The most important decisions in your business have never been made in a spreadsheet. They're made in rooms most are never privy to: a boardroom, with a table full of advisors whose entire job is to know your numbers, pressure-test your next move, and tell you the truth before you bet everything on it. Here's the quiet part: only about 6% of small businesses ever get a room like this. The ones that do found their sales ran 24% higher than comparable companies without one. That kind of counsel has always been reserved for the funded few, and just like we've spent nearly a decade working to
open up grants capital, build pathways to credit, and rewrite investor norms
, now we're ready to open up the boardroom.
Imagine the power of a board of advisors who already know your business: one for the money, one for growth, one for the things that keep you up at night. They'll show you a single number that tells you exactly where you stand today, and the one move worth making next. And they don't just talk. They open doors.
You already know Alice, but stay tuned to meet the rest of the room soon.
Keep growing, Carolyn Rodz
Cofounder & CEO, Hello Alice
⏱️YOUR WEEKLY ACTION PLAN
✅ Block 30 minutes for a mid-year P&L review — identify your top revenue source and your biggest cost drag before Q3 starts
✅Pull your business credit report and review it — if you plan to pursue capital in the second half, know your starting point now
✅Name the one operational bottleneck that cost you the most time or money in the first half — you can't fix what you haven't defined
🧰 TOOLS
See the #1 CRM for small businesses in action—a demo playlist built for small businesses like yours. 🚀
Salesforce’s Small Business solutions unite your sales, marketing, and service tools in one platform. Watch the demo playlist to see how it all connects. Tools designed to scale with you. Automation and AI that act like an extra set of hands. Plus a platform built to help you find, win, and keep lifelong customers.
Business owners report automating follow-ups and reclaiming hours every week for strategic work. Others handle significantly more customers without expanding their teams.
While your competition juggles disconnected tools, get the platform that connects everything. 💪
Fuel your small business on America's best network and score $100 back per voice line from T-Mobile for Business when you add 15+ lines on the SuperMobile plan.*
SuperMobile is the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage to give you the competitive edge plus:
No annual contracts & a 5-Year Price Guarantee*
Unlimited talk, text, and 5G & 4G LTE while on our network**
Unlimited premium data
Nationwide Network Slice*** & Threat Protect****
All on America's best network. T-Mobile has the Best Mobile Network in the U.S. according to Ookla® Speedtest®.*****
Get the best for what's ahead with T-Mobile for Business' most secure, high-performance communication solution — with no annual contracts. Switch now and supercharge your business with SuperMobile.
*With 10 monthly bill credits. 15+ lines of eligible service ($45+/mo. w/ AutoPay; plus taxes & fees) required.
*5-Year Price Guarantee: Applies to monthly price on-network talk, text, and 5G data. Exclusions like taxes & fees apply.
**Activate up to 4K UHD streaming on capable device, or video typically streams in SD.
***Slice: Features available on our 5G standalone network; not available while roaming, via satellite, or while tethering. Slice features (data prioritization and latency optimization) available in areas of Ultra Capacity 5G coverage with capable device and 5G Standalone settings. Coverage not available in some areas.
****Threat Protect: Capable device, app download, and subscription (included with plan) required.
*****Best Network: Best Mobile Network in the U.S. based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data 2H 2025.
Transform your payment processing into powerful funding opportunities!Process payments with PayPal to help unlock business funding that traditional lenders can't match – working capital based on your actual sales success.
Key Funding Benefits for Your Business:
Sales-based funding decisions – apply for capital based on your business performance, not just credit score
Quick funding decisions – get working capital decisions faster than traditional lending
Flexible repayment terms – capital that adapts to your business rhythm and cash flow
Growth-focused timing – power your next bold move when opportunities arise
Business owners consistently discover that processing payments with PayPal creates pathways to working capital that traditional lenders simply can't provide. Your sales history can become your strongest funding asset.
Enhance your PayPal payment processing into a gateway for business growth, and apply for working capital when you need it most.
Transform every payment into a step toward the capital that fuels your biggest business dreams.
The lender for PayPal Working Capital and Expanded Working Capital is WebBank. Applicants must satisfy certain requirements to be eligible. Terms apply.
🎙️LISTEN WHILE YOU WORK
This week, Elizabeth sits down with Matt Ross, founder of One River School and author of Grow or Fold, to talk about creative entrepreneurship and reinvention — from scaling School of Rock to 55 locations and navigating a recession exit, to starting over at 50 and building a life and business rooted in purpose.
This week's small business shoutout goes to Bell's Bubbly Bar and Boutique, a champagne bar and boutique on the historic Strand in Galveston, Texas, founded by lifelong entrepreneurs George and Jennifer to create meaningful experiences and community.
Apply to the Allstate Main Street Grants Program today
The 2026 Allstate Main Street Grants Program, presented by Allstate in partnership with Hello Alice and GEN, is supporting up to 250 small business owners through a 12-week virtual Boost Camp accelerator focused on business growth, strategy, and financial readiness.
