Business Resources

The company that owns Southgate Mall in Missoula - Washington Prime Group - has partnered with the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship and members of the University of Chicago faculty to launch the Open for Small Business initiative.

Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler, Freakonomics author Steven Levitt and Institute Director Elizabeth Kregor have joined forces with Washington Prime Group to address the unprecedented business closures resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Small businesses play an essential role as a major driver of the US economy.  And they comprise a substantial percentage of retail tenants.  Lou Conforti, CEO and Director of Washington Prime Group, "In fact, the 30.2M small businesses located in the US employ 47.8% of our private US workforce. Plain and simple, it is imperative we do everything possible to keep our local entrepreneurs afloat.”