The Emerging Enterprise Center introduces Growth Wheel, a visual toolbox for decision-making and action planning for start-up and growth companies. “We are excited to be able to make the Growth Wheel tool available to our EEC companies, as part of their counseling in the incubation program,” says Frank DeSantis, Program Manager, EEC, “and also to the entire small business community, through workshops in our Business Education Program.”
Entrepreneurs learn pretty quickly that having a great idea, a great product or service, and perhaps some great customers are only a small part of the puzzle when starting a business. To be successful, a business owner needs to develop a lot of different skills and this can be somewhat overwhelming.
The Emerging Enterprise Center provides a comprehensive incubation program, in a nurturing environment for early stage businesses. “Support, Access to Resources and Advice” has always been the commitment that the EEC makes to the start-up companies in the incubator program. This approach has enabled the EEC to focus on the individual needs of each of its start-up companies so they could concentrate on growing their business, developing business skills and graduating from the program with a scalable business model.
Growth Wheel was designed around the observation that all businesses – in all industries and life stages – have four lasting challenges in common: They must create an attractive Business Concept, build a strong Organization behind it, develop lasting Client Relations, and do so while maintaining profitable Operations. Within each of those four quadrants are 5 Focus Areas, as indicated below, that contain the business skills necessary to implement a successful strategy.
According to Frank DeSantis, “Growth Wheel is the perfect tool for us to use with our EEC start-up companies. It helps our companies focus, set an agenda, make decisions and take action!” The process starts with a self-assessment by the entrepreneur, which gives them a 360 degree perspective on their capabilities within each focus area. It will provide structure and a framework with which to develop business skills.
Besides being a valuable tool used in the individual counseling of companies in the EEC, Growth Wheel will become an integral part of the overall 2016 Business Education Program that the Emerging Enterprise Centers presents. In addition to the longstanding series; Finding Your Next Customer and Business Fundamentals, 2016 will include a 5 session Growth Wheel Series, starting in January 2016 with an Overview and Briefing, followed by a quarterly workshop from a focus area from one of the four quadrants.
The Emerging Enterprise Center offers several types of Business Incubation Programs: Residential incubation, which includes affordable office space; Virtual incubation, for those not requiring office space; International Soft-Landings and a Pre-Incubation program for those serious, but not quite ready to commit. To find out more about the Emerging Enterprise Center, its Business Incubation or Business Education Programs, contact Frank DeSantis, Program Manager at [email protected], 302-294-2056 or visit us on the web at www.EECincubator.com.