Peak Performance

“It’s six months long, but it’s intense,” says Heather Mangrum, chief marketing officer for Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to helping women grow their micro businesses into million-dollar enterprises. The Count Me In Business Accelerator Program is designed to help business owners hit the $1 million revenue mark 18 to 36 months after they complete it. Mangrum notes that “28% of our participants hit the goal of $1 million or more in revenues.” Nationally, 1.8% of women-owned businesses earn $1 million in revenues, says Mangrum.

Newcombe reached that mark in 2007, about nine months out of the program. This represented a huge jump for her company, which had generated about $350,000 in 2006. With projected revenues of $6 million for this year, Newcombe continues to reap the benefits of the time she spent in the Make Mine a Million $ Business program.

“As an African American woman business owner, I didn’t even know those types of resources were out there,” says Newcombe. “The program helps women build confidence, evaluate their financials, and learn how to network. It really puts you in a position of feeling comfortable submitting applications to agencies for funding.”

Enrollment in the Count Me In Business Accelerator Program is the main prize received by winners of the Make Mine a Million $ Business competition. The Business Accelerator provides participants with coaches who help with goal-setting, retooling business plans, and evaluating financials so businesses will be more attractive to investors. Newcombe says it helped her secure a $45,000 line of credit from American Express. She used the money to hire two additional staff members and buy computers and software for the company.

The organization also helped her become a more effective CEO. “Garnett had just a few employees when she came to our program,” says Mangrum. “One of the things that really held her back was she wanted to manage everything, and it wasn’t working because you can’t do it [all yourself]. It’s not possible.” Today, Newcombe has 54 employees. “Once she learned to let go, it was then that she was able to grow.”