SourceLink Nebraska Expanding Outreach in North Omaha

Omaha – Raising awareness of career services and small business opportunities – and promoting events that advance the success of budding entrepreneurships – are examples of the many ways SourceLink Nebraska is expanding its outreach by partnering with community workforce organizations in North Omaha.

Brandi O’Malley-Tarpley serves as North Omaha Operations Director for SourceLink Nebraska, a program hosted by the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC). “Entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges, and one of the most common is collecting so much information they don’t know where to start,” O’Malley-Tarpley says. “I guide them where to go first.”

In addition to her role as North Omaha Operations Director, O’Malley-Tarpley serves as a SourceLink Nebraska Lead Network Navigator, providing resource coaching upon demand for entrepreneurs and business owners to discuss tailored solutions and the resource connections to satisfy their objectives.

In 2024, SourceLink Nebraska introduced Business Connect to offer in-person resource coaching in communities across Nebraska. While SourceLink Nebraska primarily delivers virtual programming, the program recognizes the value of in-person connections when discussing business goals and available resources. Through partnerships with local economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, and community colleges, Program Director Scott Asmus is traveling to communities across Nebraska implementing Business Connect. This effort is supported by the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act (NSBAA), being administered by the GROW Nebraska Foundation and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

O’Malley-Tarpley offers similar in person resource coaching through Business Connect from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Thursday from an office at the Metropolitan Community College IT Express program, situated at Millwork Commons, 1106 N. 12th Street in Omaha.

“The NBDC provides support with business planning, financial projections, market research and referrals to trusted partners,” O’Malley-Tarpley says. “Entrepreneurs don’t have to navigate the journey alone when utilizing the Business Connect resources coaching I provide.”

The outreach efforts of the NBDC and SourceLink Nebraska benefit a number of community organizations, including Heartland Workforce Solutions (HWS), says Shaneka Whitlock, who serves as the HWS 75 North Career Readiness Coordinator. In her role, Whitlock offers employment services and awareness of opportunities to the former residents of Spencer Homes in North Omaha.

In a previous job with the Nebraska Department of Labor, Whitlock became aware of the resource mapping SourceLink Nebraska provides, and has referred entrepreneurs to the program.

O’Malley-Tarpley attended a Career Kickback event Whitlock hosted earlier this year, which sparked a partnership on another event, a workshop that included cottage food law training provided by Nebraska Extension. The cottage food law allows individuals to sell homemade foods already authorized for sale at farmers’ markets directly to consumers from the producer’s home, fairs, festivals, other public events or online for pick-up or delivery within the state of Nebraska. In 2024, Nebraska updated the cottage food law to expand the types of foods cottage food producers could sell, including some that are considered Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) foods.

Whitlock says the interest in home-based food entrepreneurship in North Omaha was immediately evident. “We had opened the attendance to 47 and we had more than 70 people register," she says. “So we added a second workshop in September for those on the waiting list.”

While some home-based food entrepreneurs are seeking to add a second income, Whitlock says, “Others are interested in building their business because this is what they really want to do fulltime. Workshops and partnerships with resources like the NBDC help ensure they have a better opportunity for success.”

O’Malley-Tarpley says these partnerships underscore the NBDC’s and SourceLink Nebraska’s commitment to accessibility statewide. “Outreach efforts like this are crucial,” she says, “and bringing services directly to North Omaha demonstrates our dedication to making resources available to everyone.”