Michigan's SBTDC launches "Growth Group" to help mid-sized companies grow

By Sharon Hanks

Established companies looking to grow their businesses now have a new resource to help them at the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center hosted by Grand Valley State University.

The SBTDC has formed an advanced team of six specialists called the Growth Group (G2) to prepare Michigan companies for their next stage of growth. Stan Pruski is the Group Growth Specialist based in Grand Rapids. There are five others located throughout the remaining parts of the state.

"As a business grows, decision-making and operations become more complex," says Nancy Boese, G2 Coordinator and Tools Specialist for the SBTDC. These experienced professionals guide management in the evaluation and selection of strategies using a set of comprehensive and established business tools.

Among them are a Strategic Needs Assessment that assesses employees' perception of the company and the opportunities for change. Another is a financial analysis that benchmarks the company's financials against industry standards and simulates different financial scenarios based on potential changes. Other tools used by G2 are strategic actioning, process mapping and marketing plan analysis.

Specialists work at the pace each management team finds acceptable, Boese says. "We stay with them and help them be accountable."

Offered at no-cost through state and federal funding, G2 got underway last summer with a "soft launch" that began providing services to many growing companies throughout the state.

The reaction was "very positive," Boese says. "They appreciate someone from the outside coming in and helping them with their business. We come in unbiased, so that helps."

Companies that seek G2 services are in a growth phase, have up to $50 million in revenue and employ between nine to 99 employees. Some of the struggles growing companies encounter are difficulties obtaining credit, the need to reduce overhead and the need to increase inventory turns. "Hiring the right employees is the biggest issue," she says.

The MI-SBTDC was established to provide counseling, training and market research for Michigan's new business ventures, existing small business, expanding new businesses, new technology companies and innovators. GVSU's Seidman College of Business hosts the MI-SBTDC state headquarters and oversees the 12-region MI-SBTDC network.

Sources: Nancy Boese, G2 Coordinator and Tools Specialist for the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center in Grand Rapids; MI-SBTDC website

Sharon Hanks is the innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com.