Karina Holyoak Wood | Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at CCRI executive director
Confidence is the word I hear most from local business leaders about their experience participating in our small-business growth education program.
Graduates say that 10,000 Small Businesses gave them confidence to:
• Set bigger business goals.
• Raise their prices.
• Fire their difficult employee.
• Take out a loan.
• Purchase their building.
• Lead with their personal style.
Confidence is the quality of being certain of your abilities, or of having trust in people, plans or the future. Running this program and working with hundreds of Rhode Island entrepreneurs from every sector, I have learned that:
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Confidence comes from knowledge. When you learn the right skills and have the right tools, you become confident. When you understand your numbers and know how to negotiate, you become confident. When you can describe your target customer and your company’s core values, you become confident.
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Confidence comes from having a plan. When you develop a growth plan for your business, test it and vet it with experts and peers, and use it as the guide for all your business decisions, you become confident.
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Confidence comes from connection. When you build a trusted network of advisers and fellow entrepreneurs who share feedback and resources and support you, and when you realize that you are not alone but are, in fact, one of thousands of dedicated small-business leaders who are all muddling through, making mistakes, learning and growing – you become confident.
Through greater access to education, capital and support services, Rhode Island small-business owners can grow revenue, create more jobs and improve our communities. In this, I am confident.