My Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Experience

Welcome to Episode 153 of the Own Your Genes Podcast, where we empower entrepreneurs to use their education and their experiences to create dope businesses. I’m your host, Attorney LaConya Murray. I missed y’all. How was your summer? So let’s see, at the end of last season, or the last episode we recorded, I was preparing to turn 45, headed to DC for Navo’s advocacy days, and also going to New York to graduate from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program. So how was everything on my end? Let me tell you, there’s something about turning 45 that’s just filled me with joy and excitement and hope. And I don’t even know what it is. Like I literally can’t explain it, but I’m looking forward to receiving everything that is mine, period, point blank. Like I’m ready for the season of my life. DC, DC was really a reminder that it is really important for us to not just vote in our national and federal elections, but also locally. We need to not show up without knowing what these people on the ballot, what their policies are and what their stance are on things that affect us as business owners, because when we get to the federal level, if they don’t have the right support locally, it doesn’t matter. Being in DC was just a strong reminder of that. And the Goldman Sachs program was very enlightening. And I know people have questions about that program. So today, we’re going to discuss my experiences with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program. But before we dive into today’s episode, make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any insights on how to own your genius.

Welcome back to the Own Your Genius podcast where we discuss building businesses, growing brands and what else? Only your genius. I’m your host, Attorney LaConya Murray, owner of Off The Mark IP Solutions. Off the Mark is a boutique intellectual property firm representing innovative entrepreneurs aka geniuses who are looking to protect their brand and grow their business with ongoing legal support and business mentorship. We have a good one for you today, so let’s get started.

So hey, Geniuses, you have probably heard of some sort of Goldman Sachs program as it relates to helping business owners. They have several. The one that I participated in was called the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program. And it’s really a program that provides practical business education and is facilitated either in person on a local level or virtually just depending on what program you choose. When I was accepted, I was actually given the choice to…start in February on the national cohort or the local cohort. They were launching one in the fall in my area. I chose the national cohort because I didn’t want to wait to get that information that I needed. I wanted that stuff now. Plus, if I’m being honest, I high key was looking forward to going to New York and meeting all the people that I was going to be doing this program with. I mean, a free trip to New York.

This program, a lot of people are interested in like, what does it take to qualify? So in order to qualify for the 10,000 small businesses program, you need to be in business for at least two years, have an income or revenue of at least $75,000 a year, and I want to say at least two employees and those employees can be either employees or contractors. You know, the next question that I get about this program is why this program, like why Goldman Sachs 10,000 small business program or any type of program at all, like, why didn’t you do it? Especially since I’ve been in business since 2012. So why was it all of a sudden that I felt this need to join this program? And I’ll tell you, from my personal experience, I felt like there was a gap in the knowledge that coaching couldn’t fill. I’ve, I’ve signed up for programs before. And when I got in there, I just felt like it was surface level because I knew the information.

That was one reason. And then another thing is when you get into these programs, they’re typically focused on one area of business and then they’ll do that one area of business for weeks and weeks and weeks. That’s not how my brain works. If you give me it, I can digest it and I can learn and I can move on. So this program was really helpful for me in that reason. Now the way that it’s set up, first of all, let me just say the purpose of it is to evaluate your business and determine an opportunity for growth. So that’s when you, when you get into this Goldman Sachs, 10,000 business, you’re going to be looking, you’re going to pull the curtain up and you’re going to be looking behind the scenes and seeing what you have and how you can potentially take what you have and find another opportunity or another revenue stream. And if you don’t quite have it, like what services or goods could you put together in order to create that revenue based off of the market, like how can you go in there and help? Because when you’re in business, the whole point of business is solving a problem. You’re looking at your business to see or what additional problem you could solve. That’s the whole kind of purpose of that program. It is a nine-week program. And then that program, man, you learn so freaking much. You’re going to learn how to identify, evaluate and forecast opportunities. So that’s again, the whole purpose of it is this whole opportunity thing.

