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                     Lab Notes
Dear Reader,

I was hiking with a friend recently who’s thinking of starting a business in the social sector (addressing the need to focus on strengths in children and families in the child welfare system versus deficits – lovely!). She asked about my experience running a business, which gave me pause and I realized that we, ResultsLab, had our official five-year anniversary in January. Given all things happening in our country in January, this milestone initially approached and then passed without notice. In that moment, I realized not only had we just hit a five-year milestone, but we had also reached some notable goals that I had set when I started the business.

All of this made me think about what got us here – what has contributed to our success? Statistics such as, 50% of businesses failing within the first 5 years*, and only 2% of women-owned and led businesses reach $1M in revenue** both motivated me, but also reminded me of the great barriers that are present for small businesses, and even more so for businesses owned by women and people of color. Certainly opportunity, privilege, social capital, hard work, and a fabulous team helped get us to where we are today, and also authenticity, listening and adjusting to meet our clients’ needs, and pushing new ways of doing things in our sector.

However, the most notable reflection goes to our clients. Here I want to say thank you for opening your doors so we can support your work, trusting us, and teaching us what’s needed along the way. Fabulous work is happening in our communities, supported by hard-working diligent people with deep integrity. This inspires me to continue our work so we can support yours.

Now that we’ve reached that five-year vision, what’s next? We still see so much room for growth in our area of work, including: addressing power dynamics (who gets to engage in learning practices and who gets to say what data is collected, used and how), ensuring that our services are designed in ways that are accessible and useful, and reaching more organizations so they have the tools and capacity to listen, learn, design and adjust to best engage with their communities.

Last week we had a leadership planning session where we set this next vision, reimagining the desired future we want to see in the social sector. We are excited for what is to come in 2021, and we are excited for what is to come in the next five years, but most of all, we are excited to get there with you, your ideas and your collaboration. Getting to a better future will require ongoing exploration and learning among all stakeholders in the social sector. Tell me what change you want to see, I’d love to hear from you.


Many Thanks,





Founder & CEO
ResultsLab



If this message and/or the resources below resonate with you, please share this month’s Lab Notes with a friend or colleague.

February Resources
 
 
Reading
Watching & Listening  
  • The Power of Passion & Perseverance – Teacher, Researcher and Psychologist, Angela Duckworth, shares her theory of "grit" as a predictor of both academic and professional success
  • The Puzzle of Motivation – “The secret to high performance isn't rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive-- the drive to do things for [your] own sake”
Shine the Spotlight
  • We are excited to start working with Sistahbiz Global Network, whose mission is to close the equity gap in entrepreneurship by supporting Black women build scalable, sellable, profitable businesses. If you're looking to get capital and scale your business, check out the Sistahbiz Loan Fund. If you are a product-based business, then consider applying to the Retail Success program. If you want to support this cause, invest in a Black, women-owned business here.
  • We’ve been working with Mi Casa Resource Center building a continuous improvement practice to easily harness participant data for program improvement and to tell the story of their programs. Learn more about how Mi Casa Resource Center is supporting entrepreneurs through their Business Pathways program, and their commitment to closing the prosperity gap for women, minorities, immigrants, and families with limited resources.
Announcements
 
 
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ResultsLab reduces barriers to data literacy, equipping nonprofits with the mindset, skill set, and tool set they need to manifest their missions effectively, for the long-haul.
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