DreamSpring’s First Book Captures 30 Years of Small Business Grit and Growth

The cover of Grit and Growth depicts the word Grit in red and the word Growth in green with a small sprout extending from the w. The authors names are below in a turquoise-y blue. The background has a textured look.

The first book in DreamSpring's 30-year history, available now through major booksellers.

Published by Wiley, the first book from a leading CDFI draws on real founder voices to guide small business owners from startup through growth to exit.

Being a business owner shapes you in ways you don't anticipate. But the full human experience of entrepreneurship has never fully been part of the conversation. We wrote this book to change that.”

— Anne Haines

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, UNITED STATES, May 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Access to capital can change a business. But it doesn't teach a founder how to survive their first real crisis, find their way back from burnout, or build a purposeful business on their own terms. That knowledge usually comes from personal experience, earned over a lifetime of entrepreneurship.

DreamSpring has spent three decades walking alongside founders through it all. Now the nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lender is putting what it's learned into the hands of every founder who needs it.

Today, DreamSpring announces the release of Grit and Growth: Candid Stories and Lessons for Building a Small Business with Purpose. The book is published by Wiley and authored by DreamSpring Founder and former President/CEO Anne Haines, Senior Communications Specialist Laura Marrich, and Chief Engagement Officer Amber Kani. It is the first book produced by DreamSpring in its history.

Grit and Growth is shaped by Haines's own entrepreneurial journey of founding, scaling, and ultimately stepping away from DreamSpring over 32 years. It also draws from dozens of hours of interviews with the real small business owners served by DreamSpring at every stage, from startup to growth to exit planning. Among them: a Pueblo potter whose work hangs in the Smithsonian, an award-winning tabletop game publisher, and the founder of a barber and beauty academy who has graduated nearly 1,000 students. Each chapter pairs that testimony with practical how-tos and myth-busting that challenges some of entrepreneurship's most stubborn assumptions.

What comes through is a full picture of entrepreneurship, told with a candor that's rarely found in business guides. Grit and Growth covers the emotional weight of isolation and self-doubt that founders don't often discuss publicly. It moves through pivots, burnout, and the grinding work of clawing back from a crisis. And it celebrates the successes and moments of joy that make the whole thing worth it. The book meets founders wherever they are in their journey and helps them build on each stage as they reach it.

"Being a business owner shapes you in ways you don't anticipate," Haines says. "But the full human experience of entrepreneurship has never fully been part of the conversation. We wrote this book to change that — and to give founders practical insights to help their businesses thrive."

The industry has taken notice. Ann Rhoades, Executive Founder of JetBlue Airlines, says it's "destined to become the go-to bible for present and future entrepreneurs." Joyce Klein, Director of the Business Ownership Initiative at The Aspen Institute, praises its combination of "entrepreneurial wisdom with deeply human storytelling."

Written for small business owners, nonprofit leaders, and aspiring entrepreneurs, Grit and Growth is available now through major booksellers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, BookShop.org, and Target. Organizations interested in bringing the book's curriculum to their teams through interactive leadership sessions led by the DreamSpring team can reach out directly to Amber Kani at akani@dreamspring.org to explore partnership opportunities.

Laura Marrich
DreamSpring
+1 505-456-0104
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