They don’t just say, hey, go find this growth opportunity. They’re going to talk to you about what that looks like, how to evaluate it, and then how to forecast and potentially see the effect that opportunity could have on your business. And not only the effect they can have on your business from a revenue standpoint, but also what it’s going to take in order for you to get there from your people, from your resources, to all the things. So I thought that was pretty dope. And in that nine weeks, each week is a different lesson.

So one week you might be identifying growth opportunities or just looking at your business and seeing what resources you have. Another week you could be learning about building your team from hiring and your leadership, and then marketing and sales is another week, and then operations and processes is another week. It kind of is quick paced. You go through a lot of information. But like I said, to me, it was right on time and exactly what I needed. My biggest takeaways from this program, like my biggest aha moment, it came with the people part because I learned my leadership style, which is very important because before that, I just thought, I’m being honest, I just thought something was kind of wrong with me and I was like just living, you know, and operating in this way. It was good to know that there’s nothing wrong with me. Like this is an actual style of leadership. Cause my style is first of all, I believe if I hire you to do something, then I’m going to trust you to do it. And because of that, I’m not going to micromanage you, but I do need information in order to make informed decisions. And so that’s something like I ask a lot of questions and that’s normal. Yay. Um, the other takeaway was the interview, like learning how to hire people was because in my 12 years I’ve worked with people, own and all, you know, virtual assistants, in-house people. Sometimes it just wasn’t the right fit and I always was a little intimidated by the interview process on my end. Like I’m sitting here applying for the job. No, I’m actually giving the interview, but I learned how to give great interviews and the key to hiring A1 players. So that was awesome. And as a result, like after the program ended, I hired two really great team members and that interview process had a hundred percent to do with it. The other takeaway from this program was, like I said, we evaluate your business, we pull the lid up. And so while I’m sitting here trying to figure out, oh, how can I better serve my community? What can I offer them? I realized that I was leaving money on the table. I really, I literally found an opportunity that could increase our revenue by 20% without much more effort on our part so easy that I said, okay, we’re going to do this, but I’m also going to focus on another growth opportunity. Like all I had to do is put a couple of systems in place and bam, that was it. And then I also found a tribe. Like that’s pretty awesome because a lot of times when you’re in business, especially when you operate on this level, people see you a certain way, they have certain expectations and it’s really hard for you to let your guard down. And maybe it’s just me, you know, but being able to find a group of business women that group of business women that not only motivate me to do better and keep my promises to myself, but they also allow me to be vulnerable. Like that is. That is clutch.

I also have a cohort of business owners that I can bounce ideas off of and provide insights to them when I’m able, because first of all, in this program. In core graduated cohort 21. And I want to say there were like 140, 150 people in that cohort, then they divide you into different ones, right? Into different sections. And even in my section, there had to be maybe 40, about 40 people. And then they break that down even further to your, you have your own group and there’s about seven of us in that group. So you have that small intimate group, then you have the larger group, the larger, like it just stacks a little each other. And that’s so many people that you’re connected to. And because you’re going through this program together and the way that they have it set up, it’s not like you’re doing it in solo. So you actually build this with, you are building these relationships with people that continue after the program ends. And I think that’s really dope. And the other cool thing about that is that, you know, I said the minimum requirements in revenue and to employees. So that might be where you are. But in your cohort and in your group, you’re going to be with people who are making millions of dollars that have, you know, 50 employees that are making, you know, that have been in business for 20, 30 years. And they want to talk, they want to share. We’re all in here growing together. We want to win together. So I think that is really, really good. So that’s my experience with the Goldman Sachs program. Some other questions that I get are some things I see floating around is, is there a grant associated with participating in this program? Nope, absolutely not. They do not give you money, but they do set you up in a way that if you need funding, you are in a position to get that because of what you’re learning. They have a whole module about being bankable. So I think that’s cool. Let’s talk about the real love it, right? The real question is, what is the time commitment? And let me tell you. It is a commitment.

