Time sure flies fast when you are passionate about what you’re doing—and that is exactly the sentiment of our CEO Vanessa Best as she culminated her third year as the New York instructor contracted by Interise for the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Emerging Leaders Program.
“Teaching always gives me an opportunity to give back and help business owners discover their strengths and learn from each other,” says Best. “When I started Precision HealthCare Consultants back in 1995, I didn’t have this kind of program and I struggled to figure things out by myself. It’s extremely fulfilling to be a part of an endeavour that provides entrepreneurs the support and resources they need to grow and scale.”
The Emerging Leaders Program is an SBA initiative that provides free entrepreneurship education and trainings for executives of small companies that have good growth potential. As its New York instructor, Best has annually overseen a group of entrepreneurs throughout a seven-month period of classes, one-on-one mentoring sessions, and guidance on practical business plans and strategies.
According to the SBA, the Emerging Leaders Program has trained over 5,000 small business owners, which resulted into the creation of more than 6,500 jobs. The program has also generated over $300 million in new financing and has helped businesses secure over $3.6 billion in government contracts.
Best says that what’s been admirable from her experience as an instructor is witnessing firsthand how her students are able to dedicate their time to pursuing further education despite being busily hands-on with their businesses simultaneously.
“I’m continuously inspired by each class and session along with the messages—text, email, phone calls—I get from every program participant,” says Best. “I also learn together with the participants each time we go through their strategic growth plans. What’s fabulous about the Emerging Leaders Program is that the learning opportunities are a combination of both my experiences as an instructor as well as each participant’s business and story. One of the main goals here is to bring financial experts and lenders to the class. Believe it or not, there are participants in this class who secured loans within one week of meeting a lender! It’s that kind of success stories that assert the fact that connecting businesses with the right resources really spurs growth.”
In her tenure as New York instructor, Best says that she also feels privileged to have worked with Steve Bulger, SBA’s Region II Regional Director (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands), and Beth Goldberg, SBA’s District Director for New York.
“Steve and Beth both carry huge responsibilities of helping oversee the SBA’s operations and they are extremely supportive of the Emerging Leaders Program,” says Best. “It’s a privilege to have been selected as a New York instructor for the past three years as contracted through Interise. There are around 1.6 million businesses in the New York district alone and it feels good to know that I’m helping entrepreneurs flourish in some ways by facilitating this program.”
The application link for Class of 2019 is Now OPEN! Go to www.sba.gov/emergingleaders to apply. The deadline to apply is March 22nd. You will be happy you did!
To know more about our CEO’s business achievements for Precision HealthCare Consultants, visit www.precisionhcc.com.