Work With Us

Microenterprise expertise for the institutions that serve small business.

Most business support is built for companies with employees. Weaver helps economic developers see, measure and reach the businesses their systems miss, starting with the 78% of U.S. businesses that have no employees at all.

We work with business improvement districts, chambers of commerce, IDAs, county and regional economic development organizations, funders and municipalities.

Flagship services

Ecosystem Diagnostic

A map of every resource open to very small businesses in your district or region, measured by drive time, not distance. It shows where the gaps and resource deserts are across Weaver's five resource pools: social capital, physical and digital infrastructure, knowledge transfer, market access and financial accessibility.

You get: a resource map, a findings report and a leadership briefing.

For: BIDs, chambers, IDAs, county and regional EDOs.

We start with a bird's-eye view of your area before we ask you for anything, then talk with your leadership, a cross-section of business owners and the providers already serving your area. If you want to act on what we find, we can also scope a pilot you can fund or take to a grant maker.

Plan and Measurement Review

A microenterprise read of your current economic development plans, comprehensive plans, studies and metrics: what they assume about very small businesses, what they count, and what they leave out. We recommend specific changes, and new measures that bring the businesses with no employees into view. Built on the research behind The Wrong Metrics.

You get: a plan and metrics audit and a recommendations memo.

For: EDOs, planning departments, funders and municipalities reporting to boards.

Speaking and Staff Training

Keynotes and workshops on drive-time access, rethinking small business metrics, and serving the smallest businesses well.

You get: a talk or session built for your audience.

For: conferences, associations and economic development teams.