Small Business Owners: This Is the Kind of Opportunity You Don’t Ignore

There comes a point in almost every entrepreneur's journey when working harder is no longer enough.

You have built the business.

You have customers.

You have employees.

People depend on you.

But suddenly the decisions become bigger.

Should you hire?

Expand?

Open another location?

Invest in marketing?

Seek financing?

Delegate more?

Raise prices?

Drop an unprofitable service?

And perhaps the most difficult question of all:

How do you stop simply operating the business and actually begin building it for the future?

FlashPoint Television Network has encountered business owners at exactly that stage.

We have seen entrepreneurs with tremendous ideas, strong work ethics, loyal customers and real potential reach a point where passion alone cannot take the company to the next level.

Sometimes what they need is not another motivational speech.

They need strategy.

They need financial understanding.

They need experienced voices around the table.

They need relationships with other entrepreneurs confronting the same problems.

And they need a plan.

That is why FPTN believes business owners should know about Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.

This Is Not a Startup Competition

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is designed for entrepreneurs who have already started building something.

The program focuses on established small-business owners who are positioned for growth.

Goldman Sachs says applicants generally must be an owner or co-owner of a business that has operated for at least two years, generates more than $75,000 in annual revenue, and employs at least two people, including the owner.

That distinction matters.

This is not simply about teaching someone how to come up with a business idea.

It is about helping an entrepreneur who already has responsibility on his or her shoulders answer a different question:

Where do we go from here?

And the Program Is Fully Funded

One detail should immediately get the attention of eligible business owners.

The education program is free to participants.

Goldman Sachs says its Foundation fully funds the 12-week program, which is available to qualifying entrepreneurs throughout all 50 states. Participants receive approximately 100 hours of practical business education, mentorship, networking and one-on-one business guidance.

The curriculum was developed with Babson College and focuses on areas entrepreneurs deal with every day:

management and hiring,

marketing and sales,

financial metrics,

operations and technology,

leadership,

strategic planning,

and identifying opportunities for growth.

Perhaps most importantly, participants work toward developing a customized growth plan for their own company.

Not someone else's business.

Their business.

That practical focus is one of the reasons this opportunity deserves attention.

The Results Are Difficult to Ignore

More than 18,000 entrepreneurs have graduated from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses since the initiative began.

According to Goldman Sachs, those alumni collectively employ more than 341,000 people and represent approximately $31 billion in annual revenue. The company notes that these figures are based largely on self-reported alumni data.

The program also reports that 71% of graduates experience revenue growth within 18 months.

And the relationships created through the program appear to continue well beyond graduation.

Goldman Sachs reports that 84% of alumni do business with other graduates, while 99% say they would recommend the program.

That statistic should matter to entrepreneurs.

Because one of the greatest challenges in business is isolation.

The owner is often the last person everyone comes to for answers.

Employees need answers.

Customers need answers.

Vendors need answers.

The bank wants answers.

The accountant wants answers.

The family wants answers.

But who does the owner talk to?

A strong entrepreneurial network can become incredibly valuable because the person sitting next to you may understand the problem before you even finish explaining it.

Growth Requires More Than Revenue

Entrepreneurs sometimes measure growth through one number:

sales.

But sustainable businesses require considerably more.

A company can increase revenue and still become less profitable.

It can hire more employees and still become less efficient.

It can attract more customers and simultaneously create operational problems that damage the business.

Growing well requires understanding the entire organization.

Goldman Sachs says participants study financial statements and business metrics, examine operational efficiency, develop hiring and retention strategies, evaluate marketing, strengthen leadership skills and determine which opportunities deserve investment.

Those are not glamorous topics.

They are the topics that determine whether a company survives its own growth.

Stop Working Only In the Business

There is a stage when many entrepreneurs become trapped inside the company they created.

They started the business because they were talented at something.

Construction.

Food.

Health care.

Technology.

Media.

Professional services.

Manufacturing.

Retail.

Then the business grows, and suddenly the founder is responsible for payroll, hiring, marketing, contracts, operations, customer service and financial decisions.

The entrepreneur becomes the busiest employee in the company.

That can work for a while.

Eventually it becomes a ceiling.

