Small businesses in Sacramento, Stockton can get help through free leadership program

Small businesses in Sacramento and Stockton have a chance at getting a master class in leadership and management — and you can help to nominate them.

The Inner City Capital Connections program is offering a free training program to Sacramento business owners in disadvantaged urban areas for the second time and is expanding its reach to Stockton.

Select small businesses, which are chosen from a pool of nominees, will participate in a 40-hour educational course that includes a seminar with Ivy League business professors, online training and advising from banking and consulting firms.

The program is run by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a national organization that, partnered with Kaiser Permanente, previously brought the program to 60 local businesses last year that each employed about 10 people full time on average.

The 40-hour program’s focus is on building capacity and long-term growth in inner city businesses through individual coaching and networking with financial partners.

Participating businesses have the opportunity to conclude their program at a national conference in Boston, where they can make pitches for capital.

Trish Rodriguez, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente in south Sacramento, said the benefits of the ICCC program extend beyond just the participating businesses; they reach the whole community.

“If we can help strengthen the business sector, those businesses will build jobs and help improve the health of the community,” Rodriguez said. “Economic security is vital — we’ve seen it with our own patients.”

When small businesses grow and prosper, Rodriguez said, there are more and better jobs, which lead to a higher quality of living and greater access to health care.

And when it comes to those handful of businesses chosen for the ICCC program, Rodriguez said she has heard a lot of success stories.

Matt Burgess of Burgess Brothers BBQ & Burgers said before going through last year’s Sacramento program, he and his brother, Jonathan, were ready to grow, but they “needed someone to open that door.” Now, their business has expanded by about 75%, he said.

Burgess, who is still implementing skills and strategies acquired from the program, said one of the most important takeaways is the lasting connections and network building.

One of the first things he learned from the program was the importance of developing a social media presence. His catering and supply business now does business with Hilton hotels in Texas — an opportunity he nabbed through a LinkedIn account, he said.

Business owners thinking about applying to the program may feel overwhelmed by the large time commitment, Burgess said, but this kind of program — with lectures by Harvard professors and experts in the field — would normally be worth thousands of dollars.

“Make time for things that are essential in business,” Burgess said. “(Business owners) have everything to gain.”

The 2,221 participants in nationwide ICCC programs have averaged 160% revenue growth and have created 19,907 jobs between 2005 and 2017, according to figures provided by ICIC. Businesses take about three to six months to go through the program.

“This is about wellness. This is about how you link business growth and job creation in our most distressed communities in America ... with wellness outcomes,” ICIC CEO Steve Grossman said in a prepared statement.

ICCC Director Diego Portillo Mazal said there are many programs for both startups and large businesses, but those businesses that have been around for a while yet struggle to get to the next level operate in a “lost middle.”

The ICCC program is meant to help along businesses like that in ignored, impoverished areas with the understanding that robust enterprise can improve quality of life, Mazal said.

“The way to make those communities thrive is to make small businesses thrive,” he said.

In order to participate in the program, businesses must have been in operation for more than two years and operate primarily in an economically distressed area or have at least 40% of its employees living in an economically distressed area. ICIC participants generally have average annual revenues of at least $500,000, and the participants in last year’s Sacramento program averaged $1.2 million in annual revenue.

If you know of a business you would like to nominate, you can do so here. The deadline for nominations is June 14 and the program starts in July. Be sure to read through the full eligibility requirements here.