In addition to expert-led sessions, weekly resources, and a connected community experience, 100 participants will also receive $20,000 grants to help invest in their next stage of growth.
This initiative helps entrepreneurs strengthen their foundations and take meaningful steps toward long-term success.
💡 Hello Alice data shows Boost Camp participants are more likely to pursue future capital and report greater confidence in managing operations, marketing, and finances.
Acceptance into Boost Camp does not guarantee funding. See Terms and Conditions and FAQ for full eligibility criteria.
Pitch your product for a share of more than $1,000,000 in prizes
The 2026 CoCreate Pitch by Alibaba.com, with Hello Alice supporting the U.S. competition, is the world’s largest product-based startup competition. U.S. finalists will pitch live in Los Angeles on September 9–10, 2026 in front of a panel of industry-leading judges.
Twenty U.S. finalists will be selected across three tracks — General SMEs, 0-to-1 Startup, and Students — for a share of the U.S. prize pool:
1st Place: USD $200,000
2nd Place: USD $100,000
3rd Place: USD $50,000
All other finalists: USD $10,000 each
Prizes are distributed as 50% cash and 50% Alibaba.com sourcing credits, so winners walk away with both the funding and the supply chain to build what’s next.
Is this competition right for your business? If you have built something tangible — whether a market-ready product, a working prototype, or a clear proof of concept — CoCreate Pitch can help you secure capital, reach a global audience, and connect with the manufacturers who can scale what you have made.
To apply, download Accio Work, the official AI agent of the competition, and submit your application through the embedded CoCreate Pitch Agent.
📅 Applications close Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
Digital Ready grants are back, awarding over $1M in funding including through $10,000 small business grants. You only have to apply once to be considered all year for a $10K grant, giving you more time to submit an application and take advantage of Digital Ready’s free courses and events.
Digital Ready’s small business grants make more possible.
Here’s what past grant recipients were able to do with their $10,000:
“We used the grant to boost our online marketing and ads. As a result, our enrollment increased by about 10%.” — Ulysses John and Catherine Marcelino, Excel Taekwondo Center
“I used the funds to expand our marketing efforts and widen the services that we offer.” — Amy Brooks Hoffman, Fleur de Lis Organized Solutions
How to apply:
Sign up for Digital Ready — It’s free!
Start learning — Complete two courses or attend two events—or one of each.
Submit an application — Apply one time to remain eligible all year for the opportunity to be awarded a $10,000 grant.*
Digital Ready’s year-round application lets you focus on what really matters: learning new skills and taking your business to the next level with Digital Ready’s free courses, coaching and events.
*Individual results may vary, and outcomes are not guaranteed.
🗓️ EVENTS
Last Chance: Credit Confidence Panel Happening This Week
If you've been putting off dealing with your credit situation, here's your wake-up call: Wednesday, June 17 at 2:00 PM ET is your opportunity to get expert guidance on debt reduction and credit building—completely free.
Our Credit Confidence panel features the people who actually make lending decisions alongside experts who've helped hundreds of businesses recover financially. They're sharing the strategies that work, the mistakes to avoid, and the timeline you can realistically expect for improvement.
This is practical intelligence you can act on immediately—whether you're establishing business credit for the first time, recovering from setbacks, or preparing to pursue funding opportunities.
Your credit score isn't permanent. But the opportunities you're missing while you wait to improve it might be.
How to use AI to strengthen your brand voice — not flatten it
AI will write in a voice that sounds like everyone. Getting it to sound like your business is the harder part, and it was the focus of our recent workshop with Jo Skillman and Kelsey Ruger.
The shift that makes the difference is simple. Three takeaways:
Context beats prompts. AI flattens your voice when you ask it cold. Give it a clear picture of your brand voice to work from.
Build a voice file once, then reuse it so everything you create sounds like one voice.
Plan before you prompt. Tell the AI what you want done and how, and have it interview you to sharpen the result.
We recorded the full session, including a live walkthrough of how to build your own voice file.
Happening Tomorrow: Free Office Hours on AI for Small Business
PayPal's Small Business Office Hours is a free, small-group conversation series — and this Thursday, June 11 at 3:00 PM ET, the session is focused on AI for small business management. PayPal experts share practical guidance and best practices while learning about your specific goals. This isn't a broadcast — it's a conversation.
The session covers two things worth your hour: practical ways to automate routine tasks and keep your financial workflow running without the manual lift, and how to turn your transaction data into plain-language financial insights you can actually act on.
Sessions are kept small to keep it interactive. Live Q&A with PayPal solution experts is included. Seats are limited
The offer above contains affiliate links. If you sign up for an offer through one of these links, Hello Alice receives a referral fee. Hello Alice provides the venue for you to purchase these Products developed by our Partners, and we do not endorse or guarantee any of their Products and do not assume any liability for them. Please read on to find out more about purchasing from our Services and what you’re agreeing to when you do. If you have any questions, please email alice@helloalice.com.
Carolyn Rodz
