For more information about the program or to inquire about enrolling your early education business, contact Lauren Small: laurensmall.acuityscheduling.com or (757) 618-9218. Visit www.earlyeducationbuisness.com for more information.
This is a great opportunity to network with your peers, get out of the office and learn how to improve your early education business. Please join us for these free quarterly trainings, offered in partnership with Virginia Beach GrowSmart and the Hampton Roads Small Business Development Center. Please see a schedule of upcoming events below:
Managing EmployeesSeptember 23, 2015, Noon - 2 p.m. Reduce the stress of high employee turnover through improved human resource management systems. Learn about stronger hiring and interviewing techniques and how to write an effective job description.
Shared ServicesDecember 2, 2015 Noon - 2 p.m. A shared Services Alliance is a community-based partnership comprised of small businesses within an industry working together to share costs and deliver services in a more streamlined and efficient way. Be part of this discussion as we explre the concept of shared services in Virginia Beach.
*Location: Room L102 and L103 at the Virginia Beach Joint Use Library (1700 College Crescent, Virginia Beach, VA 23455)
SAVE YOUR SEAT! RSVP to Lauren Small at lsmall@hrccva.com or text (757) 618-9218.
The Early Education Small Business Training Program was launched in 2010 as a partnership between Virginia Beach GrowSmart and the Hampton Roads Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The innovative program, which is led by SBDC business analyst Lauren Small, offers a unique approach to transforming and improving the businesses that provide childcare and early education to our future workforce. By assisting these small businesses in becoming financially stable and utilizing business best practices, the program ensures that the owner/operators can devote the majority of their time to quality service delivery and improved outcomes for children. For five consecutive years, the program has consistently reported strong outcomes. In 2014, the Hampton Roads SBDC won the Small Business Administration's "Small Business Development Center Excellence & Innovation Center" Award because of the ground-breaking work of The Early Education Small Business Training Program.
To date, the program has helped to create 45 local jobs and has impacted over 3,000 families in Virginia Beach alone. It has also been replicated in the surrounding cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Suffolk. Virginia Beach's 2016 participants saw an average 37% increase in revenues and an average 25% increase in student enrollment. By combining sound business training with strategic quality improvement measures, the Early Education Small Business Training Program is revolutionizing the child care and early education industry, one small business at a time.
For more information about the program or to inquire about enrolling your early education business, contact Lauren Small: laurensmall.acuityscheduling.com or (757) 618-9218. Visit www.earlyeducationbuisness.com for more information
If you are a childcare or preschool owner or director interested in applying for the program, please download and complete an application.
This was an excellent experience for me as a new small business owner. I learned A LOT in this program, on how to run my business so I can stay SUCCESSFUL...(it is a) wonderful and helpful program!
This program really helped (us) become more purposeful in our processes throughout the year and really evaluate our communication with families and staff. Thank you for allowing us to participate. I am hopeful we will get to continue in the future (as we are continually growing and changing). Thank you again for a wonderful program!
The SBDC program classes were packed with very useful and valuable information for our program that was presented in a clear and interesting manner. The speakers and various topics covered over the duration of the course were organized well, so that one subject flowed into the next in a logical progression. The visits from (our) mentor, Lauren Small, were extremely helpful to our program. Her information and suggestions have greatly improved our daily operations of our Day School. She was very thorough, touching on every aspect of our operations. Additionally, Lauren kept me on track and focused with my assignments. She was extremely knowledgeable and accessible when I had questions. The services offered through the program, such as the website creation, logo creation and QuickBooks training are quite valuable to all who participated. Our new logo and website have been met with great excitement from our Day School Board.
The program was really a great help, especially for the new business owners!
The program definitely made us think about procedures and bookkeeping more in depth. After being established for many years, our methods and policies needed to be updated and reviewed. We also needed to change a lot of things to grow with the times. I feel the program helped bring some new insight and input to our school. I loved the speakers and really enjoyed being able to discuss issues with each of them. Most of the guest speakers are in the early education industry and relate to our concerns and problems our field deals with on a daily basis. I feel the program touched upon every aspect of this industry.
Great class today! I have to tell you that prior to the class today, I had decided to work on the orientation checklist, orientation procedure, hiring procedure and evaluation procedure on my own. It all seemed overwhelming, but after today’s class, it seems totally doable. Thank you so much for all of fantastic advice and information.
This program is a Godsend. It gives very usable, essential information. The class structure and instructors, coupled with the individual help, made sure the knowledge, tools and resources were actually implemented and ready to be used to the benefit of our program.
In June of this year, the Richmond District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration awarded the 2014 Excellence & Innovation Award to the Hampton Roads SBDC for the success of the Early Education Program. Warren D. Harris, Director of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development, nominated the SBDC for this prestigious award. Mr. Harris has long recognized the importance of high-quality early education as the first step in the creation of a skilled and educated workforce.
In 2016, the program impacted 477 children. To date, over 3,000 local children have benefited from being enrolled in sites committed to quality improvement through participation in the Early Education Small Business Training and Mentoring Program. At least 50+ new jobs have been created and participating businesses average between 15 and 25% revenue growth each year.
Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. served as the keynote speaker for the SBDC Early Education Small Business Training Program graduation ceremony on September 29, recognizing the 2016 class. Mayor Sessoms congratulated the graduates for their accomplishments and the success of the program in preparing businesses to succeed in all aspects, most importantly in the quality of care they provide to children. “The groundbreaking Virginia Beach Early Education Small Business Training and Mentoring Program has become a national model of innovation in the childcare and early education industry”, Mayor Sessoms remarked. The numbers don’t lie. Overall, the 2016 program has led to businesses creating 8+ jobs, a 25% enrollment increase, and a 37% increase in revenues. Upon completing the SBDC program, 80-85% of businesses invest in quality improvement measures which directly impacts the children. “This shows that the program is not only helping businesses thrive, but it is also moving us closer to our goal of high-quality early education for all children in Virginia Beach”, explained Mayor Sessoms. Lauren Small also congratulated the graduates, commending them on their hard work and achievements throughout the program.
The 2016 Early Education Business graduates include:
: Bringing together City, Schools, and the Community for a common mission.
GrowSmart’s mission is to promote and improve the healthy development, school readiness, and reading proficiency of young children, ages 0-8, in Virginia Beach.
© Copyright 2016 | The City of Virginia Beach