Hello Alice, the fintech helping over one million small businesses access capital, announced today the launch of the Business Health Score, a new assessment tool for small business owners looking to increase their financial and business health. The Score will serve as a new industry-wide measurement of business health, helping small businesses identify areas that need improvement, best practices to grow their businesses, and how to secure more investment, capital, and credit opportunities. Hello Alice provides wraparound services that SMBs can use to achieve these self-improvement goals. The tool will also serve enterprise partners and banks by providing them with unique insights to inform personalized recommendations for optimized engagement with their small business customers. The Business Health Score is the first product under the newly launched Equitable Access Program. The program is run by Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network with key partners such as Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and the Kauffman Foundation.
The Business Health Score provides a comprehensive overview of a business's financial health, which allows small business owners to make informed decisions about how to improve financial performance and achieve long-term success through a real-time recommendation engine. The Score is a self-assessment questionnaire, resulting in a composite number that is calculated based on three key areas that impact a business's financial health: financial and business management practices, financial performance and position, and credit history. By focusing on these areas, small businesses will have the tools to increase revenues, improve cash flows, and increase access to financing.
The Score will help Hello Alice and ecosystem partners, including financial institutions, understand the unique needs of small businesses and develop educational content, financial offerings, services, and solutions to improve their business health. The score will provide partners with a measurement of the risk profile of a small business owner beyond a regular credit score. This new set of data will fill a gap that previously existed in the market and build a comprehensive, holistic understanding of small businesses. Partners will be able to improve recommendations on the services and products that can best help small business owners in achieving their growth and financial goals.
"Over the last two years, Americans have applied to start 10.5 million new businesses, leading to a surge in the small business economy and more entrepreneurs who need support to properly grow their businesses. We recognized data was missing from the market that would give enterprise partners and financial institutions a clearer picture of the potential that small business owners possess for massive growth and investment," said Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz, Co-founders of Hello Alice. "We are providing unparalleled visibility through the Business Health Score that will empower small business owners to make more strategic decisions and optimize their growth while giving partners and institutions the insight to best help them through personalized service and product recommendations."
Hello Alice and GEN are committed to ensuring that all entrepreneurs and small business owners have access to the capital necessary to grow the sustainable businesses that are powering their communities and economies. The Equitable Access Program will provide financial health technical assistance, education, and credit access for high-potential but credit-challenged small business owners. The Business Health Score is the first tool to launch under the program and additional tools and services will follow in the coming months.
"Entrepreneurs are well-equipped to deal with disruption and changing dynamics, but while talent is plentiful, opportunity is not," said Jonathan Ortmans, founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network. "The Equitable Access Program and Business Health Score will open doors for small business owners to better manage and grow their businesses, which will lead to more strategic partnership and funding opportunities."
According to Hello Alice data, 69% of small business owners said that the effects of inflation on their businesses worsened throughout 2022, forcing them to increase prices and adjust product offerings. Nearly 70% of owners applied for funding to manage inflation-related challenges in 2022, and another 70% plan to do so in 2023. When it comes to credit, only 25% of small business owners have applied for a business credit card, and 85% of those applications were denied due to poor credit or lack of credit. Despite the challenges SMBs face in accessing capital and credit, they are overly optimistic about the potential for growth this year, and with tools like the Business Health Score, they will have more resources to strategically plan for growth.
ABOUT HELLO ALICE
Founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice, a fintech providing credit, loans and grants, is a free platform serving more than one million small business owners across the United States. Committed to equitable access to capital for the New Majority - women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, and entrepreneurs with disabilities, Hello Alice offers funding, education, tools, and curated opportunities. Working with enterprise business services, ecosystem partners, affiliates, and government agencies, Hello Alice provides its growing community with everything they need to grow their businesses. Hello Alice serves a diverse community of business owners across the country. Approximately 68% of owners are BIPOC, 63% are female, and 17% are military-affiliated.