Collaborating with our partners to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) implement quality jobs that enhance economic mobility for workers earning low wages is a key pillar of the Gates Foundation’s Economic Mobility and Opportunity (EMO) Strategy. Since our partners take the lead in working directly with SMBs, I rarely have the opportunity to dive deep into an individual SMB or its business model.
However, as part of the Foundation’s Learning from the Ground Up video series, where we engage with on-the-ground experts to explore our shared vision, I had the privilege of meeting Cortaiga Collins, founder and executive director of Good Shepherd Early Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri—the city I call home.
What struck me most about my visit was how entrepreneurs like Cortaiga are building businesses and creating economic opportunities that help lift entire communities.
Small Business Success and Economic Mobility
Good Shepherd is more than an early learning center; it’s a nationally accredited early childhood education provider preparing young children for kindergarten and lifelong success. But Cortaiga’s mission extends beyond education. She is committed to offering quality jobs in the West End, Wells-Goodfellow, and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods—historically African American communities that have faced decades of population decline and economic disinvestment.
For small business owners like Cortaiga, offering good jobs isn’t just about doing the right thing—it’s a smart business strategy. Businesses that invest in their employees often see higher customer satisfaction, stronger brand loyalty, and a competitive edge in the marketplace. For instance, companies with engaged employees outperform competitors by 147%.
At the same time, national trends show that economic mobility is declining. In St. Louis, 32% of working families live on incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level (approximately $60,000 for a family of four), with limited pathways to financial security.
SMBs like Cortaiga’s, with fewer than 100 staff, employ nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers facing the lowest economic mobility in this country. When businesses like Good Shepherd thrive, they do more than provide jobs—they create stability and opportunity for their employees, offering them the power, dignity, and autonomy to build better futures.
Overcoming Challenges to Build a Stronger Business
However, like many small business owners, Cortaiga faced significant hurdles in growing her business, from limited access to capital to challenges in retaining a skilled workforce. She had a clear vision for Good Shepherd but needed support to ensure its long-term success.
Cortaiga worked with Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), one of our EMO partners, to navigate these challenges. PCV provided one-on-one business coaching, helping her refine her leadership, marketing, and HR strategies. She developed a talent strategy with their guidance to expand her team from 14 employees to over 20.
“A new entrepreneur needs strategies to navigate the valleys [in business] because they can be very discouraging,” Cortaiga told me. Having a trusted advisor like PCV helped her remain strategic and resilient.
Investing in Workers
Cortaiga’s commitment to her employees goes beyond wages. She offers benefits designed to improve job quality for employees:
- Paid time off
- Retirement planning with a 401(k) match
- Reimbursement assistance for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, a nationally recognized certification for early childhood educators
- Flexible schedules
By prioritizing her employees’ well-being and professional development, Cortaiga is strengthening her business and elevating the standard of childcare in her community.
Bulbul Gupta, president and CEO of PCV, joined me on my visit and highlighted how PCV supports business leaders nationwide in creating pathways to good jobs.
“It’s a privilege to be with one of our entrepreneurs in their business,” Bulbul said. “We have to make sure we’re supporting them—not just to keep their businesses afloat, but to help them access capital and advisory support to improve the quality of jobs they offer.”
PCV’s Good Jobs Toolkit helps SMBs strengthen their workforce while maintaining profitability. It provides practical strategies for the following:
- Competitive wages and benefits – helping attract and retain top talent, reducing costly turnover.
- Predictable scheduling and paid leave – fostering work-life balance, leading to higher morale and fewer unplanned absences.
- Employee engagement and career development – such as training and leadership opportunities, increase job satisfaction and drive innovation.
- Retirement planning and wealth-building opportunities – such as employer-sponsored 401(k) plans or financial literacy programs, help employees build long-term financial security.
By implementing these strategies, small businesses like Good Shepherd create a more stable and motivated workforce, enhance customer service, improve operational efficiency, and sustain long-term profitability.
The Role of Policy in Advancing Good Jobs
While small businesses play a crucial role in improving job quality through their own practices, they cannot do it alone. Policymakers are also critical in shaping workforce systems that support both businesses and workers. Initiatives from Foundation partners, like the Good Jobs Collaborative’s Principles for a Worker-Centered Workforce Development System, provide a framework for ensuring that workforce policies prioritize job quality and economic mobility.
By implementing active labor market policies, investing in high-quality job training and career counseling, and expanding support services, federal, state, and local policymakers can create an environment where businesses can thrive while offering good jobs that benefit both employees and the broader economy.
Paying it Forward
The Foundation’s partnership with PCV and their support of SMBs is one way we’re working to make lives better now for people experiencing poverty—the 45 million people earning incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level in this country.
My colleagues at the Foundation who focus on early learning would be inspired by the high-quality childcare Good Shepherd provides. However, what stands out most is Cortaiga’s dedication to her employees’ growth and success.
Her journey demonstrates that when businesses invest in their workers, they create a ripple effect of opportunity and economic mobility—paying it forward one good job at a time.
About Learning from the Ground Up
Learning from the Ground Up is a video series that highlights some of the partners we work with to create opportunities for students, families, and communities to learn, grow, and thrive. In these conversations, Gates Foundation leaders get the unique opportunity to engage with on-the-ground experts to explore our shared vision while discovering something new together.