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About Us

The TLE Center for Urban Entrepreneurship (TLECFUE) is a start-up, non-profit organization founded in 2015 by Tricia D. Young of TLE Consulting Group as an extension of the Group’s support of the small business ecosystem of Massachusetts.

 

TLE’s primary focus is to provide support to those with the greatest barriers to the resources needed to develop a business, particularly those who identify as Black and Latinx, LGBTQ+, who have been previously incarcerated, or have historically not had equitable access to the knowledge and means to establish an independent, thriving business. TLE focuses on empowering micro-entrepreneurs operating solo or with a few employees in the beauty and personal care services industry, to grow a bankable business.

 

TLE is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its leadership, practices, and programs. Of the 350+ businesses that have passed through our program, 47% are immigrant owned, 86% are minority owned, and 77% are female led. Our staff and board are also representative of the population we serve; 40% of them have family members who were incarcerated. Of those in our workforce development re-entry program, 50% to date have completed all skills training with 25% having been placed in jobs and another 22% contuining on into specialized training; 3% have started a beauty business.

 

Our primary economic development goals are to work towards increasing access to brick and mortar space and capital for beauty entrepreneurs who do not traditionally have access to these resources. Our participants receive a wealth of resources and education in the form of business and skill development workshops and one-on-one mentorship by seasoned professionals in the industry. Our population includes people who are marginalized and who face the stigma associated with being previously incarcerated or having low income and education attainment. We believe that with the right tools and support, more of our beauty micro-entrepreneurs experiencing these hardships and barriers will have the chance to share their talents and skills with the greater local economy, benefiting both the recipient of the resources and the community at large.

What Makes Us Unique

  1. We take great pride in ensuring that all of our programming is not only facilitated by the best and most well-regarded trainers  in the business & beauty education space, but also that our approach to learning is hands-on and no-nonsense.
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  3. Our cohort sizes are no more than 15 businesses at a time to ensure that we can foster more individual attention, increased participation, and better communication between our instructors  and students inside and outside of the classroom setting.
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  5. Once an entrepreneur graduates from one of our signature programs, he/she/they  is/are then get/s access to ongoing technical assistance and resources such as financing and studio space to further stabilize their business.
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  7. We provide our graduates with access to grant funding to support their implementation plans and to better position them in the future for a small business loan.
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  9. Our entrepreneurial community receives tailored mind body wellness support to help them develop the mental agility and resilience needed to persevere through the ups and downs of managing a business.