Program Description
ETP provides intensive training and technical assistance to people with a promising business idea and a desire to start their own businesses. The curriculum includes seminars on market research, marketing tools, strategic planning, networking and community resources, sales techniques, presentation skills, and financial management as well as legal, insurance, human resource, time management and commercial real estate issues.  The business use of technology and the internet is also thoroughly explored.  The objective of the program is to assist participants in the preparation and implementation of a specific, comprehensive Business Plan tailored to each individual entrepreneur's needs.  Another important component of the program is to facilitate connections between the entrepreneur and all of the resources and services he or she may need to successfully launch and sustain a business.  The purpose of these programs is to create jobs and contribute to the economic development of Massachusetts.

The program is structured to include approximately 10 weeks of intensive classroom training followed by an additional 10 weeks of one‑on‑one consulting to help each entrepreneur through the start‑up phase of his/her business.   At the conclusion of the classroom portion of the program each entrepreneur presents his/her business plan to a panel of bankers, consultants and other business planning experts for some “real world” feedback on their business concept.  Development and presentation of a business plan is among the requirements for successful completion of the program.

ETP differs from other business assistance programs in several key ways:

• Using an established and tested curriculum, the program ties all of the various aspects of the plan together in an integrated fashion;
• Financial basics are stressed, enabling participants to gain the financial knowledge necessary to effectively control their businesses;
• Program staff have cultivated partnerships with many community, business and government entities so that program participants can be linked to the resources they need to establish and grow their businesses;
• Each instructor is or has been a successful business owner providing an important perspective on the unique issues faced in start up and growth situations.