Grow My Business (GMB) is a FREE 12-session business growth program designed to accelerate women entrepreneurs with existing microenterprises. Participants will increase their understanding and effectiveness in business and accelerate sales of their products and services through training and peer and professional support. The topics covered in GMB include:
- Capacity Building
- Business Accounting
- Sales and Customer Relationship Management
- Systematizing & Digitizing a Business
- Risk Mitigation & Disaster Planning
- Business Continuity & Succession Planning
It is a unique opportunity to receive professional and peer support and requires a great deal of dedication on your part. This five-month training and peer support program is perfect for anyone with a well-honed business plan who is serious about reaching the next level of personal and financial success.
What is the program about?
GMB is a five-month business development program designed for ETS graduates and other women who have already initiated their own startup micro-businesses. Through twice-monthly classes, 12- sessions via Zoom, you will increase your understanding and effectiveness in business and accelerate sales through training and peer and professional support.
GMB is designed to increase business know-how and effectiveness, as well as accelerate sales of products and services. Participants set sales goals, track their financial results, and give monthly presentations about their progress. GMB students also participate in a business pitch event. Scheduling and location are based on client demand.
Additional support is provided outside GMB by EWI coaches and students are being referred to other organizations to meet special needs the students might have.
Eligibility
Selected ETS graduates and other women entrepreneurs are eligible for this program and must go through an interview and application process. In order to be eligible, clients must have:
- Vetted business plan
- Registered business, social business or non-profit organization
- Financial tracking system in place (profit and loss)
- Selling products or services for at least one year prior to enrollment or at the discretion of the GMB instructor
How is GMB different from Entrepreneur Training for Success (ETS)?
EWI’s ETS program is designed to help women learn about “what it takes” to be an entrepreneur, conduct deep research on their business ideas, and plan their businesses.
GMB assumes that the business is launched and established but now needs to grow and thrive with further research and an even more serious commitment to goals. The difference can be compared to undergraduate versus graduate-level education. GMB is a monthly seminar format, which involves lots of participation and leadership from members.
What will I learn?
GMB will target the many aspects of starting a business and ask you to revisit basic questions: Who are your customers?
What have you learned to date about them and what changes should you consider to your business approach?
What is your product/service and how can quality be improved?
How will financing help you and what sources are open to you? What can you do to improve your marketing and sales techniques?
Will hiring some assistance or outsourcing be cost-effective?
Advice will be provided by classmates, instructors and mentors. You will need to be open-minded and practice some risk-taking! Remember that your original business plan is a work in progress – all businesses must evolve and grow according to the information your customers and the economic climate provide.
Facilitated by Bola Audena, Managing Partner at MBA Growth Partners, GMB is perfect for anyone with a well-honed business plan who is serious about reaching the next level of personal and financial success. It offers a chance to work on strategic growth and operational efficiency plans with the support of professionals and peers.
Meet your trainer!
Bola Audena is a Managing Partner at MBA Growth Partners, a business advisory firm offering strategic growth and operational efficiencies support to organizations. Bola has over 18 years of experience in the management consulting field, with specific focus on Go to Market strategies, Strategic Planning, and Business Process Optimization. What differentiates Bola and MBA Growth Partners is the emphasis on sustainable and repeatable business performance, leveraging best practices, data driven insights, and commitment to results to power her client’s growth and success. Bola holds an MBA from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh.