Annual Report

KCSourceLink Year in Review 2023

Whether you’re looking to start your very first business or nonprofit in Kansas City or if you want to grow your operation, KCSourceLink can help. We’ve connected thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners like you to the right and relevant resources in our network of 230+ business-building organizations to help you clear that obstacle or reach that next milestone.

So, yes, we help entrepreneurs and business owners do their thing better, faster—the numbers below will show you how. But we also work with our Resource Partner Network to improve Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community. If you’re a corporate leader, investor or mentor, there’s a role for you to play in making Kansas City America’s most entrepreneurial city. Just reach out to KCSourceLink, and we’ll help you get involved and get connected.

Let’s dive into these numbers and see how the KCSourceLink Network is helping entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, corporate leaders build a better Kansas City.

Quick note on the figures below: We pulled data from our hotline calls, emails, The Resource Navigator® interactive directory, online searches, web visits and surveys.

Explore what happened last year.

Top 5 Requests for Assistance

Entrepreneurs and business owners reach out directly to KCSourceLink when they need help. We help them connect them to the right resource to reach their next milestone. 

We staff a hotline and help desk to field those calls and emails. We also offer folks a DIY search of relevant resources via The Resource Navigator. We’ll also host robust DIY guides to help people start a businessexplore their funding options or grow their business.

With a phone call or a few clicks in The Resource Navigator or a stroll through our guides, aspiring and established entrepreneurs can find their next step and next resource on their entrepreneurial journey.

Here’s the kind of help KC entrepreneurs asked for most in 2023 via our hotline or email:

  • Business plan assistance
  • Startup assistance
  • Grants
  • Marketing/Sales
  • Loans

Want help with some of these areas or with something else business-related? Call us at 816-235-6500 or use this form to tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll match you with the resources, coaches, investors, mentors and opportunities in Kansas City that can help.

Top Client Outcomes

Sometimes, the entrepreneurs and business owners who call us find the next resource to reach that next milestone. Sometimes, they find a mentor or investor or meet with a coach and finally get that business idea down on paper in the form of a business plan. And sometimes they discover that they need to go back to the drawing board, refine their processes, reassess their vision and maybe even take a class to better vet their business idea.

After talking with our Resource Navigators, here are just a few top actions our clients decided to take:

  • Improved their business
  • Went into business

  • Increased Sales

  • Solved a problem

  • Started a business

  • Changed their business

  • Expanded Operations

  • Changed markets

  • Increased employees

We’re here to help aspiring entrepreneurs and current small business owners clear obstacles and reach milestones. Is there something we could do better? Is there a resource you need that you couldn’t find? Is there an opportunity that you think KC is missing? Or maybe you just have something awesome to tell us? Let us know.

What You’re Reading

We work hard and write a lot of content to help make sure you have the information and inspiration you need when you’re ready to start or grow a business in Kansas City. We’ve written hundreds of blogs and Entrepreneur in Action stories (aka entrepreneur feature profiles), and we regularly assess our guides to make sure we’re giving you the tools and inspiration you need. 

In 2023, we had over 40,000 users visit our website. Here are the top five pages with the most unique pageviews:

  • The KCSourceLink home page is your jumping off point to connect with entrepreneurship. Call us if you need help: 816-235-6500.

  • Global Entrepreneurship Week is Kansas City’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurs. Catch the free weeklong event every November.

  • BuyKC helps elevate B2B and B2C business owners by serving as a one-stop platform for customers to find a local business to support and companies to find a local business to hire or buy from.

  • The KCSourceLink calendar is the metro’s most-comprehensive business calendar of events, networking opportunities, business classes and all happenings in KC entrepreneurship.

  • Our guide on how to Register and License Your Business covers six steps to register and license a business in Kansas or Missouri.

  • The Loans, Grants and Funding Guide details the stages of funding, the types of funding and where to get it.

There’s more! When you’re ready to dig into even more great content around starting or growing a business in Kansas City, check out our ebooks and downloadables:

Top 5 Blog Posts

We wrote tons of blog posts last year about tips and trends to help Kansas City’s small business entrepreneurs. Here are the top five posts that inspired, educated and resonated with the most readers:

  1. 11 of the Best Black KC Entrepreneur Stories to Inspire You during Black Business Month and Beyond
  2. 7 Steps to Prep Your Business or Side Hustle for the New Year
  3. 2 KC Entrepreneurs Show You How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
  4. Where to go in Kansas City to Invent, Build and Create
  5. 8 Kansas City Latino Entrepreneur Stories to Inspire You During Hispanic Heritage Month


Don’t miss all the expert business tips, awesome events in Kansas City and inspiring entrepreneur stories on our site and 
in our newsletter every month.

Top 5 KC Entrepreneur Stories

In our Entrepreneurs in Action series, which feature stories of Kansas City small business owners and the resources they used to find success, we share the diverse and inspirational stories of KC entrepreneurship. Here are the top five:

  1. How a Master Framer Grew a Thriving Kansas City Business from a Garage
  2. 4 Kansas City Entrepreneurs Win Coveted Enterprising Women of the Year Award
  3. This KC Entrepreneur Couple Started and Grew a Food Business during a Downturn
  4. How Parrish and Sons Became the First Black-Owned Firm to Win the Mr. K Award
  5. Setbacks, Losing Home, Car Led to Accolades, Major Growth for KC Founder

Connect with Us!

Get insights, inspiration and events to help you start, grow and accelerate KC businesses.

How can we help you?

Our team helps grow entrepreneurship in Kansas City every day.