Entrepreneur's Journal: Want to get a piece of the Buffett/Goldman honeypot?

The Plan: The goal is to help 10,000 business in the U.S. To this end, there is an advisory council of supersmart people, which include Buffett, Michael Porter (Harvard business guru), Leonard Schlesinger (president of Babson College), Thomas Robertson (the dean at The Wharton School) and so on. I'm sure they will come up with strategy that will get results.

The break-down of the money is as follows:

• $200 million for education: This will go to local community colleges and universities. The aim will be to create a national curriculum for the key skills of running a successful business, like accounting, marketing and HR. After one year, there will be the launch of an e-learning platform. No doubt, this will be a tremendous resource.
• $300 million for lending and community support: However, this capital will be focused on the areas in the highest need, such as disadvantaged communities.

Who do you call? To make contact with the Goldman, you can send an email to 10000SmallBusinesses@gs.com. I'm sure there are many inquiries already. But so what? It's worth a try, anyway.

The criteria includes the following: revenues of $150,000 to $4 million; at least four full-time employees; business operations for at least two years; a business model that creates jobs; and business located in an underserved market.

If they don't get back or you don't make the cut? Again, so what? After all, rejection is a inevitable for entrepreneurs.

Yet, you can still benefit from the Goldman-Buffett approach, which is spot-on.

First, you need to beef up your education. Most likely, your local community college offers classes for the basics of running a business. So, sign up for a couple.

Next, you need to improve your networking. That is, attend events and use social networking sites like LinkedIn. The richer your network, the richer your business.

Finally, measure your results. According to Goldman: "rigorous monitoring and evaluation will ensure accountability and transparency, and drive a process of continuous learning and improvement."

Resources: And yes, you might want to read How to Build a Business Warren Buffett Would Buy: The R. C. Willey Story. Actually, I recently wrote a book review on it for my column.

Tom Taulli provides a variety of financial services to business owners, such as business plans, cash flow management, and taxes. You can reach him at taulli.com.