KEENE, NH (November 27, 2007) – From a pilot group of five local businesses that started classes in 2004, the Hannah Grimes Center has since graduated five classes of local entrepreneurs striving to take their businesses to the next level. From an initial success rate of 30% growth in the pilot group, the most recent entrepreneurs graduating from the program increased their businesses’ sales growth by 119 percent in just 12 months – adding an additional $1.4 million into the local economy. Each business has also added an average of one new employee.
Suerae Stein of Stein Graphic Design stated, “The Entrepreneurship program motivated me to work harder, think more positively, and take leaps that I never would have considered a year ago. Our monthly group meetings have given me a great perspective on small businesses and I’ve gotten fabulous information from sharing ideas and contacts.”
For Neil Giarratana, President, Lucidus Corporation, “The Entrepreneurship program was invaluable to the success of my company. It prompted me to focus the vision for my company and guided me towards reaching that vision each step of the way.”
Nancy Wibben, Owner, That Soap Guy says she “went from having an out of control hobby, to being a business owner. One of the biggest problems with being a sole proprietor and only employee of my business is that there’s no one handy to bounce ideas and information off of. I don’t always have time for networking or appointments with experts.”
The impetus for the program came when Founder and Executive Director Mary Ann Kristiansen recognized the need to provide a higher level of business skill training to the more ambitious members of Hannah Grimes Marketplace – those members who were ready to take their business to the “next level”. Funding from USDA Rural Development helped launch the new program to help five local businesses increase sales, markets and employees as well as to build the programming capability into the Hannah Grimes organization to help existing businesses who were looking to build the skills they needed to drive their businesses forward.
In January of 2006 the Entrepreneur Program became a foundation for programming when the Hannah Grimes Center took over operations of a business incubator at 25 Roxbury Street in Keene. The organization and its entrepreneur program expanded its scope beyond New Hampshire artisans to include a wide range of businesses including builders, high tech, professionals and service providers.
The program is a facilitated group of seven business owners who meet in a three-hour monthly meeting for a total of 12 months to learn business skills and receive tangible problem-solving input and support. Month by month, businesses also complete a full business plan during the course of the year. Participating businesses range in size with annual sales from $2,500 to nearly $1 million and from artists to high tech businesses. The program includes opportunities to network with program alumni and to attend the annual Hannah Grimes Center’s annual Entrepreneurship Conference.
Hannah Grimes educates the successful entrepreneurs that support a thriving local economy and vibrant community built upon our region’s heritage, culture, natural resources, and the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. Established in 1997, the Hannah Grimes Center operates a successful Marketplace at 42 Main Street in Keene that serves its 275 members and the community, and provides resources, networking and office space to small and emerging businesses from its main office at 25 Roxbury Street in Keene.
