Improving small business outcomes through mental health: A profile on Our Village United’s holistic model

Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon formed Our Village United (OVU) — a non-profit that supports the growth of solopreneurs and microbusinesses by delivering a suite of services including community building, technical assistance, wellness, and mentorship — just prior to the global pandemic. When the pandemic hit, she watched with alarm as the economic shockwaves disproportionately impacted historically underserved and excluded entrepreneurs. Rather than retreat, Dr. Hallmon doubled down on supporting small business growth, investing more resources in the organization and launching a new initiative called ELEVATE, a holistic entrepreneurial wellness program to create generational opportunity informed by the struggles she observed first-hand.

A different type of business support

Research and learnings from the pandemic both informed and shaped ELEVATE. An estimated 700,000 businesses closed in the second quarter of 2020 per the Federal Reserve with a disproportionate number being Black-owned businesses, causing severe economic hardship but also presenting an opportunity for rebuilding. A poll conducted by OVU also revealed where entrepreneurs needed more support — 48 percent of business owners were experiencing burnout, 32 percent were dealing with depression, and 56 percent were suffering from decision fatigue. Focusing on the emotional demands of running a business, Dr. Hallmon realized, could be just as, if not more, impactful than focusing on the technical aspects. As such, wellness became one of the main guiding principles for all OVU programs.

ELEVATE, which started in OVU’s home city of Atlanta, was one of the first incubators in the United States to focus on wellness support for entrepreneurs. It quickly became a model by developing classes led by experts on how entrepreneurs could face emotional challenges, like burnout and imposter syndrome. Since its launch in Atlanta, ELEVATE, which is supported by Mastercard Strive USA, has expanded to Los Angeles, St. Louis, New Orleans, New York City, Dayton, Birmingham, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and more. The program has served over 700 entrepreneurs, delivered more than 300 hours of training and coaching, and over 120 hours in health and wellness services. The program has also deployed more than $750,000 in non-dilutive seed grants.

In addition to wellness, the ELEVATE program delivers over 100 hours of support focused on operations, marketing, sales, and fundraising through a 12-week curriculum. Led by industry experts, using real-world examples, the accelerator program includes one-on-one coaching and access to services such as CPA/tax preparation, legal support, and marketing and communications services to help businesses scale beyond their local footprint.

Wellness as a business strategy

“We want to tell the true story of entrepreneurship,” Dr. Hallmon told The Rockefeller Foundation in 2021. “It is not always beautiful. They make sacrifices every day.”

Since its launch in 2021, ELEVATE has received national recognition about how it supports entrepreneurs in publications such as Forbes and Essence. The outcomes from OVU’s work have advanced economic mobility and provided infrastructural support for small businesses nationally, helping to address disparities in wealth and contribute to long-term wealth-building opportunities for underserved small business owners..

One major reason why the program continues to be successful — wellness continues to rank high on most entrepreneurs’ priority lists.

“The wellness session was super important to me and one of the most important things I felt I needed,” said Tracey West, owner of Irresistible Pound Cakes. “As an entrepreneur, you go through things and you kind of feel like you’re on an island by yourself. But you need to reconnect to yourself as a person and that’s what the wellness sessions did for me.”

“I loved the wellness sessions because it gave me a community of people going through the same things I was going through to reflect with me,” added Arelious Cooper, of Art in The Paint. “I didn’t feel weird or like no one understood me. It wasn’t generic advice, it was real community and bonding.”

The program’s technology focus also helps ensure businesses have durable websites that support e-commerce and are easily accessible for customers to shop. The curriculum also centers on increased automation, strengthening back-office systems, and optimizing supply chains. OVU also offered a follow-up 12-week program, Mastercard Digital Doors, to help future-proof participants’ digital presence by teaching CEOs how to incorporate digital payments, protect their Web sites from cyber threats, and build their online businesses with OVU’s e-commerce partners.

Additionally, at the end of each ELEVATE cohort, businesses are selected to participate in a highly competitive pitch competition for a chance to win grant funding up to $25,000 for expenses like inventory and ad spending. There are also ongoing opportunities for continued education targeted at specific areas of growth, such as human resources, digital marketing, and cybersecurity.

Closing the gaps that hold businesses back

ELEVATE aims to better position underserved small businesses to create generational wealth through entrepreneurship. According to the Small Business Administration, the majority of small business owners are in need of technical assistance programs, such as ELEVATE, to sustain and strengthen their businesses. Additionally, when it comes to funding, online lenders approve 82.1 percent of white business owners, while Black business owners trail at 67.2 percent, and the average level of startup capital among Black entrepreneurs is $35,205, compared to $106,720 for white entrepreneurs.

Our Village United’s goal with ELEVATE is to close those gaps and help undeserved business owners surround themselves with a village to support all parts of their entrepreneurial journey, from the visible ones, like the need for capital and technical assistance, and to the ones not as commonly discussed or seen, such as wellness support and a sense of belonging. Though not as visible, those elements are just as core to a small business’s success, and will ultimately help create a community of healthy, resilient entrepreneurs, leading to a stronger economy.