Denise Eisenhauer describes her career as a non-linear “jungle gym”
Today, her company named “The Growth Factor” has crafted two courses for school-aged children to bring business ideas to life.
Denise Eisenhauer describes her career as a non-linear “jungle gym.”
She began as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, working with children with special needs at a prominent children’s hospital in Chicago. After spending a decade helping young patients develop communication skills, she found herself stepping into the world of management—despite no formal training in leadership or business.
“It was about two weeks into my new management role when I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve got an undergrad degree, a master’s degree, yet I feel unprepared to manage budgets, lead change initiatives, and manage people.’” Eisenhauer shared. “So, I decided to go back to school for my MBA, so that I could lead my teams with confidence. At that point, I was bit by the bug of business and leadership, it became my passion.”
This decision led her to spend another 10 years in hospital administration while also teaching business and leadership classes at Northwestern University in Chicago.
However, it was a simple question from one of her graduate students in 2020 that sparked the next big idea in her career. The student jokingly asked, “Why didn’t I learn foundational skills in business and leadership earlier, like in third grade?”
Eisenhauer thought about it, noting how few schools have a curriculum about entrepreneurship and leadership. It was an opportunity gap she felt passionate about addressing. Why not start in 3rd grade?
“I started doing market research, and there wasn’t much out there that helped elementary school kids develop core skills in leadership and business,” Eisenhauer said.
Leaning on her experience in pediatric education, and upper-level administration, Eisenhauer crafted two courses for school-aged children to bring business ideas to life, “Let’s Talk Business” and “Leadership Communication,” all housed within her company “The Growth Factor.”
In 2021, Eisenhauer launched both her business class and leadership class for a private school in Nashville as a pilot. The class met once a week for 12-week sessions and was a hit. Her curriculum quickly became sought-after material.
“The kids loved it, the parents were excited, and the school started noticing that kids were enrolling directly because of the program,” she recalled.
As demand for her curriculum grew, Eisenhauer found herself at a crossroads. She couldn’t be in multiple places at once, and hiring more teachers wasn’t a scalable option. This led her to put the curriculum online, making it accessible to teachers across the country. Now, any educator can purchase the program, log in, and introduce their students to the foundations of entrepreneurship and leadership.
So, which classrooms are suited for this material?
Eisenhauer said it’s ideal for third through fifth graders because it was created with that specific age group in mind. The Growth Factor offers two distinct tracks: one for entrepreneurship and the other for leadership development. The content can be delivered in any way the teacher sees fit and can be done once a week, or more intensely completing 2-3 lessons in a day. It’s completely adaptable to allow busy teachers flexibility as well as ease of delivery.
“In the ‘Let’s Talk Business’ course, we focus on core skills that encourage creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making—skills that these kids can use throughout their lives,” she said. “They start with an idea and look at the finances, marketing strategy, and product development. They will get experience doing a SWOT analysis, and even the opportunity to do a pitch.
In the ‘Leadership Communication’ course, we focus on foundational skill such as emotional intelligence, decision making, humility, communication, public speaking, and teamwork.”
What started as a career in speech pathology has blossomed into a pioneering educational initiative, one that is equipping the next generation with tools for success beyond the classroom.
“I want to get it into as many hands as possible. I would love to get it in front of more administrators we are seeing a shift in education in general . . . I hope that leadership and business curricula, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, starts to be embedded in more classrooms.” she said.
Read more about The Growth Factor.
Connect with Denise Eisenhauer.
Instagram @thegrowthfactorgroup
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