PorchLight

Last fall, I started hearing rumblings in my circles that there was this program happening in South Dakota funded through Goldman Sachs. I figured I’d throw my name in and see what happens. After 3 months of interviews, they had over 150 applicants and PorchLight was selected as one of the incredibly lucky businesses to be in the first cohort in the state. 10,000 Small Businesses is a 3 month business program funded through Goldman Sachs consisted of about 20-25 hours of work, on top of my life, and covered everything I need to scale. The businesses I had the honor to meet range from third generation family own to 2 years old start ups. I could speak for hours on this experience. I am honored to be selected and am now empowered with tools, resources and 30 new CEO friends throughout my beloved South Dakota. Thank you thank you for this opportunity!!

There are a lot of opportunities in our rural communities for work. Here at PorchLight, we wanted to see how far people are willing to commute to work and thought the world needed to see this map too. This interactive map shows the percentages of commuters per zip code that commute daily. Want to learn how your community can become PorchLight certified? Want to talk about research needs in your community? Contact us!

PorchLight has partnered with multiple communities through the childcare planning and implementation grant opportunities provided by the Governor's Office of Economic Development. This process is the first step in learning from communities of all sizes in South Dakota the childcare needs in each community. PorchLight had the great pleasure of working with Salem, Highmore, and Elevate Rapid City in various capacities conducting community assessments. The first wave of planning began in the fall and the application for the implementation grant began in late February. Here at PorchLight, we were inspired by the community support, openness, and feedback we received for each community. Congratulations to Highmore and Elevate Rapid City on receiving the implementation grant announced yesterday. To see the full list of communities please read the press release below. If your community is interested in any kind of community research, email us at info@porchlight-services.com

This morning I had the great pleasure of speaking to the entrepreneurial studies class at Dakota Wesleyn University by invitation of Diana Goldammer, EdD. I shared with a capstone class my early working years in my 20’s and my lived experience that brought me to building PorchLight . Some of my statements were: -please work for someone else for a while to figure out an industry, work styles and leadership skills -MAKE MISTAKES -many people are messy in their 20’s, it’s ok, just get through them. -life gets really interesting in your 40’s! In perfect Midwest form, I also discovered that one of the audience members is in fact a relative because South Dakota is one big small town. Thank you for the opportunity DWU!

Kick off 2024 right and reach out to us today for all your hiring needs!

Merry Christmas from PorchLight!

Happy Thanksgiving from PorchLight!

This week on "Eye On Keloland," learn about PorchLight Certification and the great things happening in Highmore, SD! https://lnkd.in/esJE8DaN

Don't miss our monthly updates in your inbox. Sign up today to receive the PorchLight newsletter! https://lnkd.in/g6kbz78r