Elena Clark, a senior studying Business Technology at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, has reached out to invite Chamber members to participate in a free program. This spring, Butler is launching the Main Street Value Initiative, a new program for rural Indiana business owners.
This program matters to us for two reasons. It gives Butler students real, hands-on experience helping businesses. And thanks to a grant Butler received for this work, it lets us give back to the Indiana communities that many of our students come from.
Each participating owner works with a Butler team of students and faculty for three to four months to strengthen what makes the business valuable and build a clear plan for the years ahead. The team starts with the owner’s goals, looks at the business through a buyer’s eyes, helps take one key job off the owner’s plate, and gets records organized. At the end, the owner receives a prioritized roadmap that lays out their future options side by side, whether that’s growing, passing the business to family or employees, or selling to an outside buyer.
The program is free, with no obligation. It takes about an hour a week of the owner’s time, and every meeting can be virtual. Every team member signs an NDA, we never ask for tax returns, payroll, or bank records, and the owner makes every decision. Owners don’t need a plan, a buyer, or a timeline. Many simply want to know where they stand and what would strengthen their business.
They are looking for 6–8 businesses in any industry for Spring 2027. The best fit is an established owner who has built something meaningful and wants to protect it for the long haul: the company, its people, and its place in the community. The program is open to Indiana businesses outside these 16 counties: Allen, Clark, Delaware, Elkhart, Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Lake, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Porter, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, and Vigo.
You can learn more here: https://www.butler.edu/lacy-business/main-street-value-initiative/
Please share this information with fellow business owners in Martinsville who may be interested in this service and give Elena a call at 331-333-0310 if you have any questions.