Inclusive Entrepreneurship – Data Strategy & Program Impact
The Challenge
The Accessible Entrepreneurship program faced a significant data gap. While the organization utilized a CRM, the system was insufficient for tracking long-term participant success or capturing post-completion statistics. Without a clear feedback loop, the program could not fully demonstrate its economic impact or identify specific trends that led to successful business launches for entrepreneurs with disabilities.
The Action
I was brought in to modernize the program’s technical infrastructure and lead a comprehensive qualitative research initiative to uncover the true story of participant success.
Infrastructure Gap Analysis: Conducted a full audit of current technology and interviewed Canadian CRM providers to recommend a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution tailored to the organization's unique reporting needs.
Qualitative Research Design: Developed a multi-year outreach strategy targeting participants from the previous five years. This included the design of surveys, cold-calling scripts, and structured one-on-one virtual interviews.
Customer Success Framework: Implemented individual success plans and established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to define and measure what business growth looked like for diverse entrepreneurs.
Accessibility Audit: Applied a WCAG 2.1 lens to all marketing materials and intake processes to ensure the program remained inclusive from the first point of contact.
Data Analysis: Analyzed five years of program iterations to identify the specific elements, such as wrap-around supports versus standard coaching, that correlated with successful business outcomes.
The Result
The research provided a roadmap for future program design and a compelling narrative for stakeholders.
Engagement: Achieved a 19% contact rate with in-depth virtual interviews lasting up to one hour, providing a depth of data that standard surveys could not reach.
Key Findings: Identified that participants receiving wrap-around supports were significantly more successful than those receiving business coaching alone.
Strategic Reporting: Delivered a comprehensive impact report that was featured at a national inclusive entrepreneurship conference in Newfoundland.
Process Optimization: Discovered that traditional survey methods created technical and cognitive barriers for this demographic. Shifting to phone and video interviews increased participant confidence and the quality of the data collected.
Insight 1: Standard Surveys are Out
One of the most significant findings was that standard digital surveys were perceived as overwhelming and inaccessible. By offering direct human connection through phone calls and interviews, we removed the technical friction that usually prevents participants from sharing their stories.
Insight 2: Wrap-around Support as a Success Driver
The data clearly showed that business coaching in a vacuum is less effective for inclusive entrepreneurship. The most successful participants were those who had access to holistic supports that addressed barriers outside of traditional business planning.
Insight 3: Modernizing the Feedback Loop
Modernizing a CRM is only half the battle. The real value comes from designing an outreach strategy that aligns with the user's communication preferences, ensuring the data being entered into the system is accurate and high-quality.