What does the
Local Business Institute do?
Part think tank, part school, part national leadership, part training ground for local leadership, the Institute is home to local leaders from across the country. Through online and on-demand programs, special projects, distance learning, virtual and live conferences, lectures and events, we work to foster local, national and even global conversations around entrepreneurship and local economies. We bring substantial resources to entrepreneurs of all ages and stages.
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At the Local Business Institute, we don’t talk about business as B to B or B to C. We talk about small, local business as H2H—Human to Human—because all small business is humans helping other humans. It’s why we all do what we do.
Our belief in local business goes even deeper. Read more.
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Completed Projects
Programs
Reining in Amazon
The Local Business Institute has long joined with our national allies in working to protect the interests of small business across the nation. We are members of Small Business Rising and support the work of the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) in their...
Using Ai Doesn’t Mean You Abandon H2H
You already know AI isn’t just a flashy tech trend—it’s becoming part of the everyday rhythm of running a business. The real question now is where it can give you more time: helping you respond to customers, shape your marketing, organize the work behind the scenes,...
The Capital Small, Local Businesses Invest That No One Measures
SERIES: More Than a Transaction • 6 of 6 When economists talk about what businesses contribute to a community, they're usually talking about wages, local purchasing, and charitable giving. Those things are real, and they matter. But they are only one of four forms of...
The Loneliness Epidemic Connection
SERIES: More Than a Transaction • 5 of 6 In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health crisis—and the response from most institutions was more programs, more outreach, more campaigns. But some researchers are pointing to something simpler...
A Small Bakery, a Big Heart: Finding Comfort in Community
SERIES: More Than a Transaction • 4 of 6 Dear readers,You may have noticed I’ve been absent and you haven’t received the Power of Local blog in three months. I took a leave of absence when I lost my son in an auto accident in late April. It’s taken a bit to pull...
Your Neighbors’ Health and Your Business Are Connected
SERIES: More Than a Transaction • 3 of 6 Researchers at Stanford's Graduate School of Business went into Roxbury, Massachusetts—a historically Black community with a substantial Latinx population—to understand what local business owners were actually doing. What they...
