Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
The Fergus Falls grant came from the West Central Initiative Business Assistance Program. Most of the time M State officials visit businesses with trainings, but that sometimes leaves out small companies that lack the necessary volume of employees, says Amy Hochgraber, director of business and industry in the Workforce Development Solutions division.
Tellijohn: Who will benefit from these training sessions?
Hochgraber: The target is small businesses located roughly within one hour or so of the Fergus Falls. Typically, our group at M State (formerly known as the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, or MnSCU) goes into businesses and does customized one-on-one training.
We go into a number of manufacturing companies or hospitals and we do a training for 15 employees and we charge them a flat amount. Often a smaller business might not have enough people to bring to one of our training sessions. So, it’s really nice to give these small businesses the opportunity to get the same education we’re giving bigger businesses.
Tellijohn: What will the grant-provided training cover?
Hochgraber: So far, we have six classes planned. Three of them are on Microsoft Excel. We’ll have an essential or beginner level class, an intermediate one and an advanced level class. They’ll meet once a week in successive weeks. Attendees can do all three of them or just show up for one. It’s up to them.
Then, in November and early December, it’s more about social media. We’ll do one on being a Facebook page owner, which is an important marketing tool. The next will address creating a social media strategy to help companies develop a tailor-made strategy aimed at driving results. The last 2018 session will cover digital presence, where attendees will assess their current presence and talk about allocating the time necessary to ramp up their strategy.
Nothing is set in stone for 2020, but there have been discussions about covering available city, county and regional financial programs and resources that are available for small businesses. We’re working with agencies and organizations like Greater Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County and the Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce to make those plans. Small business owners don’t always know the resources that are out there, so we’re going to share a bunch of that information.
Tellijohn: Is there a cost for this and where would people go to find more information?
Hochgraber: We’re asking people for a $20 fee, primarily to ensure they show up. We have a registration form on our website that can be found at the “register for classes” link on our website, which can be found here: https://www.minnesota.edu/wds.
Contact: Amy Hochgraber,
Workforce Development Solutions director of business and industry
at M State: 218.846.3766;
am************@*******ta.edu;
www.minnesota.edu.
The use of fractional executives — those hired by companies on contract to work a fraction of the hours at less cost than full-time hires — has been on the rise for years. That accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. John Arms, co-founder of Voyageur U, helped establish the organization to help educate free agents on what it takes to make it as a fractional executive. He’s now put that knowledge into print, recently releasing the book “Consult Your Way to a Full-Time Job.” Arms joined Upsize Minnesota Editor Andrew Tellijohn to talk about how the book can help potential fractional executives carve their new paths.
Branding expert Kate DiLeo wrote a book about how branding agencies need to do less storytelling and more listening to better meet their clients’ needs.
