of survival through Covid-19. A May Reimagine Main Street survey of more than 1,300 business owners found that more than three-quarters (78 percent) are more confident in the future of their businesses because of Covid-19 vaccines and 66 percent feel good about the current trajectory of the economy.

For Main Street, reaching the other side of the Covid-19 does not simply boil down to being able to fully reopen. It means fully recovering from often massive financial losses and incorporating the lessons learned and innovations implemented during the pandemic. For many businesses, especially those in underserved communities, reaching that point will require trusted guidance.

As Associate Administrator of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Entrepreneurial Development, Mark Madrid is on the ground helping fulfill Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman’s mission of building a better Main Street. After a 13-year banking career that began with J.P. Morgan on Wall Street, Madrid has since worked towards lifting up small business, serving as a CEO of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and most recently as CEO of the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) and Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship which was a founding affiliate member of the Small Business Roundtable . At SBA, he is overseeing the launch of the new Community Navigator Pilot Program. The program, which was a part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, is targeted to make sure small businesses -- and specifically business owners of color -- have access to the trusted guidance they need to be successful. The grant program is eligible for  non-profits, state and local governments, SBA Resource Partners, and other community-focused organizations focused on localized outreach to small businesses in underserved communities. The program is accepting applications through July 23, 2021. 

I recently had the good fortune of having a conversation with Madrid about his leadership and his role spearheading the Biden Administration's Community Navigator Program for small business owners. Below is a summary of our conversation.

Rhett Buttle: Why the Community Navigator Program? Why now? 

Mark Madrid: I’ll lean into our SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman who reinforced the “why” of this historic program, which was enacted by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, when she said, “The Community Navigator Pilot Program is a crucial addition to our SBA programs because it helps us to connect with small businesses that have historically been underserved or left behind. These businesses – predominantly the smallest of the small—in urban and rural America—and owned by women, people of color, or veterans – have suffered the greatest economic loss from this pandemic. We’ll be using a hub and spoke model in local regions across the nation to bridge the gap between local entrepreneurs and SBA’s resources and programs. If we’re going to build back better, we need to ensure that all entrepreneurs have the support they need to recover.” 

Rhett Buttle: In what ways will the SBA’s Community Navigator Program empower organizations to support businesses in their community?

Mark Madrid: Today, the most effective way to truly understand our small businesses across the country is to have a hyperlocal approach in meeting them exactly where they are. This means understanding their nuances, their struggles and hopes, and supporting them with custom solutions, and—in this case—introducing them and/or empowering them with SBA resources that will assist them during recovery. Additionally, a strong connection with the SBA will set the stage for further engagement and support, as recovery shifts to growth and/or scale. This multiplier effect and national effort will shine the spotlight on those community navigators that are connecting substantively and tangibly with our small businesses who need us the most, including those owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. This reservoir of best practices will set the stage for building networks and sharing best practices that will bolster innovation and resourcefulness and serve our small businesses and innovative startups with the best of the best practices. 

Rhett Buttle: You recently went to the SBA after serving in various nonprofit senior executive roles. How has this pathway prepared you for this role and the Community Navigator Program work?

Mark Madrid: In the height of the Great Recession, I shuttered a regional bank and was left wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Then, my life changed when I joined the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and my passion meter went off the charts with small business economic development. It all began with my work in small business membership at the chamber. From that point onward, whether in Houston, the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber, and/or Latino Business Action Network/Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, I, alongside dedicated teams, have prioritized a ground presence with small business owners. No matter how senior the role, that has not and will not ever change. To serve our U.S. small businesses, you must meet them where they are, and be elephants and not hippos (elephants have big ears and listen). Meeting small businesses where they are, empathizing with them, and providing tailored solutions is one of the primary pillars of the Community Navigator Pilot Program.

Rhett Buttle: Who is eligible for this program?

Mark Madrid: Congress enacted this program in part to reach small businesses left behind. Accordingly, the pool of eligibility is diverse, and eligible entities include, but are not limited to, nonprofits with 501(c) status with the Internal Revenue Service, economic development organizations, state, city, county, Tribes, SBA Resource Partners, Community Development Financial Institutions, and nonprofit colleges and universities. Please refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity for complete information.

Rhett Buttle: How will we know this program is a success and what else would you add? 

Mark Madrid: This program will be a success when community navigators across the country connect empathetically, culturally, and specifically with small businesses and startups, especially those owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. True success will be when these small businesses not only access, but apply programs and services of the SBA tailored to their situation, and the result is recovery tools and more access to capital, networks, people, and educational resources. Further, success will be multiplied when this access point leads to matriculation to other opportunities, such as funding, certification, and/or procurement and education, just to name a few. 

Resources for Small Business Owners:

The U.S. Small Business & Administration & the Public Private Strategies Institute host weekly educational opportunities for small businesses to get updates and learn more about programs that will help your business get back on track. Registration is free.

This piece originally appeared in Forbes on July 8, 2021. You can view it online here.