Entrepreneurs across New Jersey will now have access to the knowledge, tools and support they need to start or grow a business.

OUR GOAL

10,000

ENTREPRENEURS

Rutgers University and the Rutgers University Small Business Development Center have created a program to empower entrepreneurs across the state of New Jersey.

Through this initiative, entrepreneurs will receive free access to The Lonely Entrepreneur Learning Community – a one-stop shop for the knowledge, tools and support individuals need to be entrepreneurs. This resource combines 300 learning modules, weekly group coaching, an online community, and 100s of tools and templates to enable entrepreneurs to overcome the business and personal challenges they face, create jobs, and stimulate our economy. The Learning Community – which normally costs $500 per year – is being offered free to New Jersey entrepreneurs.

Thrive Global logo for TLE's learning community.

HOW YOUR ORGANIZATION BENEFITS

You not only support entrepreneurs, you enhance your brand, drive social responsibility and create a unique employee engagement opportunity. 

Help Entrepreneurs: provide individuals with the knowledge, tools and support they need to grow

Differentiate and Enhance Your Brand: gain market position and brand awareness with current and potential customers

Demonstrate Social Responsibility Efforts: advance efforts to help underserved entrepreneurs create wealth and jobs

Provide Unique Employee Engagement: meaningful contacts enabling employees to dialogue with entrepreneurs via the platform

Drive Economic Development:  build quality of life and bring amenities and services to our communities

Help Entrepreneurs: provide individuals with the knowledge, tools and support they need to grow

Differentiate and Enhance Your Brand: gain market position and brand awareness with current and potential customers

Demonstrate Social Responsibility Efforts: advance efforts to help underserved entrepreneurs create wealth and jobs

Provide Unique Employee Engagement: meaningful contacts enabling employees to dialogue with entrepreneurs via the platform

Drive Economic Development:  build quality of life and bring amenities and services to our communities

HOW TO SPONSOR ENTREPRENEURS

Decide how many and how much and we take it from there!

YOUR ORGANIZATION DECIDES TO SPONSOR ENTREPRENEURS VIA THE PROGRAM

DECIDE HOW MANY ENTREPRENEURS YOUR ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR

WE’LL PROVIDE THE LEARNING COMMUNITY TO THE DESIGNATED RECIPIENTS

THOSE ENTREPRENEURS GET ACCESS TO THE LEARNING COMMUNITY

PROGRAM DETAILS

We provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools and support they need and your organization with a turn-key way to have an impact and highlight the results.

HOW IT WORKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

The Learning Community organizes what your audience needs to know into the 12 business and personal areas they must master:

  • Setting Up A Business
  • Generating Revenue
  • Running Your Business
  • Managing Yourself
  • Differentiating Your Offering
  • Marketing
  • Leading The Company
  • Raising Money
  • People
  • Communication
  • Finance
  • Legal

We’ve organized what entrepreneurs need to know – lessons, templates, tools, and vendor reviews – into the 12 business and personal areas we all face.

Your participants have access to 300+ bite-sized lessons that give them the answers to the key questions entrepreneurs should be asking. Not just any answers… Answers that make a difference. And not just business-focused answers… Answers that address the personal issues that are too often overlooked. Beating the competition. Driving sales. Building a plan. Managing oneself . Social media. Lots of questions. One place for answers.

Each week, there are a series of online group coaching sessions that all entepreneurs can attend.  Coaches from The Lonely Entrepreneur cover a variety of topics and help attendees with their most pressing questions.

Participants become part of our online community of fellow entrepreneurs where they can share, grow and learn together. We guide participants with daily tips and insights and provide responses that answer their most pressing questions. They also have the opportunity to connect with us and fellow entrepreneurs as they embark on their journey to start or grow their business. Through the online community, we guide them to the knowledge they need to be a successful entrepreneur.

We’ve organized all the tools and templates individuals need to start and grow a business. From investor presentations, to cash flow statement, to a marketing plan, to non-disclosure agreement  All the tools and templates an entrepreneur commonly needs can be found in one place.

We cut through the noise to present unbiased reviews of the key third-party software and business solutions that entrepreneurs will need in their businesses. Your audience will have access to feedback on all the relevant tools,  from accounting to task management to CRM to marketing automation.

Entrepreneurs enroll free of charge with a simple online or mobile registration.

From the moment individuals sign up, we connect with them in an ongoing engagement model, made easy with our online community. Our model begins with initial invitations and welcome, and continues with daily posts, enabling participants to ‘follow’ topics they like, quickly answering content questions and directing to learning resources, hosting weekly events, live chatting, and facilitating participants’ engagement with each other.

HOW IT WORKS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

There are two primary methods for identifying recipients for the program. The choice is yours:

  • You designate specific groups you want to empower. We then provide the solution to one of the many groups we work with of that type of individual.

  • You can also recommend groups that you have relationships with individuals in your target group.

Either way, once you decide, we handle the entire process for getting your target group into the program.

The number of entrepreneurs you will be supporting is based on your funding level. Your financial support provides The Learning Community to these individuals for a full year.  We will provide a special code to your target group that is valid for the number of individuals you have decided to support.

