Mentoring has been proven to be a positive tool for many human interactions. Mentors are vessels of wisdom and accumulated knowledge. With Circles of Seven, businesses benefit from this wisdom, their businesses grow, and your economy prospers.
We have developed this practice of mentoring into an art form for your benefit.
The Circles of SevenTM program, is designed to serve entrepreneurs who have already started businesses and need additional assistance and support.
The C7™ program has been proven successful. Part of the reason is its simplicity. There are no heavy reading or homework assignments; no big administrative activities must occur.
The support system that is developed and the trust that is built in these groups are long-lasting. This builds a community and local business, “esprit de corps”, unmatched by other programs.
For the local agency sponsoring the program, the only job is recruiting. This is the job they are best suited for. The local agency knows the local players, understands the local business environment and knows as to which new businesses might be interested.
Once the cohort is completed, all participating members get to be part of the C7 Plus Community. The Community is where members from across the country can engage and participate with other C7 participants in asking questions, gaining support, and solving challenges.
Small Business Participants can join the cohort and take advantage of webinars, classes, special speakers, and other benefits.
Mentors and Communities Mentors and the communities that sponsored the program can participate in C7 Plus™ also. They will continue to have support through seminars and webinars on how to best serve their small business communities. Peer assistance and experienced program managers will work with news mentors and community sponsors to make the program work for everyone.
The C7™ program was developed by Martin Vanags and his team when he was the CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council in McLean County, Illinois. The cities of Bloomington and Normal are contiguous and often referred to as the twin cities.
With a strong economy anchored by large insurance, education, and agricultural sectors, limited building and land inventory, and low unemployment, Vanags sought a program to serve new business owners with little experience.
He soon identified a need to support and nurture small and medium-sized independently owned businesses yet needed more resources and time to create or operate a complicated business support program.
From these factors, the C7™ program was born. C7™ provided support and mentoring for business by business. Modeled after similar programs Vanags had seen and heard of elsewhere, C7™ soon filled a niche and need that had been empty.
Businesses were soon helping and supporting each other through the C7™ program.
(518) 430-3250
Rockford, Illinois
