College Holds Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Graduation

The Salt Lake Community College Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (GS10KSB) program held its annual graduation this week for 92 individuals from a broad spectrum of Utah’s small business community. SLCC is one of only 13 community colleges in the country offering the unique small business education program, sponsored by Goldman Sachs Foundation.

Cohort 8 of the latest GS10KSB graduating class

Boasting a 99 percent completion rate, the Goldman Sachs program at SLCC has graduated more than 300 small business owners. About 40 percent of the graduates are women, helping to reinforce the idea that diversity in business ownership is a critical component to the success of each cohort. Nearly 50 percent of the program’s scholars have reported increased revenue within six months of graduating, and more than 23 percent have added jobs in that same time.

“I’m so proud of our graduates, who are committed to furthering their small business knowledge through our program,” said Beth Colosimo, executive director of SLCC Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. “Their hard work and dedication will most certainly pay off for them and their employees, as they work to grow their businesses using new techniques, strategies and confidence gained from the program.”

The GS10KSB program takes scholars through an intensive three-month course covering topics such as leadership, marketing, finance, law, negotiation and other important entrepreneurial skills in a peer to peer-learning environment. All scholars are owners or co-owners of their businesses and are looking for ways to increase revenue and add employees. Scholarships pay for the cost of tuition for participants, who are required to attend all 11 classes and four workshops as well as complete work outside of the classroom and meet regularly with their business advisor. Scholars work on developing a growth plan, which they will execute in their individual businesses.

Beehive Distilling's Chris Barlow

“The biggest benefits of the Goldman Sachs program are that it makes you take a real look at your own business and gives you a chance to work directly on making your business more successful,” said Chris Barlow, partner at Beehive Distilling. “What we learned in this class has had immediate impact on our daily operations and has also given us the ability to make sound decisions based on real world financial evaluations.”

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is currently taking applications to join cohorts for the next course that starts in January 2017. For more information about the program or to apply to be a scholar, visit https://10ksbapply.com.

The Miller Business Resource Center offers a wide range of services and support to businesses and organizations within the Utah community. Additionally, the MBRC has community and industry partnerships that also provide assistance to the Center. The MBRC also facilitates the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.