In the end, this is what starting a business comes down to for Richard Branson. And it seems to have worked since the Virgin Group is a well-regarded global conglomerate of about 350 companies branching into entertainment, space-travel, and mobile industries. However, “the most important thing is to not be put off by failure,” but rather have the desire to learn, and use those failures to grow your business.
The Small Business Administration encourages this pursuit of knowledge and last month, iuvo Technologies’ co-founder, Jeff Ouellette, was recognized for completing the only federal training specifically tailored for small business executives poised for growth: SBA Emerging Leaders Initiative. On October 17th, sixteen entrepreneurs throughout New Hampshire were recognized at an awards ceremony in Manchester for their completion of the seven-month executive education series.
The curriculum is specifically designed to stimulate and support the expansion of a business. Expansion could be into new markets, increased revenues or increased capacity. Greta Johansson, New Hampshire SBA District Director, said that one valuable part of the class “is networking with other small business owners that are facing similar challenges.”
The members of the class come from nearly every corner of the state and represent various industries including innovative manufacturers, service providers, retail, IT, education and energy solutions, and construction. This year’s graduates include:
Scott Brown, President of Paige Insurance Agency in Pittsfield
Michael Campo, Director/Shareholder of Plodzik and Sanderson, P.A. in Concord*
Brenda Cloutier, CEO of Beyond Mission Capable Solutions in Salem
Bruce Cultrera , President & CEO of Seacoast Helicopters in Portsmouth
Diane Day, President of Hampshire Controls Corp. in Dover
Denis Gleeson, CEO of the TNOT Group in Nashua
Jane Higgins, Co-Founder & CFO of Dynamic Benchmarking LLC in Windham
Debbi Leuteritz, Owner of Patriot Foundry & Castings in Franklin
Rita McCabe, Owner of Sub Zero Ice Cream & Yogurt in Nashua
Nick Mercier, CEO of Macy Industries, Inc. in Hooksett *
Alan Nixa of Arcomm Communications Corp. in Hillsboro
Jeff Ouellette, Vice President & COO of iuvo Technologies Inc. in Westford, MA
Matthew Rounds, President of Standard Power of America Inc. in Nashua*
Frank Swanson, President / CEO of CMGC Building Corp. in Manchester*
Nicole Velozo, Business Manager of Summit View Water, Ltd. in Conway*
Jon Willard, President of Acute Medical Gas Services in Manchester
*not pictured in group photo (Also present in photo is Mark Hayward, Regional Administrator(A)SBA New England, Greta Johansson, District Director SBA NH, and Rachael Roderick, Supervisory Economic Development Specialist SBA NH