Open To Business
Golden Valley and New Hope residents, small business owners, or entrepreneurs can get free, one-on-one business consultation services and other assistance from Open To Business, a joint program between Golden Valley and New Hope and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD).
Watch a video from the March 1, 2012 kick-off event.
Office Hours
One-on-one meetings with MCCD staff* in Golden Valley and New Hope. No appointment needed. First come, first served.
New Hope City Hall
2-4 pm
- June 12, 2012
- August 14, 2012
- October 9, 2012
- December 11, 2012
Golden Valley City Hall
9-11 am
- July 13, 2012
- September 14, 2012
- November 9, 2012
- January 11 , 2013
*Meetings are availabe at MCCD offices at any time by appointment.
We Can Help
Are you an entrepreneur who has a great idea for a business but needs the advice of a savvy, experienced business expert to help you work through the countless details of getting it off the ground?
Or, are you a small business owner who needs some marketing or strategic planning guidance to take your business to the next level?
The Cities of Golden Valley and New Hope have teamed up to bring you Open to Business, a valuable resource to local small business owners and aspiring business owners.
If you’re a New Hope or Golden Valley resident, business owner, or wanna-be business owner, Open To Business will work with you to:
- determine feasibility
- explore marketing strategies
- develop financial documents
- get access to capital
How It Works
With the help of a matching grant from Hennepin County, the Cities of New Hope and Golden Valley have contracted with the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) to provide free one-on-one business consultation to entrepreneurs who live or own a business in their communities.
Open To Business participants will be able to meet with advisors at the MCCD office to get the ball rolling. MCCD staff will also hold open office hours each month starting in June 2012 at either the New Hope or Golden Valley City Hall to meet with participants one-on-one.
Help is available in several areas:
- Business Plan Assistance: Do I need a business plan? If so, what do I include in it?
- Financial Management: What are cashflow projections and why are they important?
- Bookkeeping Set-up and Training: How do I keep track of sales and expenses?
- Loan Packaging: What documents do I need to get a loan? What are my options for obtaining capital? Help is provided for any size loan, start up, or expansion project.
- Real Estate Analysis: Should I rent or own my business space?
- Business Regulations: What licenses or permits do I need? How do I get them?
- Marketing Assistance: Who are my customers and how do I reach them?
- Strategic Planning: How do I evaluate and manage growth?
- Professional Referrals: How do I improve my credit score?
About Open To Business
Open To Business recently started working in suburban communities (Brooklyn Park, Minnetonka, St Louis Park, and more) and now supports small business people in cooperation with MCCD.
About MCCD
The Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers MCCD is an association of nonprofit community development organizations serving the Twin Cities. MCCD also lends to businesses that do not have access to traditional lending. For more information or to get started, contact Rob Smolund at 612-789-7337 (ext 11) or rsmolund@mccdmn.org.
