Mentoring Services
The Butte County BiP provides companies with hands-on support to help them grow and create quality jobs. The approach is one of partnership, where business owners do what they do best and experienced professionals guide them in those areas where they may need assistance.
Entrepreneurs often have a vision for a successful business, but do not possess or cannot afford specific professional skills to grow their companies to maximum potential. Through the BiP, eligible companies that demonstrate potential to grow will be provided with access to free professional services covering the following areas:
- Strategic planning
- Company structuring (excluding legal advice)
- Marketing
- Graphic design
- Corporate and product logo / identity development
- Website design and development
- E-commerce
- Sales strategy
- Finance support, including evaluation of and preparation for various financing options
- Accounting (excluding tax advice)
- Human resource management
- Partnering
The mentoring process is generally carried out in three phases:
- Momentum development
- At the outset of this phase, the mentoring team works with the client company to create a development plan that identifies specific goals, milestones, required services and responsibilities to be carried out by the mentoring team and by the client. The focus of this phase is to identify and accomplish specific tasks that will increase the company’s cash flow, improve its market position and enhance its ability to provide employment opportunities. As part of this phase, the mentoring team assesses the client company’s financial needs and options and may help the business owner prepare for an appropriate financing process.
- Team development
- At almost every level, business development comes down to team development and management. It is also the goal of the BiP to assist client companies with this process. The mentoring team works with business owners to identify employee skills necessary to expand on established momentum and recruit those individuals who can get the job done. Recruitment priority would be given to individuals who meet the national low and moderate income criteria and all recruits would be introduced on a probationary basis with hands-on guidance provided by the mentoring team to ensure capability and correctness of team fit.
- Relationship development
- Ultimately, to reach their maximum potential, businesses must expand their relationship base including production or distribution partners, specialized professional services providers, or investors. As a client company’s needs develop, the BiP can provide assistance in each of these areas. Whether it’s identifying an off-shore manufacturing partner, a qualified attorney to assist with corporate structuring, or a possible angel or venture capital investor who could provide critical development financing, the mentoring team will help client companies make sound choices that will further their development success.
A key objective of the Butte County BiP is to ensure that each company receiving assistance through the program has an appropriate and effective web presence. As part of the client assistance process, the mentoring team will perform an assessment of possible web-related marketing and information dissemination opportunities for each client company.