“BAT” Business Assistance Team
Business Assistance Team
We are excited to share with you an overview of the Business Assistance Team (BAT)! As a member of the Greater Warrenton Chamber of Commerce (GWCC), the BAT is available to you. So exactly what is the BAT and how can it help you succeed?
Our Mission…
The BAT exists to support and educate businesses towards sustained profitability and success by providing free professional guidance, expertise, direction and resources to GWCC member start-up and existing businesses in need of assistance.
Our History…
From the very beginning of the GWCC, the BAT has been at the heart of our core mission and values. The GWCC was established in the fall of 2009, during one of the worst economic downturns our country has seen. Founding members and leaders in Fauquier’s business community quickly saw friends and colleagues closing their businesses…with no place to turn for assistance.
As conditions worsened, this small group of business owners started the GWCC and what was then called the Triage Team, now known as our Business Assistance Team. Through the formation of the GWCC, business owners could join a chamber of commerce at an affordable rate and gain access to the Triage Team at no additional cost. The Triage Team’s original focus was to provide advice and business rescue to members in need.
The Triage Team has since evolved and now the BAT works to provide support and general business assistance before the company is in crisis, using the same core values of the program. As of September 2013, over 25 members have gone through the BAT process with over 500 volunteer hours spent in assisting those clients. Over 95% of those BAT clients remain in business today and the ones that decided to close did so with the full support of the professionals of the BAT.
To help with these unique business support efforts, the Fauquier Industrial Development Authority (IDA) granted the GWCC’s with a very generous financial donation in December of 2012. These funds are used to advance and expand the BAT for the direct benefit of GWCC members. Up until this time, all BAT volunteers were providing assistance on an all-volunteer basis, but can now receive partial compensation for their time assisting fellow business owners and operators.
Direct business assistance is…
- A confidential, independent assessment of the needs of a business seeking assistance
- An objective diagnostic process for determining the most probable “root cause” of business challenges (existing or new businesses)
- A collection of resources, which can be made available to businesses with specific needs
- A roadmap to help guide a business toward start-up/stability/survivability/growth
The business assistance process involves…
- A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between GWCC Consultants and BAT clients to protect confidential information.
- An engagement agreement between GWCC and the BAT client.
- An intake process with diagnostic routine.
- A prescribed course of action for BAT client consideration.
- An introduction to BAT consultant(s).
- Follow-up and effectiveness survey.
The evolution of the BAT…
In addition to the original mission of the BAT, the BAT continues to evolve to offer greater business support. Additional business support includes regular educational seminars that provide not only an educational component, but also the ability to network with like-minded business owners. The BAT is in the process of creating additional educational opportunities for our members…we are also open to any suggestions that our members have. It is our members that drive our mission and support and keep the heart of the business community going!
Our team members…
Thanks to our BAT Committee members, Dennis Taylor, Bert van Gils, Mark Child, John Stewart, Pablo Teodoro, Sunny Reynolds, Cindy Legg, and Michele Flores, who have provided many hours of support!
Thanks to our volunteer consultants who have provided many hours of support!
We are always in need of individuals interested in volunteering and helping other member businesses succeed! Please contact Cindy Legg (clegg@pbmares.com), Dennis Taylor (dtaylor@goldenrulebuilders.com), or Kim Jenkins (kim.jenkins@bankatunion.com) to become a “Business Assistance Team” volunteer.
Finally, if you are interested in taking advantage of assistance available, please contact Michele Flores, Executive Director, (540) 229-8915 or mflores@WarrentonChamber.org for more information!