I grew up on a farm. Not a hobby farm, a real farm. We spent our long hours growing strawberries and, when problems arose, creating solutions. There, I was first exposed to the concepts of Influence and Common Sense.

As a little boy, I joined my dad and his foremen in meetings with buyers. Back then, I had no idea what was going on, but I watched closely as my dad silently allowed his foremen and the buyers to do all of the “negotiating”. Every time, I wanted him to jump in and say something. It looked to my untrained eye like he was being run over, and it boiled my blood. But when he had heard enough, my dad would finally speak. Whatever he said was always brief, but it made all chatter stop. And then, the meeting was done.

My dad’s agenda in those meetings as in all the rest of his business dealings was, first and foremost, to take care of his people. Tough negotiation ensured that he was able to pay the members of his community that were under his employ, provide them with benefits, and support them between growing seasons. But he had to choose to take on that fight. And he faced similar choices every day; choices that affected the quality of jobs he could provide.

When I finally recognized this, I saw it as my first lesson in “influence”. Entrepreneurs, in the day-to-day running of their businesses, have a tremendous influence on their community, and thus can be strong factors in whether or not that community thrives. Entrepreneurs not only grow businesses that keep money in the community, they also have the ability to provide Good Jobs – those that pay well, offer benefits, and provide clear career advancement opportunities – and improve the lives of their employees by bringing dignity to their work.

My initial exposure to the ways in which entrepreneurs influence their communities informs the work I do at ICA each day. After all, Good Jobs stem from Good Businesses – those that can sustain themselves and grow.

Over the ten years that I have been doing this work with ICA, the team has had tremendous success in scaling companies effectively, preparing businesses to access capital, and supporting entrepreneurs in paying higher wages. However, for 2014, I wanted to take a deeper, closer look at what it means to create opportunities for the people who aren’t always able to access Good Jobs, and how we can help entrepreneurs create those opportunities.

As a team that embraces new challenges, we are constantly asking ourselves if what we are doing, and how we are doing it, is the best way to address our mission. Are we doing enough? Are we having an impact? What can we do better? While our mission remains the same, our model continues to evolve in answer to these questions.

Today, we are clearer than ever on how to build Good Businesses that create Good Jobs. The 2015 Impact Report presents both the outcomes of our work, and the evolution in our thinking.