Waubonsee Small Business Growth Academy

Do You Ask Yourself...

  • How do I build a growth-oriented business?
  • How can I attract and/or retain my team?
  • What metrics should I use to manage the company?
  • How should I be planning for the future?

We Can Help!

The Business Growth Academy can chart where you are, where you want to be and how to get there!

Business Growth Academy

Business Growth Academy

The Business Growth Academy is a 7-session program including insight from experts that will help you build a strategic growth plan specifically for your company!

This program is based upon the Kauffman Foundation’s award-winning FastTrac© curriculum and is presented by a team of experienced business-owners & consultants! Get practical solutions that can be implemented immediately while networking with industry experts and other like-minded entrepreneurs.

Schedule and Topic Snapshot

Apply for the Spring 2024 Co-Hort

Sponsored by: 

Business Growth Academy (BGA) and Business Growth Foundations (BGF) Sponsors
Waubonsee Small Business Growth Academy Group
Business Growth Academy
Spring 2022 Graduation

Business Growth Academy (BGA) is a must for all business owners. The learning materials are relevant. The instructors are very experienced and knowledgeable, but they keep it fun. The BGA Program provided me with the tools and the framework to develop a plan for growth. I highly recommend this program! No matter where your business is in its current life cycle, BGA will help you focus and prioritize your time and energy so you can grow your business.

- Max Mong, The Unboring Granola

About The Instructor

Jock M. Sommese

jock sommese portrait

Teaching is something I’ve done my entire life...help others help themselves.

A self-described lifetime learner, my entire life has centered on taking the knowledge and lessons that I acquire and sharing them through teaching, coaching and mentoring. It is a passion that has provided immense enjoyment and satisfaction. 

Professionally, I have more than 30 years of extensive start-up, merger and acquisition, financial, sales and marketing, and operations experiences. I have utilized those experiences to mentor employees and co-workers in companies of various sizes, industries and stages.

In 1999, I was recognized as the Small Business Journalist of the Year for the state of Pennsylvania by the Small Business Administration. As President/Publisher of “Smart Business Now,” I created the magazine to support our area’s entrepreneurs, provide information that they can use in their business immediately and help provide a forum for like-minded business professionals.

For the last 20 years, I have been an adjunct business professor for higher education institutions in the Philadelphia region, and last year at Northern Illinois. The opportunity to teach and challenge students to expand their skills, consider alternatives, and help build a better community is my life’s purpose.

To be able to pursue one’s passion on a daily basis is an honor not many individuals are able to attain. Teaching, mentoring and coaching has given me that opportunity!

To be able to pursue one’s passion on a daily basis is an honor not many individuals are able to attain.