By Maya Durnovo/Executive Director, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, Houston Community College
The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program is an extraordinary one. Houston is the fifth city in the country to host the program, an initiative that is designed specifically to help small business owners grow their business in revenue and employees. “Small businesses play a vital role in job creation for our city’s economy….The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will have a real effect on the owners of these businesses,” announced Mayor Annise Parker at the program launch last year at City Hall. “This is a good opportunity for our city.”
Small businesses do more than create jobs – they create opportunity. In todayپfs economy, small businesses matter more than ever – they are Americaپfs most powerful engine of opportunity and economic development. Small businesses create approximately 2 out of 3 new jobs in America each year, and drive American innovation and competitiveness.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses an initiative to unlock the economic growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, financial capital, and business support services. The program is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that this combination of education, access to capital and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses partners with community colleges across the country to deliver this comprehensive program that targets the typical established small business owner: one who has been in operation for a minimum of two years, has four or more employees with revenue between $150,000 and four million, and is poised to grow. Houston Community College was selected to offer the program because it has solid entrepreneurial offerings and has strong ties to the local business community.
Since launching the program, 98 small business owners have graduated from Houston Community Collegefs 10,000 Small Businesses program and their results are impressive. Graduates enthusiastically comment that they have a renewed and deeper understanding of their business, a strong new confidence to make the strategic decisions necessary to grow their companies, and a new network of supportive peers. Participants also say they gain valuable, tangible skills that are immediately applicable to their business, such as a better understanding of their finances; effective negotiating skills; a new appreciation for their role as leaders and decision makers; and an understanding of what factors are needed for business expansion.
Participants are diverse in experience and background and represent every corner of our local business economy: food production, services, products, and goods. Marlon Brooks, owner of Brooks Family Foods and a graduate of the first class, says, “The instruction and advice that my fellow small business owners and I were given at the classes was top-notch. As a result of the collaborations with HCC and Babson College, we all emerged from the program with a sound understanding of the business world and what we need to do to not just survive or thrive, but excel!” Brooks Family Foods has seen growth of 25% over the past year.
The business and management education includes approximately 90 hours of instruction in every facet of growing a business: and evaluating business opportunities; constructing and aligning business operations for growth; analyzing financial statements and using them for management decisions; accessing financial capital; leading a growing business; hiring, developing, and retaining a team; building a healthy organization; developing an effective marketing strategy; and more..
In addition, a business advisor works in a coaching capacity with each business owner and provides guidance in the development of a customized business growth plan. Each business owner develops a growth plan specifically for his or her enterprise. This plan is an in- depth analysis of the key elements of the business with growth projections for business expansion. It is the guiding document that every business owner needs to build a business, and one that is helpful in approaching potential funders, if funding is needed.
According to Tony Samper, owner of American Services, an Air Conditioning, Heating and Electrical Company and a recent graduate, gAs direct result of the skills learned I have hired three new employees, trained them in how their work is to be performed, re]shuffled duties and responsibilities, including my own, and made significant changes in our operation that will result in increased profits. In addition, I am in the process of buying a company for $1,300,000 and the Business Growth Plan skills that I developed through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program allowed me to write a 50-page document that made this venture bankable.h
Babson College, the nation’s premier college for entrepreneurship education, developed the program curriculum and trains local community college faculty to deliver it. The Houston Community College faculty members are all entrepreneurs with expertise and experience in running a small business. Likewise, the program’s business advisors are also business professionals who bring talent and a deep understanding of the daily challenges every business owner encounters.
The classroom setting is dynamic and interactive with a strong emphasis on peer learning and peer interaction. Everyone actively participates in the process of learning and applying the key business principles to their businesses immediately. Classes are held on Fridays and Saturdays on alternating weeks over the course of several months.
Selected applicants to the 10,000 Small Businesses program receive a full scholarship. What a remarkable opportunity! HCC invites small business owners who meet the criteria (been in operation two or more years with a minimum of four employees and revenue between $150,000 and $4 million) to apply for an upcoming class. For more information and to download an application, visit www.hccs.edu/10ksb.
As executive director of 10,000 Small Businesses at HCC, I am very proud to be a part of this extraordinary program because it is making a significant difference to each business owner and to our local economy.