If you’re going to do this program, if you’re going to do it right, it’s going to take time. First of all, you are required to be available to meet on camera with your camera on at least three times a week. We have our opening ceremonies on Mondays. We have our closing on Friday. And then we have our group meeting. When I said you put pair it down from that hundred fifty, you pair it down to your group of seven. We do that one day a week. And I say Monday, Friday, Thursday, but those are just the dates that I chose what days work for you and they try to put you in that section where you can do that. So that’s first of all, you have to meet on camera three times a week. One day is two hours. First, basically the opening ceremony is two hours, the closing ceremony is an hour and a half, and then with your small group it’s going to be an hour. And then you also have a pair of partners. So you get an opportunity to meet other people who might not be in your small group but somewhere else in the cohort and they give you assignments that you work on together.

And let’s talk about these assignments. So you have your homework that you’re doing. And what I, for me, I don’t know if I’m going to call it a challenge, but one of the things that I noticed is that the homework really exposes the areas where you are weak. And so you’re trying to get those gaps filled immediately. So you’re going through the program, then you’re also trying to fix your business while you’re doing it. And that can be a little overwhelming. You don’t have to fix your business as you’re going. You can, if there’s something that really needs fixing.

Immediately then yes, but there are some things that you just have to kind of be strategic about because after you leave this program, there’s going to be so much, so much to do. And the final question that people ask is like, is it worth it with all that time that we have to dedicate to it, you know, is it worth it? And I say it depends, but for me, it was absolutely worth it. I had expectations of becoming a better leader understanding forecasting and learning how to hire team members, you know, learning how to do better at that. And this program exceeded my expectations. I said, when I entered the program, I had just let go of an employee and I was using a virtual assistant on a temporary basis and I knew I wanted to hire someone else. So after this program, I immediately, and actually, no, I take that back. I take that back.

I didn’t let my employee go until I was in this program because part of me was like, well, I knew it wasn’t a good fit, but maybe we can make it work. No, if it’s not a good fit, it’s going to cost you more money to keep that person on and you’re not doing that person a service by keeping them on when they can be better served somewhere else on their own journey. So I ended up letting that person go and then hiring or working with a virtual assistant that I’ve worked with in the past while I was getting my stuff together to make a new hire. And so because of this program, like I said, I nailed that interview, was able to make sure that I wasn’t hiring myself and being able to ask questions that determine whether or not they were a good fit. And I ended up with two great hires. And that’s because in that forecasting that we did in the program, I knew what type of team I needed to get to where I wanted to go.

The numbers said I could hire one person, but I was able to find two great hires that are going to be within that budget. And so I’m able to accelerate that growth a little bit because I got the help I needed sooner all because I’m going to save because of this program. So I thought that was pretty dope. So I believe the Goldman Sachs program could benefit many small business owners, but only if, only if they’re willing to do the work. Don’t apply for this program, come in, and then don’t turn your camera on, or don’t do the homework, or don’t show up for your peer partner assignments. Be fully committed. Do the work, and it is work. And I’m gonna tell you, oh, I didn’t mention this, that during the program, full transparency, I did see a significant reduction in my income or in my revenue simply because I was unable to do all the things in my business that I would typically do and do this program. Hopefully this episode will put you in a better position so that you can plan accordingly and not be in that same position. And I’ll tell you, it was so eye-opening that, again, that’s why my immediate, like the first thing I did when I finished that program was make that hire.

And I didn’t even have, well, I hesitated a little bit because I just wanted to look at the numbers. But when I saw the numbers added up, I made that second higher because the sooner I can get myself from doing all the things, the better. And actually, I’m not even going to say too high because I hired a third person who is not a, like on the team in that way. But I did start outsourcing some things that I tried to do. Ooh, now we’re talking about outsourcing. So no, not just three, four, four or because I used to do the IT stuff. And now I found someone that I can just message and say, hey, we have this going on. Can you fix it? And I love that for me. Marketing, running ads and stuff, outsource. And then we have administrative assistant and a legal assistant. And also our content assistant has always been there. So this team is rocking and rolling and I am so happy about it.

Geniuses, thank you so much for tuning in. I want to know what are your takeaways from this week’s episode? If you found today’s podcast insightful, share it with fellow entrepreneurs and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review.

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