My Policy, Advocacy, Outreach and Activation Positions on Entrepreneurship and Small Business

Raised in Chicago, I completed my lower education at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), where exceptional teachers nurtured my entrepreneurial spirit. After obtaining a degree in branding and communications, and working in various corporate settings throughout Chicago, I established Birkdesign Inc. in 1997. My first client was the Department of Cultural Affairs, working under the late Maggie Daley and former Mayor Daley. Since then, I have had the privilege of collaborating in some capacity with every single Mayor of Chicago, contributing to both my own business success and that of other small business and entrepreneurship initiatives.

The City of Chicago's business sector, including the dedicated staff at the Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), has been a long-time collaborator and vital partner in my business growth. In 2017, I initiated the Google Digital Coaches program in Chicago, which has allowed me to maintain a strong pulse on the experiences, working conditions and network opportunities for entrepreneurs of all ethnicities in the city. Through my work, this award-winning program has reached thousands of local businesses and neighborhood organizations. Through my media agency Birk Creative, I have also had the honor of training and supporting leaders across various departments and creating branding and media buying campaigns for the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, Navy Pier, Department of Planning, and many more, helping them find and share their brand voice and transform through brand activation, digital skills and knowledge transfer.

I would like to see the development of a refreshed and updated "How to make money and be a successful entrepreneur in Chicago" policy tailored to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Chicago, fostering a more cohesive voice that encompasses community and neighborhood groups, small business development centers, agency leaders and independent entrepreneurs. My policy recommendations would be distinct from the policies at gatekeeping organizations like 1871 or World Business Chicago, and instead would aim to serve the broader diverse community of entrepreneurs, including women of all ethnicities and welcoming of those who are gender-nonconforming and neurodivergent.

If I were in a leadership consulting role during Mayor Brandon Johnson's time, I would create a robust strategy to enhance the visibility and vitality of Chicago as a hub for authentic "everyone is welcome" networking that drives real results, inclusive ideation teams, and assists people that not only want to start a business here in Chicago, but want to make real money while they are at it. Insuring that corporations hire women-suppliers which include Black suppliers for more than crumb contracts would be part of the mission and it would be accomplished. I would also integrate technology and digital skills readiness at every single touchpoint of a Chicago entrepreneur's journey.

My policy recommendations would be distinct from the policies at gatekeeping organizations like 1871 or World Business Chicago, and instead would aim to serve the broader diverse community of entrepreneurs, including women of all ethnicities and welcoming of those who are gender-nonconforming and neurodivergent.

The wealth-building progress for small businesses in Chicago has been far too incremental, and not effective in terms of wealth-building for us super- or long-term entrepreneurs. We are losing brilliant and creative minds to other cities like New York City, Atlanta and Dallas. I am eager to get paid to lead a hyper-focused group, dedicated to creating a strategy to scale opportunities for underrepresented businesses, which include women, in our city.

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