Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator Businessman's hand points up along graph line going up

Take your business to the next level.

A comprehensive business innovation program designed to assist for-profit, not-for-profit and family-owned businesses to take them to the next level of success and sustainability.

January 17 – May 22, 2024

Registration for the 2024 Program now open.
Registration accepted through January 10, 2024.

Class size:
12 companies selected.

Cost for the course is $295.


For more information,
call Blue Ridge Community College at
(828) 694-1735.

a group of business people with laptops and tablets looking at business charts

Blue Ridge Community College and the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce have partnered once again to offer the Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator, a five-month, ten-course program.

Program Dates and Topics

January 17, 2024
Program Overview and Setting Acceleration Goals Based on Business Best Practices and KPI (Key Performance Indicators)

January 31, 2024
Management and Leadership

February 14, 2024
Competition and Competitive Advantage

February 28, 2023
Branding, Marketing and Sales

March 13, 2024
Business Logistics: Best ways to meet customer needs

March 27, 2024
Customer Service and Information Technology

April 10, 2024
Accounting and Finance

April 24, 2024
Human Resources, Legal and Insurance

May 8, 2024
Capital and Purchasing

May 22, 2024
Business Acceleration Plan Presentation and Graduation

Sessions run Wednesdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. except 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on January 17.

Innovate. Accelerate. Achieve.

Mission Acceleration 2023 attendees in a group, smiling

Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator is designed by entrepreneurs to help for-profit, family owned, and nonprofit businesses innovate and increase profitability. If you approach the business the same way as you did in the past, it will limit future profit growth.

Now is the time to innovate with cutting edge best practices in business management, leadership, planning, branding, marketing, sales, accounting, purchasing, raising capital, information technology, human resources, time management, new business development, operations and distribution. The Program will help you identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in each department of your company to track, monitor and accelerate the success of your business. Peter Drucker said, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

three business people smiling sitting in a group meeting

If you’re a small business owner and are looking to take your business to the next level then the Mission Acceleration class is perfect for you. The class and instructor, Gary Heisey, gives you just what you need to stay relevant and current in the ever changing world of business. After participating in the program I was able to better identify personal and professional goals and priorities.

Through the techniques taught, I was able to make significant moves towards these goals, step by step and week by week. Gary adapted the content and methodology from his proven prior experiences to create content relevant to any type of business. It was a pleasure to attend this program and I can recommend it to anyone who is looking to take their business to the next level.

Kelly Noble,
Noble Pest Solutions

Presented by:

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The Chamber Henderson County Chamber of Commerce logo

Training topics listed are taught by subject matter experts. Also, learn proven business strategies from local successful entrepreneurs.

The Community Business Partners of the Mission Acceleration Program are:
Blue Ridge Community College Small Business Center
Brevard Transylvania Chamber of Commerce
Community Foundation of Henderson County
Heart of Brevard
Historic Henderson Downtown
Henderson County Tourism Development Authority
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
SCORE
The Partnership of Henderson County
Vision of Henderson County
Vision Transylvania

For-Profit

Whether your business is a startup (1-3 years old), existing, or in a scale-up phase, Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator can help you innovate and take your business to the next level.

Family Owned

Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator is designed to not only grow your business and increase profitability now, but also help with a family business transition. The skills learned can help the next generation of a family business better prepare for a future business transition.

Nonprofits

According to By Soren Kaplan the author of The Invisible Advantage, “Nonprofits face a fundamental “business” challenge: they’re nonprofits. Most of the 1.5 million US nonprofits don’t support themselves through “competing” by creating and selling better products, services, or business models. They fund-raise, get donations, and find grants. The problem with the typical nonprofit business model is that it’s based on dependence – many nonprofits look for funding every year from unpredictable grants, donations, and even bake sales.

But if you’re truly a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, can you really innovate? The answer is yes, and in fact, business model innovation has arrived in the nonprofit sphere. In today’s world, running a nonprofit doesn’t mean eliminating profit from your thinking. Whatever you’re doing to serve the world, you can likely do more of it, in a more predictably sustainable way, by innovating your business model.” The sessions listed below give examples of how the Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator can help your non-profit.

A Blue Ridge Community College Continuing Education Program

Take the Mission Acceleration Program Self-Test to see if this program is right for you.

Class size:
12 companies selected.

Cost for the course is $295.


For more information,
call Blue Ridge Community College at
(828) 694-1735.

a group of business people with laptops and tablets looking at business charts

Meet Our Executive Director

portrait Gary Heisey smiling

Vision Henderson County is led by Executive Director Gary Heisey. Gary has lived in Western North Carolina for 26 years.
In addition to his role as the Vision Henderson County Executive Director, he is the Executive Director for the Blue Ridge Community College Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator Program, a comprehensive business innovation program designed to assist for profit, not-for-profit and family owned businesses to take them to the next level of success and sustainability.

View Executive Director Bio: Gary Heisey

three business people smiling sitting in a group meeting

Gary has put together a remarkable curriculum to help small business owners thrive. The Mission Acceleration Program puts together a diverse array of speakers who each contribute different things. The best part of this program is Gary’s mentorship. Gary brings a lot of business and coaching experience to the table. Gary’s willingness to invest in each participant and their business is what makes this program impactful.

Josh Goldbach,
Director, Bold Earth Adventures

Partners

Blue Ridge Community College Small Business Center logoBrevard Transylvania Chamber of Commerce logoCommunity Foundation of Henderson County logo

Contact Us

ewdce@blueridge.edu
(828) 694-1735