Building a Better Business for All

Building a Better Business for All 

In 2021, NeighborWorks Housing Solutions started creating the Building a Better Business program to help Brockton owned businesses, in start-up and growth phase, with small business loan opportunities. The Brockton Venture Loan Fund was established to offer small businesses up to $50,000 in loans, even in start-up phase. In order to qualify for the loan, the Building a Better Business was created to teach individuals how to build a working business plan based around 3 components :

  • Legal responsibilities regarding owning a business
  • Understanding how to market and sell a product or service
  • Financial obligations of a business owner

Today, we recognize that not only does Brockton benefit from these classes, but many other individuals within our area of Brockton, Fall River, Kingston, New Bedford, Plymouth, Quincy, Taunton and every community in-between. With a long list of financial supporters, we are looking at loan programs in all communities and how we can help make funding beneficial to small businesses, especially in start-up phase.

The program "Building a Better Business for All” consists of a 6 hour, in-person bootcamp. We cover our sessions in two hour increments which allow people to engage and network around the responsibilities of being a business owner. All classes are interactive and become a great place share business ideas. Our goal is to be able to offer more bootcamps in the South Shore, Southcoast, Metro South communities and broaden our reach. 

If you would be interested in sponsoring a bootcamp or workshop, please contact Tricia White at pwhite@nhsmass.org.

Building a Better Business 101 - Starting and Growing

In this class, we discuss being and/or becoming a business owner and asking basic questions that will help define your business.

  • Micro Moments
  • Being an Entrepreneur
  • Personal Credit
  • Business Types & Tax Responsibilities
  • Types of Funding
  • Your Idea
  • Your Product and Customer
Building a Better Business 102 - Marketing Tools that Work

In this class, we discuss the importance of marketing and it’s many useful tools. The least funded, yet most important, marketing can ultimately make or break your business.

  • Living through 2023
  • SMB Marketing Challenges
  • The Marketing Wheel
  • Your Website
  • Integrating Marketing Tools to Drive Traffic to Your Website
  • Social Media and Digital Trends
Building a Better Business 103 - Working through Your Concept

In this interactive class, we walk through the research and development of your product or services. We will search for information that will help to understand your financial projections and give you solid results on starting and/or growing your business.

  • Industry Experience
  • Executive Summary - Your Story
  • Team Approach - Lawyer, Accountant, Mentor, Marketing...
  • Start-Up Cost & Monthly Expenses
  • Pricing & Breakeven
  • Cash Flow & Projections
  • Different Types of Loans
  • Accountants & Accounting Software

After completing the classes, we will be available to help you in your planning process. We will also guide you through the growth process, if you need assistance. We will help you identify key growth factors that will grow your business to a point where additional cash input is needed.

Lunch and Learn Marketing classes are another avenue of outreach for small businesses. Normally, their lack of a digital presence is one of the factors holding back success. If your customers can't find you, you are irrelevant. These classes offer different topics at various locations during the month. These classes give us the opportunity to interactively work on projects together.

Click here for a list of all upcoming Bootcamps and Marketing classes.

The Building a Better Business program is open to any and all individuals that would like to learn more about starting and growing a business. If you are starting, growing or moving to Brockton, you may be eligible to apply for the $1M Brockton Venture Loan Fund.