After co-owning Pacific Sewer Maintenance in Glendale, California, for several years, Scott Gayman came to a realization that confronts many small-business owners: While he was very adept at his craft, he wasn’t nearly as skilled at the business of running a business for maximum efficiency and profitability.
So when Gayman heard about a free course for small-business owners offered by Goldman Sachs called 10,000 Small Businesses, he jumped at the opportunity.
By doing so, Gayman significantly improved at the company, which specializes in controlling root growth in sewers as well as removing obstructions in sewers with high-tech robotic equipment. For example, revenue growth hit 20% last year compared to around 2% in years past, with another 10% increase expected in 2024, according to Gayman.
The course teaches many business fundamentals and is funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation. It’s based on a curriculum developed by Babson College, a top-ranked college for entrepreneurship.
The course is open to any small-business owner, but not everyone gets accepted. People need to apply and then be interviewed. The classes are held one full day a week, either in-person or remotely, for three months, with about 10 hours of homework a week, Gayman says.
“Even though I grew up in the business, I didn’t really know much about the business side of it,” he says. “This course basically gave me $15,000-worth of free business education. It has massively improved our marketing efforts and provided me with a better understanding of finances and all the kinds of other things that were outside the operations side of running the business.”
After Gayman completed the class, Pacific Sewer Maintenance leaders immediately started to develop a growth strategy, which is a major emphasis in the curriculum. Pacific Sewer Maintenance also hired a firm to update the company’s website and its marketing plan, including the design of a new logo.
“We basically began to update and make changes to everything, from our logo to our cost-analysis process,” Gayman explains. “I began to focus on the principle of working on the business, not in the business. I was lucky to get into the course. It is a truly challenging and thought-provoking course for business owners looking to grow.”
Read more about Pacific Sewer Maintenance in the September 2024 issue of Cleaner magazine.
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