Recycler, business coach praise SBA's e200 training program
Aimed at inner-city business owners, the federal program is looking for 15 more firms for this year's 13-week session.
Recycler, business coach praise SBA's e200 training program
Mike Armstrong, Inquirer Columnist
When the Small Business Administration launched its Emerging 200 training program in Philadelphia two years ago, I thought it sounded like a good deal.
Described as an MBA-lite, the e200 is aimed at inner-city business owners intent on growth and creating jobs. Plus, the 13-week program is free for participants.
But you tend to get what you pay for, so is free entrepreneurship training really valuable? It was to two participants in the 2009 program that I interviewed.
Jon Waybar said he had no formal business training when he started what is now Revolution Recovery L.L.C. with Avi Golen in 2004. The firm near the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge recycles construction waste, including wood, brick and drywall.
Waybar and Golen were green in more ways than one. With a company that now employs 22 people, Waybar said he needed to learn more about finance and human resources.
Describing the e200 program as “excellent,” Waybar said he could bounce questions about his business off accountants, HR professionals, and lawyers. In the real world, advice like that can get expensive.
For Franne McNeal, who earned an MBA, the e200 resonated because of the peer coaching she received. “It was great being around other entrepreneurs and having them critically question me and my business about the choices I made,” she said.
McNeal, who runs her own business-coaching firm, called Significant Business Results, said it was well worth the time she invested in it.
With instructors prodding participants to apply what they were learning to their own businesses, the program was much more than an academic exercise, she said.
This year, the e200 will have room for 15 Philadelphia firms. To qualify for the program that starts in April, a company must be at least three years old with about $400,000 in annual revenue.
Also, a business must register to attend a recruitment event. The first will be held at the Philadelphia Department of Commerce office, 1515 Arch St., Room 18-020, Thursday, 6-8 p.m. The second is set for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, 200 S. Broad St., Suite 700, March 30, 6-8 p.m.
To register, call the SBA’s King of Prussia office at 610-382-3062.
Mike Armstrong blogs about Philadelphia corporations and business-related topics. Contact him at 215-854-2980.
Reach Mike at marmstrong@phillynews.com.
