Entrepreneurship Center launches at Knight Memorial Library

KHAMRY VARFLEY is the entrepreneurship specialist at the Knight Memorial Library's recently launched Entrepreneurship Center, which provides skills training and events for local innovators. / COURTESY KHAMRY VARFLEY

PROVIDENCE – Entrepreneurs, artists and local businesses in the city’s West End and South Side have a new dedicated resource at the Knight Memorial Library. 

The Entrepreneurship Center at the Elmwood Avenue branch of the Community Libraries of Providence officially opened in August, supported by $100,000 from the Papitto Opportunity Connection.  

After an initial period of assessing community needs and outreach efforts, the center has been gaining traction throughout the fall, said Khamry Varfley, the center’s full-time entrepreneurship specialist. 

The Community Libraries of Providence launched the center at its Elmwood Avenue location to meet the needs of an innovative but underserved community in the West End and South Side of Providence, Varfley said. 

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“We do have a really large entrepreneur and small-business community here in this neighborhood, but they’re underserved and overlooked,” she said. “I’m hoping we can contribute to evening the playing field in the industry, which is a common trend for people of color in business.” 

As the center’s entrepreneur specialist, Varfley provides one-on-one mentoring and facilitates workshops focused on skills such as social media and website audits, writing a business plan, digital and financial literacy, trademarking and other basics of e-commerce and the startup process. 

When guiding others through these processes, Varfley draws from personal experience launching and running her own business, MBKBeauty. Varfley informally started the business as a college student in 2017, began offering online bookings in 2019, and a year later launched an e-commerce cosmetics line. Varfley also works as a library clerk and is studying for a Master of Business Administration at Johnson & Wales University. 

In addition to these services, the Entrepreneurship Center serves as a free coworking space with amenities such as WiFi, laptops, noise-isolating headphones and beverages, and periodically hosts “Maker Marketplace” events. These outdoor gatherings provide entrepreneurs, artists and nonprofits with a space to sell handmade goods and network in an outdoor setting with food trucks. 

The center hosts around 10 people on a typical day, and has attracted up to 45 vendors and 60 attendees to its marketplaces. 

While founded with the needs of the surrounding community in mind, Varfley said the center has also attracted visitors from other sections of Providence, as well as Cranston and Warwick. 

While Varfley is currently the only employee on staff at the center, a regular volunteer provides services in Spanish.  

Potential staffing increases depend on how much funding the center receives next year, Varfley said, though she hopes to eventually build a team and see services increased at other Community Libraries of Providence locations. 

In 2022, the Community Libraries of Providence has also appointed several other positions to meet community needs, drawing from American Rescue Plan Act funding. These positions include a community support specialist, makerspace coordinator and bilingual community education coordinator. 

The Entrepreneurship Center is open most days from 1-6 p.m. 

Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com. 

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