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By 2030, an estimated 10.3 million people in the United States will have transitioned to self-employment. Professionals who work for themselves and aren’t business or corporation employees are self-employed. You may become self-employed by building a business, consulting, e-commerce, freelance contracting, or inventing an app, product, or service. What every self-employed person has in common is their need to be adaptable to change and overcome challenges to build and keep a successful business.

This year, we awarded $15,000 in scholarships to five fantastic young people. The below individuals were chosen out of the 24 applications we received and reviewed, all of which were very well put together. We know the winners will put their $3,000 to good use this school year and we are proud to assist them on their journey.

The America’s small business community continues to grow at a record-breaking pace, now accounting for 19 million new small business applications since the beginning of the Biden Administration. The news comes on the heels of a new National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) national small business survey indicating 52 percent of respondents are optimistic of their own small businesses’ future, while also identifying the challenges impacting their success, including health care costs and prescription drug prices, taxes and inflation.

A new, national survey of over 650 small and micro business owners released today by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, finds the state of America’s small business community strong with 52 percent indicating they are optimistic about their own small business’ future, while also indicating they face challenges due to rising Health Care and Prescription Drug Costs (47%), Taxes (46%) and Inflation (45%). The survey also found that 66% of small business owners indicated they view the economy as “fair” or “poor”, suggesting that the challenges have directly impacted their view of the nation’s economic conditions. However, the economic ratings among small business owners tracks better than recent public opinion polling of the general public which finds a 77% (Pew, May 2024) and 79% (Gallup, May 2024) rating the economy either “fair” or “poor”.

As students head to college this upcoming school year, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, today announced it is awarding $15,000 in educational scholarships to five dependents of current NASE members, each granted $3,000 for their academic studies.

In the late 80’s, an author by the name of Robert Fulghum wrote a best-selling book filled with short, personal essays. One of his anecdotes was about meeting strangers while traveling and how every interaction started with the same two questions: 1. What’s your name? 2. What do you do for a living?

Gregory A. Dunlap Sr is the CEO & Principal Broker of Dunlap Financial Services LLC located in Baltimore Maryland. Dunlap Financial Services is a Minority-Owned Insurance Agency that sells adequate and affordable Insurance of All Types. Founded by Gregory Dunlap in 2018, the Company’s product line includes Life, Health, Property, Casualty, Accident & Health or Sickness, and Travel Insurance.

The last 30 days have been a whirlwind of political activities that have serious implications for the 2024 Presidential campaign. June 24 President Biden and former President Trump met for an unprecedented, early debate. Technically, both were presumptive nominees of their parties, as neither the Republican or Democratic Convention had been held to formally nominate them. The Biden-Harris campaign fully negotiated the terms of the debate: no audience, auto microphone turn off for the person not speaking, and two commercial breaks. The debate was an unmitigated disaster for President Biden. Immediately following the debate, concerns related to Biden’s age and mental fitness started to swirl.

Making time for mid-year planning is essential for self-employed individuals and small business owners to continue progressing throughout the year and finish it out at the highest potential. It helps keep a business owner or entrepreneur on track with their goals and allows them to make the necessary adjustments needed to finish the year strong through reflection and intentional planning. Whether your micro business, small business, family business or freelance business is exceeding expectations in the first part of the year or isn’t quite where you intended to be, mid-year business planning can help get you where you desire to be by the year’s end. If you’re exceeding expectations, then seeking out new opportunities and challenges will be part of your mid-year plan. For those that need to get back on track, making adjustments, setting new goals reallocating resources will be a crucial part to your mid-year plan. No matter where you are at in your business journey this year, you can benefit from the following mid-year planning tips from The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

Sherri Lynn is the Founder & President of 4PPL cosmetics LLC located in Orono, Minnesota. Previously, Sherri had a position as a food broker which shaped her outlook and set things in motion. That’s when she initially became interested and more fond of the natural beauty industry. So much so, that as we fast forward to today she is now the Founder and President of 4PPL cosmetics LLC. It’s a cosmetics and beauty company that caters to people who are looking for a more healthy approach to the more common, standard applications. The 4PPL tribe are those that appreciate clean, cruelty free and vegan products and the company motto is “What makes us better — is what makes you better.” That means, that the products that our customers use that makes them feel better, cleaner, allowing them to make better decisions — allows 4PPL cosmetics LLC to be better.