Starting your own business can be exhilarating. You’re beginning a new adventure and with the start of every new adventure you need the right tools and guide to help you along the way. The Denver Metro Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) program, Leading Edge for Entrepreneurs, will provide you with the toolkit you need to be successful.
Olivia Rollene, SBDC’s marketing and program coordinator, sat down with Thomas Kolicko of Traverse Image and a former Leading Edge graduate to learn more about how Leading Edge has influenced his business.
Olivia Rollene: What specific area of the course did you find most helpful?
Thomas Kolicko: Really it boils down to the community that Leading Edge fosters. Everyone is working separately on their own plans, but you quickly find out that everyone shares very similar problems and successes. (The class) provides a platform where you can express what you are going through and get valuable support from others going through the class.
Rollene: What is a lesson that you learned after going through Leading Edge?
Kolicko: It’s ok to pivot. You are just developing ideas, and drafting a plan to execute that idea. Some ideas need testing, and bouncing off other people to find out what they think is a great idea. In fact one of the best values of the Leading Edge class is having that ability. You find out quickly that some ideas work well and others not so much. But in Leading Edge, they teach you that everyone has to pivot, and changing plans is just a part of the process. It was reassuring to find out that almost all business plans go through several drafts before its finalized, and even at that point, it is an evolving process.
Rollene: What has happened since graduation?
Kolicko: After I took the class the first time, I started my business and signed several new clients. I learned that I needed to pivot in my financial model and needed outside funding to maintain quality production process…After finishing the second class, my plan was awarded 3rd place in the business plan competition and my company is now heading in the direction that it needs to be for the long term vision.
Rollene: Would you encourage others to go through Leading Edge?
Kolicko: If you are serious about starting your business or need to develop a plan to grow your business to the next level, the investment for taking the Leading Edge course is a no brainer. Everything from the community, the support, the amount of information, the knowledge of the free consultants, and the best value is being around other like-minded entrepreneurs who are in the same position as you.
Interested in being a part of the next Leading Edge program? Join us at the upcoming information sessions on April 14 and May 5 to learn more.
Olivia Rollene is the marketing and program coordinator for the Denver Metro SBDC.