Google Expands Digital Coaches Program to Help More Small Businesses

Image via Google

Google recently announced the expansion of its Grow with Google Digital Coaches program, with the addition of ten new digital coaches in Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The coaches are trained in partnership with Main Street America, an organization whose stated mission is to "strengthen communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts." The new coaches will work with businesses in their home states, focusing on those in small towns and rural communities. They will offer workshops on topics aimed at helping businesses grow and thrive. Such topics will include connecting with customers, selling online, and improving productivity. Workshops are free of charge.

"Small business owners frequently wear many hats," says Grow with Google Senior Marketing Manager Lucy Pinto. "They may spend 12 hours a day running a restaurant, but they also need to be an accountant, a marketer, a customer service rep and an IT support person. Digital Coaches help lighten this load by equipping business owners with the digital skills they need. To date, Digital Coaches have helped more than 160,000 small businesses gain new skills."

Coaches consist of local entrepreneurs and marketing experts who have found their own success and can provide insight into what they have learned along the way.

Image via Google

Grow with Google continues to add training and opportunities for small businesses. Earlier this year, they announced the addition of new advanced Google Career Certificates in business intelligence and advanced data analytics, as well as new cybersecurity training.

"Over the past few years, we’ve seen people and businesses across the U.S. using technology to build resilience through tough times, and make their communities and economies stronger," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, upon releasing the company’s Economic Impact Report back in April. The report, he said, "shows that last year, Google Search, Play, Cloud, YouTube, and our other services helped provide more than $700 billion in economic activity for millions of American businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators, and developers. Android apps have helped create over 2 million jobs, and YouTube’s creative ecosystem supports another 425,000 jobs."

The Digital Coaches program, which has been around since 2017, is just another example of how the company gives back to the businesses it relies on for its own prosperity.

With the addition of the new coaches, the Grow with Google Digital Coaches program includes a total of 28 coaches helping small businesses in their home states. Business owners can peruse the program’s website to find the coach for them. You can browse by region or look directly at the full list of coaches. Additional information about what to expect is also provided, as are success stories and answers to frequently asked questions.

While Grow with Google workshops are open to, and meant to support, all small business owners, digital coaches focus outreach on diverse communities who have historically had a more difficult time entering the digital space.