Your organization’s point of contact will be paired with an account manager to support you while managing all elements of the program. This includes recruitment, program setup, engagement, reporting, participant needs, marketing, and scheduling activities in the community.

We help you communicate the investment you are making and how you are making a difference in people’s lives.  We help you integrate this into your formal or informal reporting, public relations and marketing efforts.

We provide a series of reports including enrollment, engagement, learning activity and business results. These reports are provided to you as part of a regular monthly, quarterly or annual reporting process for you to monitor progress and integrate our reporting into your formal reporting activities.

In addition to more formal metric reporting, we provide you with regular quarterly success stories that demonstrate how your efforts are empowering your target groups for use in your internal and external marketing, reporting and communications efforts.

In addition to telling the outside world about your efforts, we help you communicate within your organization to highlight the value of your efforts.

Through the program, we’ll together gain insights on how to more effectively provide value to the groups you want to empower and integrate those insights into the program.

lyneir

ABOUT LYNEIR RICHARDSON

“Entrepreneurship is essential to economic growth in our communities. Successful urban entrepreneurs constantly leverage new skills and knowledge.  The Lonely Entrepreneur and its Learning Community provide educational resources and ongoing support to diverse individuals in all socioeconomic circles.”

Lyneir Richardson wears multiple hats, investing in commercial real estate, educating and advising urban entrepreneurs and MBA students, and structuring deals that increase resources for urban entrepreneurs.  He is the Executive Director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers University in Newark, N J and an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice. Lyneir is also the CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation, a social enterprise funded by prestigious impact investors to stimulate and invest in urban retail development. He recently raised over raised $17M+ to catalyze new projects in urban neighborhoods.  In his 20’s, Lyneir founded his first company and was named a U.S. Small Business Administration “Young Entrepreneur of the Year”.

Executive Director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers University and CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation

HEAR FROM COMMUNITY LEADERS

Leaders passionate about empowering entrepreneurs tell the impact that the Learning Community has on a community.

lyneir

Entrepreneurship is essential to economic growth in our communities. Successful urban entrepreneurs constantly leverage new skills and knowledge.  The Lonely Entrepreneur and its Learning Community provide educational resources and ongoing support to diverse individuals in all socioeconomic circles. I believe that the The Lonely Entrepreneur platform will enable us to reach our goal of helping a 1,000 urban entrepreneurs get to $1 million in annual revenue.

Lyneir Richardson, Former Head of Economic Development for Presidential Candidate Cory Booker Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED). Chief Executive Officer - The Chicago TREND Corporation (A MacArthur Foundation and Chicago Community Trust funded social enterprise aiming to stimulate retail development and accelerate neighborhood transformation.)
ebony

The Lonely Entrepreneur embraces a game changing platform that brings everything an entrepreneur could wish for in one place. This support tool gives bright brains the resources to elevate their business, brand, and bank account by easing the pain of finding the right answers. Passion and ideas alone is a waste of time without resources to match the effort. The learning community assist with empowering individuals to sustainable solutions and results.  I highly recommend the  Lonely Entrepreneur  as I have witnessed the impact the platform provides  working with the YMCA, Long Island City Community, and TF Cornerstone.

Ebony Conely-Young , Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility TF Cornerstone Former Executive Director YMCA of Greater New York
sheila

The Lonely Entrepreneur and the Learning Community provided students with the opportunity to learn the skills they needed to initiate their journey in entrepreneurship. TLE is a valuable resource for visiting precollege students and educators at NYU. I value our relationship and look forward to continue collaborating in the future.

Sheila Ivelisse Borges, Assistant Director - NYU Tandon School of Engineering Adjunct Professor/STEM Educator/Diversity & Equity - Columbia University in the City of New York
yvette

Boomers remain in place in a desperate attempt to recoup losses in their retirement portfolios. Millennials are impatient and frustrated as their aspirations for growth are blocked.  More than ever, we seek rewards beyond a paycheck.  We quickly discover that the necessary autonomy and creativity we crave exist only in the world of entrepreneurship.

Universities and organizational life simply do NOT prepare you for that invigorating challenge.

The Lonely Entrepreneur provides content, experiential action-based learning, coaching and the essential scaffolding required for success.  Intellect is insufficient. Brilliant entrepreneurs have grit, courage and unequaled passion. The Lonely Entrepreneur is uniquely qualified to provide guidance, compassion, and a one-stop shop experience for everything you’ll need.

As a person of color, I must add that this learning platform levels the playing field for all who engage it regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The subjectivity and biases prevalent in most C-Suites won’t be a factor in this learning community.  As a member of The Lonely Entrepreneur, you will have access to all aspects of the journey and equal access to resources.  You will be invited to dinner and actually eat the meal!  Lack of networks, connections or knowledge of what it will take to fund the dream won’t be roadblocks.

As a Former C-Suite Executive with several decades in the for-profit and non-profit worlds, I was delighted to feel the full embrace of The Lonely Entrepreneur community.

Yvette Donado, Former SVP and Chief Diversity Officer of Educational Testing Service Former C-Suite Executive Entrepreneur & Community Activist