Once in a Lifetime Business Opportunity
The Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) is proud to partner with Long Beach City College (LBCC) and the Small Business Development center in promoting the following incredible opportunity for Downtown businesses:
Through a unique partnership with Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, LBCC and its partners have launched a program designed to help small businesses in the area grow and create jobs. The program is part of a $500 million national five-year investment by Goldman Sachs to unlock the growth and job creation potential of small businesses, and is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, support services, and access to capital best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses.
Specifically, the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will offer a unique combination of resources to help small business grow and create jobs. The initiative is designed for owners of small businesses with limited financial resources, and with few opportunities to otherwise access a business education designed to enhance small business success. Broad characteristics of business owners targeted to participate include, but are not limited to: business revenues between $150,000 and $4 million in 2009; business in operation for at least two years; at least four employees; operations in economically underserved areas; and a business model that could scale to create more jobs.
Business and Management Education
The initiative will enable small business owners to access a dynamic combination of coursework, business advising, and other services that will help them grow their firms. Through the support of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, business owners selected to participate in 10,000 Small Businesses with a full scholarship covering tuition and program materials. Program scholars will:
- Complete the program with a personalized growth plan tailored to their business.
- Participate in a 11-session business entrepreneurship training program (held every other Saturday from August 21 - December 4) that examines business fundamentals through the lens of the participants' actual business experiences;
- Be fully integrated with comprehensive one-on-one business advisory services that help owners to develop and implement tailored growth plans; and
- Provide access to technical assistance and mentors to help business owners to focus on their most critical business issues and increase capacity.
For more information about the program components, eligibility, and an application, please review the links provided on here.
Access to Capital
Goldman Sachs will commit $20 million of lending capital, in addition to philanthropic support. This investment will increase the amount of growth capital available to small businesses in underserved communities to deliver enhanced technical assistance to small businesses. To apply for a 10,000 Small Businesses loan, please click here for more information. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Initial loans are expected to be committee by August 2010.
Business Support Services
Business advice, technical assistance, and networking will be offered to participating small business owners through partnerships with the community colleges and national and local business organizations, as well as the people of Goldman Sachs.
This initiative and the leadership of Long Beach City College will be a positive force in bringing stability back to our local economy. The DLBA encourages you to log on here and understand how the initiative can help you.
For more information on doing business in Downtown Long Beach, please click here.
