Supporting entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in Berks County

Dave Myers (Photo Courtesy Greater Reading Chamber Alliance)

In August 2022, the Berks County Commissioners unveiled a strategic plan, focused on fostering economic development. Imagine Berks was the first such plan developed by the county government. The intent was to identify strategies to make Berks County a better place to live, work and play. The plan had six focus areas: Business and Industry Growth; Infrastructure and Land Use; Talent and Economic Mobility; Housing; Placemaking and Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

At roughly the same time, a group of organizations that were providing services to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses began to have discussions about how to work together to enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Berks County — how they could develop more resources to serve people who wanted to start a business and how they could use those resources more effectively in this work. The Imagine Berks plan highlighted the importance of this coordination. The report noted that business birth rates for main street businesses, and the launching of retail, arts, entertainment and recreational businesses in Berks County lagged behind not only the country, but also virtually all of our neighboring counties.

Looking at efforts such as Cultivate Lancaster, the group felt that if it worked together it could do better. These organizations were already working in Berks. Some provided a wide range of services to entrepreneurs; others were more focused on things such as financial planning and literacy or funding. Some worked countywide, and others served areas well beyond Berks County.  Some focused on specific populations, such as Latino Business owners, and others worked exclusively with non-profit organizations.

With the financial support of the Wyomissing Foundation, the group did a thorough analysis of the available resources — identifying the gaps and developed a strategic plan. Sixteen different organizations were engaged in this planning effort. The Berks Alliance and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance agreed to serve as neutral third parties to help coordinate the work of the group.

Elevate Berks was born from this work. It is designed to support and provide important resources for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses to foster a thriving and inclusive business community in Berks County. Made to be a portal and point of entry for people who wanted to start a business, Elevate Berks offers access to an array of resources. The idea is not to create another service provider, but also to be a way to connect people interested in starting and growing their business, to the resources that need to be successful.

In March, Elevate Berks held its first public event to bring together the partners and people interested in launching their business. Attendees had the opportunity to network and learn about the available resources. However, the highlight of the event was four presentations by local entrepreneurs. Each spoke about the support that they had received and what it had meant to their business. Each of these businesses had worked with multiple partners in Elevate Berks, and each was successful. The underlying principle of Elevate Berks is that through collaborating we can build a stronger community. This was the message of each of these four business leaders.

Elevate Berks plans to hold other events in the coming months.  And it continues to work to make available an array of program services. Together, we can do better.