Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — July 27, 2015
Boutique owner Paula Guthrie hopes to grow her successful business even more with help from 10,000 Small Businesses.
(DALLAS) — Paula Guthrie has been running and growing her small business, Bodacious Boutique, with great success for 11 years. But this feat, which includes being voted best women’s boutique in North Texas in 2015 by “Dallas A-List” at CityVoter.com, did not stop her from participating in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program this summer to learn how to grow her business even more.
The financial giant’s 10,000 Small Businesses program is a national initiative that teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their firms, gain access to capital and work with advisors to get the most out of their companies. The program was brought to Dallas in May 2014 by Dr. Joe D. May, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District.
The program is free for business owners who meet certain criteria set by Goldman Sachs. Applicants must be owners or co-owners of a business that has been operating for two years or more, have at least $150,000 in revenue and employ a minimum of four people.
Participants take 11 classes at the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development, which is a campus of El Centro College. They learn about spotting opportunities for growth, marketing ideas, using financial metrics, becoming bankable, negotiating skills and assuming leadership. At the end of the course, business owners present a growth plan to their advisors and classmates.
Guthrie has new ideas for advertising her boutique through social media thanks to 10,000 Small Businesses.
“One of the best parts of the program has been meeting other business owners,” said Guthrie, adding that she has developed a camaraderie with the other participants. “We try to support each other.”
Guthrie said she’s already thinking about implementing some of the concepts she has learned during the three-month program.
“In every class, I get lots of new ideas and learn other ways to do things,” she said.
Guthrie said the program has taught her quite a bit about advertising through social media, especially in Dallas, where traditional advertising vehicles are very expensive.
“It’s the new way to advertise,” she said, so she’s interviewing experts in that field to help her increase sales through channels like Twitter and Facebook.
Bodacious Boutique owner Paula Guthrie is one of almost 100 Dallas-area entrepreneurs who have benefited from 10,000 Small Businesses.
In the 2015 Dallas A-List awards, Guthrie’s store won the “Best Boutique” award in the fashion category. More than 24,000 local “experts” participated in the contest, and the results were published in July.
Guthrie’s boutique caters to full-figured women and carries unique items that normally are not available at department stores in Dallas. In addition, shoppers can browse and purchase Bodacious Boutique clothing and accessories online at
www.bodaciousboutique.com.
Almost 100 entrepreneurs in the Dallas area have participated in the 10,000 Small Businesses program, and two graduates of the first class offered through DCCCD have been recognized by an area publication as “40 Under 40” business people to watch. A third entrepreneur was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2015 Texas Small Business Person of the Year.
For more information about the 10,000 Small Businesses program, please contact Sheryl Hardin by phone at 214-457-8597 or by email at
sheryl.hardin@dcccd.edu.