about this program
The Bowie BIC partners with FSC First’s Level Up program and CliftonLarsenAllen to offer the Capital Accelerator. The Capital Accelerator prepares businesses to access capital and develops a roadmap to “bankability”.
The Capital Accelerator is a targeted business training program that began in February 2022 and coordinated by FSC First to help small businesses build financial acumen to help make area businesses bankable. The Bowie BIC is one of several area partners working with FSC First to deliver specific activities as part of the Level Up program.
The Capital Accelerator includes training and one-one-one technical assistance to help businesses improve their financial capacity.
Through its partnership with FSC First, Bowie BIC conducts a four-week business scale-up series via Zoom, followed by one-on-one financial advisory sessions to local businesses who want to increase their understanding of business credit, cash flow and financial statements, to improve their company’s bankability, and access to capital.
Accelerator participants can connect informally with traditional and non-traditional lenders during the Capital Accelerator’s Lender’s Roundtable.
Our Program Partners
Scale Up Series:
Twice a year, the Bowie BIC offers a four (4) week Scale Up series that provides participants with general knowledge related to capital, pricing, and financial management. Participants walk away with a great understanding of the following topics:
- Personal vs Business Credit
- Financial statements and projections
- Cash Flow
- Lending Relationships
- Financing Options
- Bankability
One-on-One Direct Business Support
Following each Scale Up Series, participants have direct access to financial experts and can meet with them one-on-one to help them implement the infrastructure and practices needed to access capital. The combination of training and technical assistance helps socially, and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs manage their finances successfully and positions their businesses to access the capital needed to operate and grow their businesses. The Capital Accelerator offers one-on-one business support in the following areas:
This is a targeted business training program that began in February 2022 and coordinated by FSC First to help small businesses build financial acumen to help make area businesses bankable. The Bowie BIC is one of several area partners working with FSC First to deliver specific activities as part of the Level Up program.
Through its partnership with FSC First, Bowie BIC is conducting a four-week Business Scale-Up Accelerator via Zoom to local businesses who want to increase their understanding of business credit, cash flow and financial statements, to improve their company’s bankability, and access to capital.
Capital One and K. Duncan & Company are specific business resources for the Scale-Up Accelerator. Businesses participating in Bowie BIC’s Accelerator also can connect informally with area bankers during a Lender’s Roundtable event during the final session.
Intuit QuickBooks has been a leading medium to small business bookkeeping software for many years due to its powerful, yet user-friendly features. Learn from the best! An Intuit QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor will provide basic instruction on the most popular business bookkeeping software around. Following each workshop, participants will have an opportunity to meet with the instructor one-on-one. Whether you’re new to QuickBooks introduction basics or an advanced user seeking practice, our QuickBooks workshop and “Open Door” sessions will cover both tips and all you need to know to become an Intuit QuickBooks power user.
Building a business takes capital. You can use your personal funds and credit to accomplish your dreams, but is your credit score high enough to secure financing?
The Bowie BIC offers a Business Credit Builder workshop and technical assistance to help small businesses start and grow their business.
Entrepreneurs contribute greatly to our nation’s economic growth and job availability. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) notes that 99.7% of employer firms are comprised of small businesses. However, new business owners often have a difficult time gaining their financial footing when they first launch a new venture. Fortunately, the Bowie BIC offers small businesses bookkeeping and accounting workshops and access to an accounting expert to help small businesses stay on top of their financial recordkeeping.
Having fundamental accounting skills, such as navigating popular bookkeeping software, such as Intuit QuickBooks, and tracking income for future tax filings, can pave the way to business success. The Bowie BIC’s Bookkeeping & Accounting workshop and “Open Door” sessions give small businesses an introduction to accounting and can help them identify additional business resources, all contributing towards their small business success.
The small business tax preparation workshop explores state-of-the-art planning ideas and tax-saving strategies to help small businesses keep more money so grow their business. Our tax specialist will provide participants with updated business tax legislation and IRS guidance on tax reform. At the end of each workshop, participants can meet individually with the instructor to answer tough questions and show you what strategies are best for their business.
Pricing Matters! The Bowie BIC’s pricing and cost proposal development workshop and “Open Door” sessions provide small businesses with a strategic approach to Cost and Price Proposal Development for government and non-government organizations. This workshop’s goal is to guide small businesses in establishing corporate estimating and pricing policies, setting pricing strategies, establishing price-to-win objectives, developing target rates, negotiating subcontractor pricing, and cost proposal development from inception to pre-award audits to contract management.
The Bowie BIC has a niche in government contracting, therefore, we understand the complexity of the government contracting industry. The Bowie BIC has assembled a team of financing experts that specialize in government contracting that provide government contractors with banking solutions and strategic direction tailored for each firm. The Bowie BIC is engaged and active in the government contracting market. Our GovCon Financing workshop and “Open Door” sessions can help businesses understand more about industry dynamics, the competitive landscape, and how they can win in the market.
Bowie BIC’s Business insurance workshop and “Open Door” sessions demonstrate how business insurance protects business owners from the unexpected costs of running a business. Accidents, natural disasters, and lawsuits could shut a business down if the business is not protected with the right insurance.
Our business insurance workshop explains the protections businesses receive from their business structure. Business insurance can fill in the gaps to make sure both your personal and business assets are fully protected from unexpected catastrophes.
Schedule a meeting to learn more about our 8(a) Accelerator and becoming a Bowie BIC Member.
upcoming events
what clients say
The most valuable asset of the 8(a) Accelerator is bringing the small business cohort together as a group and inviting legacy graduates to participate as speakers.
Joining this accelerator program was a game-changer for us. Just three months earlier, we had secured our 8(a) certification, and a month before that, we landed our first major subcontract, expanding our team from 3 to 16 members. By the time we concluded the program, we had gained a more profound insight into pinpointing financial risks, effectively utilizing fractional resources to maintain accuracy and oversight on our financial records, harnessing legal expertise for safeguarding our business and ensuring compliance, enhancing our probability of winning through tailored processes and tools, and forging robust and efficient teaming partnerships.
As a result of attending the Power of Business Credit Open Door, I was able to locate what items a bank needed to see on my credit report would influence my business credit.
I feel donors continue to support the BIC based on our government contracting expertise and resources, reputation in the county, proven track record with small business.
