About NextLevel Chattanooga
A seven-month program that helps business owners grow their businesses and create jobs, as they develop a three-year growth plan. It requires a commitment of about 16 hours a month. Qualifications * Be in business for at least three years * Have at least one full-time employee other than the owner * Have between $250,000 to $10 million in annual revenue If interested * Cost: $1,000 per participant * Information session: 9 a.m. today at the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, 730 M.L. King Blvd. * Application deadline is April 17. * Program begins May 12. Training days and hours will be established after cohort of 12-15 businesses has been selected. * Check nextlevelchatt.com for more information.
A program that aims to help small businesses prosper will start next month through the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga.
NextLevel Chattanooga provides established business owners with the knowledge, know-how and connections to help them grow their businesses and create jobs, as they develop a three-year growth plan.
"It's applied learning," said Liza Soydan, NextLevel's program manager.
The seven-month program also has help from the National Urban League and Interise, a nonprofit organization in Boston that supports small businesses.
Applications are due by April 17, and the program begins on May 12. Training days and hours will be established after the 12 to 15 participants have been selected, to try to accommodate their schedules, Soydan said. The program requires about 16 hours a month and covers five topics, among them building profitable sales, balancing cash flow and the bottom line.
An information session is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. today at the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, 730 M.L. King Blvd.
NextLevel has so far received "a handful" of applications, and no one has yet been selected for the program, said Soydan. The selection process requires an interview, and those have not yet been conducted.
According to the Urban League, more than 2,500 small businesses across the nation have completed Interise's "StreetWise MBA" curriculum since it was first delivered in Boston a decade ago, and they reported revenue growth of nearly 40 percent last year.
The program's launch and first year of operation is supported by the Lyndhurst Foundation, and an initial feasibility assessment was supported by SunTrust Foundation.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.