If you want to improve and grow your business, I recommend you apply for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. From my first impressions on the opening day, through all five of the nine classroom modules I have completed to date, I have the same enthusiasm for this program and wish to share my experience with as many business owners as possible before even completing it.
First, you need to understand what this program is all about before you apply. It's a business-growth education program, like an intense mini-MBA taught in 12 weeks, with full scholarships for every participant selected. To her credit, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo went to Goldman Sachs and asked them to open their first statewide initiative in Rhode Island.
Goldman pledged to provide small businesses with the necessary business training and increased opportunities to access capital that they need to grow. The curriculum was developed by Babson College, the nation's top-ranked entrepreneurial school, and the class work is conducted at the Community College of Rhode Island. In your application, you will have to provide your tax returns and financial statements, and while you may be as reluctant to provide them as I was, it is worth it. The financial information is used to make sure candidates meet the eligibility requirements for this program. In order to be considered, you must be a Rhode Island small-business owner ready for growth, have at least two employees, have been in business for a minimum of two years, and have over $100,000 in revenue.
The curriculum is highly engaging, and I do not know where else I could receive for free (the only cost being my time) such comprehensive training on all aspects of my business. I've received accounting and HR instruction from a department head and director at CCRI, leadership and management training from a Bryant University professor, and learned negotiation skills from an international expert from the Wharton Business School. And where else could I be taught how to make my business bankable by none other than a local bank president?
All of this training has been instrumental in helping me with the core purpose of the program – to develop a growth plan for my business. During the course of the program, I have been supported and challenged by a business adviser who has worked for top local and national companies. Each and every member of the 10,000 Small Businesses team has seemed committed to our success. Equally important, I have personally benefited from the peer learning with my fellow "scholars." Understanding that we are all in this together, we bonded immediately and have been committed to helping each other achieve our new business goals.
There is truth to the rumor in business that it can be lonely when you are in charge. My involvement with my diverse peer group has shown me that I am not alone, and that I have a group of talented people to ask questions and share my issues and goals.
What amazes me most about the eclectic group of 26 people in my class is how committed and optimistic we all are in making a positive contribution to our communities. Part of this commitment is growing our businesses to hire more Rhode Islanders.
There are a number of good business programs out there but this one stands out, with its top-notch curriculum, expert faculty and advisers, peer-learning structure and full scholarships from a private business foundation.
This one business owner is grateful to our governor, Goldman Sachs, CCRI, Babson College, the 10,000 Small Businesses program faculty and staff, and to the amazing scholars in this program for this transformational experience.
Now, it's up to me to make sure I put into practice what I have learned to truly grow my business. We all know that the greatest learning experience is insignificant unless we put it into practice.
Back to that first day, they played a video that reminded us when we were kids and we thought we could do anything. This program has shown me that we still can. •
John Houle is the owner of JH Communications, a marketing-communications agency in Providence.