“Purpose-driven leaders are tired of implementing strategies that put bandaids on problems but don’t achieve systemic change. Our support offers them a human-centered approach to research and strategy, and the work we do together gets them the information they need to reliably deliver on their mission.” ~ Tameka Mongtomery, Core Strategy Partners

Tameka Montgomery, President and CEO

My family moved to Maryland from Denver, Colorado in 2013 when I joined the Obama Administration as Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development at the Small Business Administration (SBA). From 2013-2017 I ran the nation’s entrepreneurial training programs. That included, among other duties, responsibility for the Small Business Development Centers, the Women’s Business Centers, and the SCORE Mentoring programs.

When the Administration ended in 2017, I took a sabbatical and thought about what I wanted to do next. In 2018 I started consulting and soon launched Core Strategy Partners. 

My first projects were in the Caribbean, where the Organization of American States (OAS) sent me to Barbados, Jamaica, Belize, and St. Lucia to help those governments develop their entrepreneurial ecosystems. In 2019 I returned my focus to the U.S., and from then to now, it’s been a process of refining and iterating on our focus. 

Our work is focused on two primary areas of economic development:

• Workforce development
• Small business ecosystem development

We are a mission-driven company. We help purpose-driven leaders in companies and governments implement initiatives that advance an inclusive economic future. We do this with:

• Research
• Insight
• Strategy 

Purpose-driven leaders are tired of implementing strategies that put bandaids on problems but don’t achieve systemic change. Our support offers them a human-centered approach to research and strategy, and the work we do together gets them the information they need to deliver on their mission reliably – and simultaneously meet the needs of their stakeholders.

The consultancy evolved out of my experience as an executive. My background is in small business development. Yet, working in government, I could see that although our job was to get resources out to advance and support small businesses, we didn’t have our ears to the ground. We didn’t know what the typical small business needed. Therefore we weren’t in a solid position to offer new and different solutions that could create systemic change. Additionally, we operated in frenetic environments that didn’t give us enough space to think strategically – to do the rigorous work of strategy development and focus on really changing systems.

I wanted to structure my business so I could come alongside these leaders – who are trying to solve complex social problems – and help them gain a deeper understanding of their stakeholders. And then leverage those insights and design solutions that speak directly to actual, verified stakeholder needs.

The Core Strategy Partners Customer

Most of our clients are large corporations and national nonprofits. We are also looking to do work with governments.

One project we’ve been working on since 2019 is with the Waste Management corporation. We have helped them implement a workforce strategy program that targets people with barriers to employment. We’ve refined a strategy for implementing the program across the U.S. and then helped them with the implementation. For example, we work with their local business units to operationalize the program or help identify community partners who have talent pipelines. The talent may be people with differing abilities, the formerly incarcerated, or people experiencing housing insecurity.

Another current client project involves research on Black women retailers and the potential for their use of mergers and acquisitions as a strategy for growth. A third recent project has involved developing a loan reserve fund for rural businesses. We’re conducting the research that will help inform the framework for this fund and help the client move forward.

Our ideal clients are government agencies and large corporations that are committed to strengthening the small business ecosystem. Our goal is to help them better understand what small business needs – through research. 

Research is a tool that gives executives and other leaders greater confidence in decision-making. 

Montgomery County Citizen

During my sabbatical in 2018, I created the MoCo Children’s Business Fair. I’m a mom to three boys, aged 13, 14, and 16, and I’m very committed to helping young people be entrepreneurial and develop an entrepreneurial mindset. (In February 2022, I gave a TEDx Rockville talk on how to raise kids who view the world with an entrepreneurial mindset.)

The fair was held in Rockville town square for two consecutive years (2018, 2019) before the pandemic hit us. It was a 1-day experience where children and youth ages 6-15 exhibited and sold products and services they created. And I’m excited to announce that it’s coming back again this year -- in the late summer or early fall, exact date TBD.

Tameka’s Best Advice for Small Business Owners

Back in Colorado, I created an interview show called Focus on Business, and I interviewed successful business owners. In one of those interviews, Jon Nordmark, the founder of eBags, said: “Many entrepreneurs don’t have enough cash to survive the learning curve.” 

What has stuck with me from that statement is the concept of the “learning curve.” Growing a business is not something you just know how to do. There is a learning curve to it. 

I think the key to success is being willing to be teachable. And to go out and seek the wisdom and advice of people who’ve been able to achieve things that you’ve not yet achieved. That’s what I do. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I still don’t know everything. So I’m always seeking to surround myself with people who are ahead of me. Or to call someone who knows what I need to know next -- and ask them for advice and guidance for this journey.