Cosette LaChance, WH & COL ’25, Seattle, WA
This summer I had the opportunity to work with the William Factory Small Business Incubator in Washington State. William Factory is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting small business enterprises and overall business development. The organization seeks to reinvigorate local economies by supporting entrepreneurs through thoughtful programming. Additionally, there is a particular emphasis on supporting minority-owned businesses. William Factory aims to support business owners in any stage of their enterprise, from those in the start-up phase to those looking for effective scaling strategies. Some of their services include webinars, workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and personalized financial advising, all at no cost.
My time with the Incubator can be best illustrated through a couple of projects I spearheaded. The first was the creation of a series of on-demand business finance lessons. While William Factory has pursued these types of workshops in-person, I was able to promote a more accessible format by recording and editing videos that can be watched at any time. I found it rewarding to be able to contribute my insights from finance and business management coursework to the teachings in these sessions, all while ensuring that the content is approachable and comprehensible for those that may have a limited business background.
The second project was writing a number of one-page spotlights on William Factory entrepreneurs. The purpose of this series was to create content that can be used to communicate our value proposition to future entrepreneurs and anyone in the community interested in learning about or getting involved in the Incubator’s work. I was able to meet with and interview seven different local entrepreneurs and have long conversations on their backgrounds, the path to their business, and their mission and future goals. There is little more inspiring than speaking to others about things that energize and inspire them. This project gave me a window into the passion, struggle, and drive that is baked into the entrepreneur experience. It also provided me with a profound understanding of the impact of William Factory’s work. Each business owner had a heartfelt appreciation for the support they received from the Incubator (receiving grants or loans distributed by our team, being connected with a robust local network and support system, absorbing invaluable, relevant business information in workshops and webinars, feeling a true sense of investment and care from William Factory advisors, getting in contact and building relationships with personal mentors, the list goes on). Getting the chance to see the results of our work up close was a special and unexpected opportunity that came with this project.
Surrounded by a small team of innovative, kind, knowledgeable, and generous individuals, my summer with the William Factory Small Business Incubator gave me more than just experience in the non-profit realm; it also opened my eyes to the power of mission-driven, people-first work. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity and I plan on carrying William Factory’s values with me in the future.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
