1-800-Junk-Relief & Green Diaper Babies at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Conference
Shannon Griffith of Green Diaper Babies and Joe Weidman of 1-800-Junk-Relief.com, both Make City companies, took a trip to Washington D.C. recently to attend the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Alumni Conference. Below you'll find a bit about what they learned.
1. Why would your experience at the conference and in the program be interesting to other incubator companies?
Shannon Griffith:
Joe Weidman:
2. Can you offer a piece of advice or key insight that you took away from the conference or program?
SG: Working on your business is hard, but keeping the focus "on" the business and not just in it, is key. Finding the vision and mission for a company takes time and strategy and it's as important as delivering product to a customer. If the business has no direction or true guide with vision it may stop or end up somewhere never intended. The program gave me tools to pull myself from my business to have a healthy perspective of being the owner, founder, CEO, and recognize what I wanted it to be for me.
JW: One of the key pieces of my business I am much more focused on after the program is financials. I always had a good understanding of my P&L, but I never made a formal budget and then stuck to it. After the program I put together a budget in Quickbooks and have been following it ever since. I completed the program just over a year and a half ago and this has made a huge impact on my bottom line.
3. Why was the program an asset for you? How did it influence you and your business?
SG: The program gave me tools I didn't have prior to like HR and employee culture techniques as well as tools for operational success. The program was well taught and had great progression of material that helped each owner create new ideas, growth strategies and more, that were immediately effective in the business!
JW:
4. Any other thoughts you would like to share about the conference you attended or the program in general?
SG: Anyone able or interested who meets the guidelines would BENEFIT! It's a free program and worth all of the time it takes both in class and outside. The friendships you make in the cohort as well as valuable mentorships from professors is invaluable.
JW: I would encourage any tenants or small business owners to seriously consider this program. If you can make the time to attend, and you do not already have an MBA from a top program, this is a no-brainer. And just a reminder, IT'S FREE! I am happy to speak further with anyone who might be interested. Just be prepared to hear me talk your ear off about how great it is...
1. Why would your experience at the conference and in the program be interesting to other incubator companies?
Shannon Griffith:
- Program: Without a personal business background starting a business was hard and I made mistakes along the way; the program was tailored to entrepreneurs like myself who were years into running a business but still had room to learn business strategy and techniques. The program is focused on helping business right away, every step of the way there was immediately something I could take into my work to apply. I was running my company while in the program and this was the focus, work on my business not just in it.
- Conference: Pulling together alumni from across the nation was very powerful. Since we all experienced the same curriculum there was immediate connecting points around our businesses that we could share and learn from one another. Doing business became easier with fellow alumni as there was trusted embedded in the scholars that graduated from the program. A badge of honor and respect.
Joe Weidman:
- Program: Going through the 10KSB curriculum was like taking a crash course MBA program from Babson College, the top entrepreneurial MBA program in the country. Any small business owner in the incubator would get a lot out of the program.
- Conference: If the 10KSB program was the education to help improve the way you run your business, the conference was 12 hours of intense inspiration and motivation. Listening to Tyler Perry, Richard Branson, and Warren Buffett tell their stories and lend encouraging advice was like an adrenaline shot for a small business owner.
2. Can you offer a piece of advice or key insight that you took away from the conference or program?
SG: Working on your business is hard, but keeping the focus "on" the business and not just in it, is key. Finding the vision and mission for a company takes time and strategy and it's as important as delivering product to a customer. If the business has no direction or true guide with vision it may stop or end up somewhere never intended. The program gave me tools to pull myself from my business to have a healthy perspective of being the owner, founder, CEO, and recognize what I wanted it to be for me.
JW: One of the key pieces of my business I am much more focused on after the program is financials. I always had a good understanding of my P&L, but I never made a formal budget and then stuck to it. After the program I put together a budget in Quickbooks and have been following it ever since. I completed the program just over a year and a half ago and this has made a huge impact on my bottom line.
3. Why was the program an asset for you? How did it influence you and your business?
SG: The program gave me tools I didn't have prior to like HR and employee culture techniques as well as tools for operational success. The program was well taught and had great progression of material that helped each owner create new ideas, growth strategies and more, that were immediately effective in the business!
JW:
- The program was helpful because not only did it allowed me to see things I was doing wrong and fix them, but most importantly, it helped validate the things I was doing right. It gave me more confidence to push forward with some big ideas that I had for the company.
- Secondly, my network has expanded exponentially. I not only have new business relationships but new friendships made through the program.
4. Any other thoughts you would like to share about the conference you attended or the program in general?
SG: Anyone able or interested who meets the guidelines would BENEFIT! It's a free program and worth all of the time it takes both in class and outside. The friendships you make in the cohort as well as valuable mentorships from professors is invaluable.
JW: I would encourage any tenants or small business owners to seriously consider this program. If you can make the time to attend, and you do not already have an MBA from a top program, this is a no-brainer. And just a reminder, IT'S FREE! I am happy to speak further with anyone who might be interested. Just be prepared to hear me talk your ear off about how great it is...