Tacoma small business owner Christian Paige is already seeing growth in his business with the help of a Small Business Grant from WorkForce Central. Fifth Stone Collective Co., a training, consulting, and education collective that focuses on culture, climate, and efficiency, used the grant to purchase hardware, software, and some other needed equipment.

It has expanded their ability to serve clients, share documents, and streamline administrative work. As a result, their merchandise sales have improved, their team communications are more seamless, and they recently signed their largest contract to date due to the increased efficiencies.

“It has allowed us to automate tasks, build forms, share documents, and overall has made our team so much more efficient,” Christian said. “The work that WorkForce Central is doing is increasing community and allowing BIPOC businesses to get out of survival mode and into sustainability.”

Thank you to the Washington State Department of Commerce for partnering with Local Workforce Boards on this initiative that supports small businesses and provides opportunities for them to grow.