SBA Accepting Applicants for 2018 Emerging Leaders Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking applicants for the 2018 Emerging Leaders Program. The program is free of charge and will run from March through September, 2018. This executive-level, intensive education series includes approximately 100 hours of training per participant and provides the opportunity for small business owners to work with experienced professionals and develop connections with their peers, city leaders, and financial communities. Participants are established businesses owners who have been in business for three years or more, have at least one employee, and minimum annual revenue of $400,000.

Entrepreneurs will be in class for 40 hours of instruction time, taught by Interise, divided over 13 class sessions. Participants will also spend roughly 14 hours in “CEO Mentoring Groups”. The curriculum consists of five modules that will be covered in class; Module 1: Business and Strategy Assessment, Module 2: Financials, Module 3: Marketing and Sales, Module 4: Resources- People, Accessing Capital, Government Contracting, and Module 5: Putting it all together- Strategic Growth Plan Presentations. The average time out-of-class time commitment is three hours for each class, though some sessions demand up to six hours of preparation time. All the instructional approaches – classes, “CEO Mentoring Groups”, and self-paced learning are interconnected and of equal importance.

If you would like to apply for the program, click on the registration link http://www.interise.org/sbaemergingleaders. If you have any questions about the program, contact Joan L. Moran, Deputy District Director at 401-528-4580 or joan.moran@sba.gov