Local SBA Office Seeking Arkansas Business Leaders For 3-Year ‘Growth Plan’ Class

The Arkansas office of the U.S. Small Business Administration is reaching out to local executives to participate in a special project that will help create a three-year, strategic growth plan tailored to help their small businesses grow, officials said.

The trademarked curriculum, called the “StreetWise Steps to Small Business Growth,” is part of the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative, a federal business training program new to Arkansas that focuses on early stage companies poised for growth “in historically challenged communities,” said Edward Haddock, the SBA’s Emerging Leader project manager.

Boston-based Interise has partnered with the SBA to create the unique curriculum that is now offered in 42 states, Haddock said. According to the company’s website, the StreetWise curriculum now impacts over 1,100 entrepreneurs across the U.S. each year.

“This is a program where we will focus on the more mature companies and true business owners that are committed to keeping their (operations) going,” said Haddock.

According to a SBA spokesman, the new initiative in Arkansas will provide 17 business executives with the organizational framework, resource network, and motivation required to build sustainable businesses and promote economic development. Previous companies that participated in the program in other parts of the country saw 39% average revenue growth per business and secured an average of $1.4 million of new contracts in 2013, he said.

SBA is partnering with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce to host the first classes for the program in Arkansas, beginning on April 7 from 6 pm to 9 pm. The classes will continue one night a week, every other week through the end of October. Other sponsors of the program include Entergy Arkansas, Regions Bank, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, the State Chamber of Commerce, and local chambers in Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Haddock said the program has already been successful in 42 different states, and the SBA is seeking to expand its offerings in Arkansas.

“This is a great opportunity … to help programs that have gotten past the ‘just surviving’ stage and max growth, and help provide them with resource allocation and long-term strategic planning to take them to the next level of growth,” he said.

Haddock said the Emerging Leaders program targets specific local executives who are the owner or principal in a small business that has annual revenues of at least $400,000. The business also must have been in operation for at least three years, and have at least one full-time employee other than themselves.

While the executive-level course is free for businesses accepted into the program, participants must commit to nearly 100 hours of classroom and out-of-classroom work, Haddock said. The business owners must also commit to attend 13 evening training sessions and complete required homework.

SBA officials said the StreetWise program includes five modules: business and strategy assessment, financials, marketing and sales, resources and accessing capital and government contracting, and strategic growth plan presentations.

To date, Haddock said there have been four or five applicants to the enter the first local class, but the SBA has reached out to a number of public and privately organizations such as the Arkansas Mississippi Minority Supplier Development Council to attract potential additional candidates.

Registration is now open and will close March 31. Interested parties can register online here. The SBA’s Arkansas District Office will make the final selection from qualified executives.