Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Launches in NH

Businesspeople participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses training program. Courtesy photo.

Santosh Salvi, CEO of Unique System Skills LLC, says there are plenty of programs, funding opportunities, and support services for startups, however, once a business is up and running, support flags. This is why he took part in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses training program with excitement and trepidation [Disclaimer: Goldman Sachs is an advertiser in Business NH Magazine.]

“I was worried whether my time would be utilized well, and it was,” Salvi says. “I got to meet a lot of other businesspeople and talk about my growth plan.” Salvi, who cofounded Unique, a Nashua-based IT staffing, training and placement service, took part in a panel discussion at the NH Business and Industry Association’s annual Small Business Day in February to share his experience after taking part in the program in 2018 in Massachusetts. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program is designed to help small-business owners learn about negotiation, marketing and employee management, and developing a strategic growth plan.

Richard Bliss, a professor of finance at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where the curriculum for the program was created, says the average age of a small business is 11 years. “If you make it that far, you are doing something right, but how do you take it to the next level?” he asks. He says entrepreneurs who build a business from the ground up often have a hard time delegating, either because they do not have the right team, the right processes in place, or the personality to do so. “We urge them to understand what it is about their business that would make people want to work there,” Bliss says.

Salvi says he learned important lessons about delegating, rather than doing everything himself. “I’ve learned so much about how to be a successful entrepreneur,” he says. “Now I’m more organized and focused.”

Salvi says his revenue was $1.4 million two years ago and now it is $3 million. He adds that he stayed in touch with other CEOs he met through the program and when he was looking to expand into the Philadelphia market, he was able to glean keen insights from a former classmate.

The program is now offered in NH through the Community College System of NH and launched in March. It will run for three months with in-person sessions and self-paced online learning. Sonia Moin, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses director, says 85 percent of the program’s graduates do business together.

For more information, visit 10ksbapply.com/newhampshire.