Small business growth training in Tennessee, funded by the state.
SCALE UP is 50 hours of live, virtual growth training for Tennessee business owners, built around strategy, team, marketing, lead generation and AI. Tennessee's Incumbent Worker Training grant covers up to $25,000 of training per employer each year, so most companies that qualify pay nothing out of pocket. Answer four questions and see where you stand.
Takes 60 seconds. No email required to see your result.
The state covers the training. Your match is wages you already pay.
Tennessee's Incumbent Worker Training grant is administered by your Local Workforce Development Area alongside the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The grant is awarded against training invoices, up to $25,000 per employer per year. The employer share is in-kind: the wages your people earn while they sit in the sessions. That is why most Tennessee companies that qualify see no cash leave the business.
| Company size | Required in-kind match | How it is documented |
|---|---|---|
| 50 or fewer employees | 10% | Wages paid to attending employees during training hours, shown on a simple spreadsheet with the application. |
| 51 to 100 employees | 25% | |
| More than 100 employees | 50% |
Tennessee has nine local workforce development areas, each with its own application, its own funding pool and its own review schedule. Pools run on a July 1 to June 30 program year and are often fully committed before it ends. Awards are subject to eligibility, board approval and available funds, none of which Skayle 360 controls.
Three steps, and the application is handled on a call.
A 15-minute call
Chris confirms whether your company qualifies, identifies which of the nine Tennessee boards covers your county, and checks that the training fits where your business is. If it does not, you will hear that.
You apply together
A 20 to 30 minute working session to complete your board's IWT application. You will need a UEI from SAM.gov and a W9, and you get walked through both.
Your cohort starts
Live Zoom sessions with up to fifteen companies, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:30 PM ET. You work on your own business in every session.
Most boards approve a complete application inside two weeks. A few review on a monthly committee schedule, so plan on up to four. Funding pools are allocated per program year and often run out before spring, which is the real reason to start the conversation early rather than at the deadline. The Winter 2027 room is capped at fifteen companies.
175+ companies. 300+ executives trained.
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▶Fifty hours of live training, and the plans you build inside it.
Five sequential modules, ten hours each, live on Zoom. Strategy shapes marketing, marketing shapes lead generation, and AI multiplies all four. The order is the point.
Strategic Planning
You build a one-year strategic growth plan, your USP, core values, vision and company scorecards.
Building Your Team
Culture, retention, accountability and the practices that let your team decide without you in the room.
Marketing Strategy
Buyer personas, differentiation, the customer decision journey and a written one-year marketing plan.
Lead Generation
Website conversion, SEO and paid, retargeting, email, social and sales enablement working as one system.
AI for Growth
Prompting, agents and applying AI to the plans you just built, so a small team does the work of a bigger one.
25+ growth templates. One executable plan.
Nothing here is theoretical. Every module ends with a template you fill in live, in session, for your own organization. By the last session those documents come together into a plan that is already in motion, and a lead generation engine with AI running through it.
Strategic Planning
- 1-Year Strategic Growth Plan
- USP and brand positioning
- Customer personas
- Vision and values
- Strategic scorecards
- SWOT analysis
Building Your Team
- Right person, right seat
- 5 Dysfunctions assessment
- Employee engagement survey
- Recognition program
- Meeting best practices
Marketing Strategy
- Full marketing strategy
- Customer decision journey
- Five Forces analysis
- Differentiation template
- Paid, owned, earned plan
- Tactical marketing calendar
Lead Generation
- Website conversion audit
- SEO and paid media plan
- Email marketing playbook
- Sales enablement toolkit
- Lead generation roadmap
AI for Growth
- Custom AI roadmap
- AI prompt library
- AI-generated content library
- AI tools stack
- Prompt best practices
- 1-Year growth plan, AI assisted
The templates, 650+ training slides, 50 hours of recordings and your completed plans. The capability stays inside your company after the cohort ends, which is the part an agency never leaves behind.
The questions Tennessee owners ask first.
What does SCALE UP cost a Tennessee company?
Enrollment is $15,000 for the five-module program. Tennessee's Incumbent Worker Training grant awards up to $25,000 per employer per year against training invoices, so an approved company typically pays no cash. What you contribute is the in-kind match, which is the wages your employees earn while they are in the sessions.
Who actually gives out the money?
Your Local Workforce Development Area. Tennessee has nine of them, each with its own application form, funding pool and review schedule, run alongside the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. On the 15-minute call you will find out which board covers your county and what its current rules are.
Do we have to pay anything up front?
No. The grant is awarded against invoices for the training, and the match you document is wages already on your payroll. Nothing is due before your board approves the application.
How long does approval take?
Most boards approve a complete application within two weeks. A few review on a monthly committee schedule, so allow up to four. Funding pools run on a July to June program year and are often committed before it ends, so earlier applications have the better odds.
Can a nonprofit apply?
Tennessee funds for-profit businesses and health care related nonprofits through this grant. Other nonprofits are generally outside it, and you will get a straight answer on the call rather than a maybe.
Is this consulting? Will someone do the work for us?
No. The grant funds training, not consulting. You and your team do the work in the sessions, using the templates and your own numbers. Chris teaches, answers your questions and keeps the room on time.
How much time does the training take?
Fifty hours across five modules: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:30 PM ET, from January 19 to March 25, 2027. Sessions are live on Zoom with up to fifteen companies, and you work on your own business in each one.
What if our board has no funding left?
You will know that on the call rather than after an application. If the pool for your area is committed, the realistic options are the next program year or a later cohort, and you will be told plainly which one applies.
Book your 15-minute eligibility call.
Pick a time that suits you. Chris will check whether Tennessee's Incumbent Worker Training grant can cover SCALE UP for your company, name the board that serves your county, and walk you through the next step. No prep needed.
Prefer the phone? (888) 209-1360 · cciunci@skayle360.com
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