NEW ORLEANS – Small business owners from across the Greater New Orleans and Gulf South region are invited to apply for the next cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses scheduled to begin in May at Delgado Community College. The deadline to apply is March 2.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a training program designed to help entrepreneurs, poised for growth, develop valuable skills to grow their businesses and provides them with information about accessing financial capital and powerful networking opportunities—at no cost. Since 2011, more than 500 entrepreneurs have benefited from the Greater New Orleans program at Delgado Community College and have continued to work together. In fact, 84 percent of graduates report doing business with fellow alumni.
Participants can expect one-on-one business coaching, legal and financial clinics, workshops, and a dynamic network of peers and experts. Small business owners will also learn to identify and evaluate opportunities, embrace practices that increase business growth and ultimately develop a comprehensive growth plan for their businesses.
Angelica Rivera of Colmex Construction is a New Orleans-based graduate of Cohort 1. She cites the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program for helping her develop a growth plan that transformed her company. After graduating the program in 2011, Colmex Construction’s revenue has increased more than eight times, and the number of contractors they work with has more than tripled. “If someone asks me how I got to this point in my business, I always tell them the most important thing was the 10,000 Small Businesses program,” Rivera said.
Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to growing their businesses and creating jobs within the community and meet the following criteria:
• Owner or co-owner of a business
• Business in operation for at least two years
• Business revenues over $150,000 in the most recent fiscal year; and
• Minimum of four employees, including the owner.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing greater access to education, capital and business support services. Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation are committing $20 million to the program in the Greater New Orleans area.
