Speak up. Stand firm. Shape the future.

Advocacy

Policy Influence. Systems Change. Collective Voice.

While our core offerings build skills and strategy, we also equip, convene, and activate ecosystem builders to step into their role as advocates for change. Through shared platforms, collective campaigns, and capacity-building, we help builders use their voices to influence policy, shift funding practices, and shape public narratives. From local councils to national coalitions, our advocacy efforts elevate ecosystem builders as trusted leaders and changemakers—driving systemic transformation from the ground up.

Current Efforts

2025 SBA Size Standards Review

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is proposing updates to the rules that determine what qualifies as a “small” business. These definitions shape access to contracts, funding, and support programs nationwide. Ecosystem builders play a vital role in ensuring that policy decisions like these reflect the realities of entrepreneurs on the ground. By equipping ecosystem builders to educate themselves on the impacts, prepare their communities for pending changes, and engage in public comment processes, we help keep small businesses at the center of opportunity.

Proposed Changes

On August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration proposed raising revenue-based size standards for 263 industries. These changes will expand the pool of businesses that qualify as “small,” opening new opportunities—but also creating challenges for microbusinesses and support organizations who may find it harder to compete.

This is not just a policy shift—it’s an ecosystem shift. How we define “small” shapes who gets seen, funded, and supported.

The Ecosystem Builder’s Role

Ecosystem builders are vital in this moment. You are the bridge between complex federal policy and the entrepreneurs who feel its impact. Without intentional action, the smallest firms risk being left behind as the definition of “small” grows.

  • Educate Entrepreneurs → Make sure businesses understand if and how the rule affects their eligibility.

  • Equip Support Organizations → Adapt programs, services, and metrics to reflect the new standards.

  • Advocate with SBA → Submit comments by October 21, 2025 (Docket No. SBA-2025-0102) to ensure community voices are heard.

How WayBuilders Is Helping

At WayBuilders, we care because these shifts shape how we build better ecosystems—and whether entrepreneurs at every stage can thrive. That’s why we’re taking action in three ways:

  1. Providing insights and tools → We are providing a 1-page explainer to help translate the proposed changes for your community and will share additional insights and resources through our LinkedIn Channel.

  2. Equipping communities → We are delivering in-person or virtual workshops and consulting services to help ecosystem stakeholders navigate the new standards with clarity and confidence and leverage potential rules changes for new opportunities to build better.

  3. Driving collective advocacy → We are spearheading the #RightSizeSBA campaign to ensure the definition of “small” truly works for entrepreneurs of all sizes.

Need a Speaker or Advisor?

Interested in booking a guest speaker or consultant to help unpack the SBA rule changes?