2025 Programs Renew Clarity, Confidence, and Collaboration

In 2025, the Entrepreneur Fund facilitated 10 growth programs across our service region, supporting 74 business owners from Ashland, WI to Grand Rapids, MN, Hayward, WI to Chisholm, MN—and communities in between. These programs offered business owners the dedicated time, tools, and guidance to focus on growing and strengthening their businesses.

From building financial confidence in Profit Mastery to exploring new ideas in Be Strategic and collaborating with peers in our six-month Business Mastermind, participants gained actionable tools, fresh insights, and renewed focus to grow their businesses.

“It’s not always easy to gather and talk about the not-so-glamorous sides of business, like the challenges, the lessons, the growing pains,” said Caleb Hacker, EFund program coordinator. “But this year’s program participants showed up with honesty, curiosity, and the drive to keep learning, not just for their businesses, but for themselves as leaders in our community. It’s been incredible to watch that growth and confidence unfold.”

Profit Mastery: Building Financial Confidence

The two-day Profit Mastery workshops filled quickly in each of the communities we offered it this year. In fact, we added a second Duluth course to accommodate the interest.  Business owners reported gaining clarity on their finances and confidence to make informed decisions for the future.

For Heather Bergherr, co-owner of The Green House in Carlton, MN, Profit Mastery, coupled with Be Strategic, provided the tools she needed to evaluate her business and plan for sustainable growth.

“Working with EFund changed our lives when we bought The Green House. It only made sense to go to them for help with growth,” said Heather, reflecting on the loan her and her husband secured through EFund when purchasing the business three years ago.

With six greenhouse locations, Heather and her team enjoy the strong relationships of a small business in a small town, but they also face the complexities of managing a larger operation. After repeatedly hearing, “I didn’t even know this place existed,” Heather realized that despite creating a great product, a welcoming experience for customers, and supporting the community, her efforts weren’t moving the needle as much as she hoped. That’s when she decided to enroll in both courses.  

“Our intent is to leverage the skills learned in these classes to put a strong marketing plan in place for the next year, grow incrementally with the legs to support it, and make sure we are making decisions based off of solid data, instead of feelings,” she said.  

Be Strategic: Turning Vision into Action

For the other 28 business owners who committed six evenings to Be Strategic, the intentional time to focus on their business was transformational, not just for themselves, but for their clients and customers.  

“As a small business consultant, I spend a lot of time supporting growth for other businesses, but I don't spend enough time working on the visions and ideas I have for myself,” said Adrianne Reiners, Be Strategic Grand Rapids cohort graduate. “The content from these six dedicated nights prompted me to revive old ideas and inspired me to explore even more ways to support clients and small businesses moving forward.” 

Adrianne shared that she walked away feeling more confident in her skill set and excited to implement new systems that will allow her to measure her own success, not just the success of her clients, in the coming year.

Clarity and Community: The Power of Shared Experience

Seventeen women business owners completed the six-month Business Mastermind, joining North and Central region cohorts to collaborate, share experiences, and hold each other accountable under the guidance of a certified business coach. When the North cohort was asked to sum up how they felt after participating in the mastermind, words like thankful, focused, grounded, hopeful, clarity, and not alone surfaced. One participant shared that she had “soaked in the wisdom from other women.”

That’s exactly what these programs are about: learning from the collective knowledge of fellow business owners. Our programs are intentionally built around collaboration so participants can gain insights from different backgrounds, perspectives, and industries.

“I signed up for the Be Strategic program to find clarity and community, and it delivered both,” said Christine Ripley, Be Strategic Superior cohort graduate. “Knowing the importance of working on my business with clear objectives and action items is easier with fellow entrepreneurs."

Fellow Be Strategic Superior cohort grad Cole Sicheneder couldn’t agree more.

“When you have a group of smart, driven entrepreneurs around you, problem-solving becomes much easier,” he said. “Everyone was open about their plans and challenges, which made for valuable and inspiring discussions. I’d recommend the program to anyone looking to take their business to the next level.”

Congratulations to all of this year’s program graduates. You dedicated time to strategically grow not only your business, but also yourself as a business owner and leader in your community. And as always, the Entrepreneur Fund is here to support your ongoing growth, whether you need a loan, guidance on marketing, HR, cash flow, you name it. We are your partner for long-term business success.

Interested in a growth program in 2026?  

Whether you want to enroll as a participant or host a program in your community, we’d love to hear from you. We are currently planning our 2026 program calendar and prioritize hosting courses in communities where we see the most interest and greatest need.

Email our program coordinator, Caleb Hacker, at calebh@efund.org, to learn more or get involved. You can also join our email list for updates on courses and events near you.