One of the explicit objectives of the 10,000 Small Businesses curriculum is helping owners improve operations and use technology so they can spend more time working on their businesses rather than constantly working inside them.

That may sound like a small shift.

For many entrepreneurs, it is transformational.

Access to Capital Matters Too

Education is only part of the initiative.

Goldman Sachs also works with Community Development Financial Institutions and other mission-driven lenders in an effort to expand small-business access to capital.

That matters because businesses frequently reach a strange stage of growth.

The opportunity exists.

Demand exists.

The customer exists.

But capital becomes the obstacle.

A company may need equipment.

Inventory.

A larger facility.

Additional employees.

New technology.

Working capital.

Entrepreneurs often discover that knowing how to grow and having the resources required to execute that growth are two different things.

Programs that address both education and access to financing are therefore particularly valuable.

Bloomberg Has Been Involved From the Beginning

The program also has a notable connection to Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg serves as a co-chair of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Advisory Council, which helps with the program's development, implementation and evaluation. Bloomberg L.P. employees have also participated alongside Goldman Sachs volunteers in specialized training for some high-performing alumni.

The initiative itself began after Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million commitment aimed at helping entrepreneurs access education, capital and business support.

What began as an ambitious effort has now reached entrepreneurs across the entire country.

This Is Why FPTN Wants Business Owners to Pay Attention

FlashPoint Television Network believes entrepreneurship matters.

Not simply because successful companies make money.

Businesses employ people.

They support families.

They sponsor local organizations.

They hire young people.

They purchase from other businesses.

They invest in neighborhoods.

They contribute to churches and ministries.

They create opportunities that government programs alone cannot manufacture.

Behind every healthy small business there is usually someone who took a risk.

Someone signed the lease.

Someone guaranteed the loan.

Someone made payroll when money was tight.

Someone stayed late.

Someone opened early.

Someone believed an idea could become something real.

Those people deserve access to tools that can help them become better leaders and build stronger organizations.

And when a legitimate program with a long operating history offers qualifying business owners education, mentorship, networking and growth planning without charging them tuition, it deserves to be examined.

Do Not Disqualify Yourself Before Applying

Sometimes entrepreneurs see the words Goldman Sachs and immediately think:

“That isn't for a company like mine.”

Look again.

The program's alumni include businesses in construction, restaurants, manufacturing, child care, professional services, dentistry, retail and numerous other industries. Goldman Sachs says graduates now represent every state and collectively operate businesses generating tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.

You do not have to operate a Fortune 500 company.

The entire point is small business.

The important question is whether your company meets the eligibility requirements and whether you are genuinely prepared to grow.

Success Still Requires the Entrepreneur

No program can guarantee success.

No mentor can build your company for you.

No class can replace discipline.

No network can compensate for poor leadership.

And reported alumni outcomes should never be interpreted as a promise that every participant will produce the same results.

The entrepreneur still has to execute.

But good entrepreneurs also understand something else:

You do not receive extra points for learning everything the hard way.

Wisdom is knowing when to learn from people who have already solved problems you are facing for the first time.

Maybe Your Business Is Ready for Its Next Chapter

Perhaps your business has been operating for several years.

Perhaps revenue is growing.

Perhaps you have employees depending on you.

Perhaps you know there is another level available, but you have not yet identified exactly how to reach it.

This may be worth investigating.

Goldman Sachs describes the program as a 12-week commitment with hands-on education, mentorship, networking and the development of a specific growth strategy. Eligible applicants must generally own or co-own a company operating for at least two years, earning more than $75,000 annually and employing at least two people.

The opportunity is available nationally.

And applications are open through Goldman Sachs' official 10,000 Small Businesses program.

FlashPoint Television Network has seen what happens when entrepreneurs stop thinking only about surviving the next week and begin thinking strategically about the next five years.

Sometimes the breakthrough is capital.

Sometimes it is marketing.

Sometimes it is financial discipline.

Sometimes it is finally hiring the right person.

Sometimes it is meeting another entrepreneur who gives you the one piece of advice you needed.

But growth rarely happens accidentally.

It begins when the business owner decides to prepare for it.

If you have already done the difficult work of building a business, perhaps the next step is learning how to build it bigger, stronger and wiser.

And opportunities like this are worth taking seriously.