Great Falls

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Rich Gannon, SBDC rural business advisor
406-836-2078 | rgannon@growgreatfalls.org

Rich Gannon joined the Great Falls Development Alliance as an SBDC rural small business advisor in October 2019. Before joining the GFDA team, Rich was a website designer and online marketer with a decade of successful experience helping small businesses with their digital presence and online marketing needs. Rich helped businesses with website design, content creation and search engine optimization. Before starting his website design work, Rich was a manager for a nonprofit organization in Alaska, an accountant for a large rural Alaskan school district and a dispatcher for a charter air service.

As an SBDC rural business advisor, Rich helps businesses in rural communities of North Central Montana with marketing, operational and financial growth. After getting certified in 2023 through the ASBDCs AIU program, Rich has been helping his clients better understand AI and how to implement it into their business. Rich was raised on a family farm and ranch in the Sun River Valley west of Great Falls and is a 1998 graduate of the University of Montana School of Business. Rich lives in Cut Bank with his wife Jen and their four children.

 Jason Nitschke, Zero to Five senior child care business advisor
406-513-1115 | jasonn@zerotofive.org

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Jason joins Zero to Five Montana as a senior child care business advisor after eight years in economic development as vice president with the Great Falls Development Authority and regional director of the Great Falls area Small Business Development Center. He will be delivering educational opportunities and one-on-one consultation support to entrepreneurs and communities starting, growing and expanding childcare and early education solutions.

Since 2014, he has advised and trained nearly 4,000 entrepreneurs and business professionals, helped start over 100 businesses, supported 2,800 jobs and helped in attracting nearly $75 million in capital investment into area businesses. He was the 2022 recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Boots to Business Instructor of the Year, a national award recognizing the top five presenters of the SBA’s introduction to entrepreneurship curriculum for active-duty military and veterans. In 2018, he was named the Montana State SBDC Star honoring the top 1% of business advisors in the U.S.

Prior to joining the economic development community, Jason owned two businesses and spent 16 years as a print and broadcast journalist. He is an award-winning broadcaster, a native Montanan and a proud daughter-dad. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Montana and a master’s degree in communication from Hawaii Pacific University-Honolulu.

He is a certified business advisor, economic development finance professional and certified Profit Mastery and PeerSpectives facilitator.

Trainings provided at this center:

• The LaunchPoint: monthly business strategies/pre-business class
• Boots to Business at Malmstrom Air Force Base for transitioning service members
• QuickBooks
• Profit Mastery
• The Small Business Webinar Series