Daily News

Stronger Businesses Program Slated for March 20

SPRINGFIELD — The Stronger Businesses Program will begin on March 20 at the Business Growth Center at Springfield Technology Park. Designed for business owners who are focused on growth and want to take a fresh look at their markets, revenues, and operations, this workshop meets for five mornings over a seven-week period and includes two private technical-assistance sessions, one price for up to three people per company, and peer-mentoring sessions over breakfast.

“It is specifically designed not to be Business 101,” said Karen Utgoff, co-founder and facilitator of the program. “The series emphasizes active learning and immediate application of specific tools and techniques to gain fresh perspective and identify opportunities and challenges, with the goal of turning those insights into actionable steps.”

Added Laurie Breitner, the program’s other co-founder and facilitator, “we were gratified to learn from participants in earlier sessions that they found the program very useful, and all reported that they had improved their businesses and made well-defined plans for future growth — more capabilities, more customers, more sales, increased profitability, more employees.”

The Business Growth Center has again received a grant from the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. to support the Stronger Businesses Program. Business owners from underserved communities are particularly encouraged to attend.

“While this program is designed for existing businesses, we also welcome startups and nonprofits that need assistance defining and planning growth,” said Marla Michel, the Business Growth Center’s director. “We ran the program last year, and every participating business reported positive results. We are proud to offer a program with such compelling impact.”

Additional information about this and other programs is available at www.businessgrowthcenter.org/seminars-workshops or by contacting Mary Marquez, assistant program manager, at [email protected] or (413) 355-5680.