NEWS: KANAVA’s Carol Yee Completes ‘10,000 Small Businesses’ Program

KANAVA International is excited to announce that our Chief Operating Officer (COO) and co-owner, Carol Yee, has completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) Program. The program offers continuing business education through Babson College, a network of executive mentors, and access to capital through “mission-driven small business lenders.”

“Goldman Sachs and Babson have really figured out the right program for small business owners that are beyond the start-up phase,” said Carol. “The program provides you with the opportunity to network with and learn from other small businesses that are in similar situations that you are in, even though they are in totally different industries.”

When she began the program in August of this year, Carol became one of a select group of small business owners from across the United States and its territories to undergo the rigorous offering. Fitting the time for the program into an already demanding work schedule was challenging, but well worth it.

“If your goal is to grow your business, this is the program for you,” added Carol. “It’s a strategic investment that you need to take seriously, but what you get out of it more than makes up for the time you are putting into the program.”

The 10KSB program helps business owners develop a growth plan that can be immediately implemented — a process that can be replicated to evaluate and develop each new opportunity. That, says Carol, has been an invaluable lesson, providing “clarity on what next steps KANAVA needs to take to grow the business.”

Among the many insights Carol gathered from the program is that business owners need to work on the business rather than always in the business. Growing a business can be tough, but part of the process lies in recognizing that all small businesses, no matter what industries they work in, face many of the same challenges, and you can learn from them and build new partnerships through this program. Also it is powerful to put your growth plans down in writing, said Carol, since this allows small business owners “to focus on how you are really going to achieve growth and to have a document to hold yourself accountable to.”

Of the 6,000 small businesses that have completed the program so far, more than two-thirds saw an increase in revenue within six months of joining the program, and nearly 80 percent reported revenue growth after 30 months. That’s compared to a national average of 47 percent among U.S. businesses. KANAVA appreciates the opportunity to participate in this program and encourages other small businesses to join the 10K small businesses program.