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How to Make Employee Training a Winning Investment Entrepreneurs who help their team strengthen important skills, and add to them, can see a boost to their bottom line.

By Gwen Moran Edited by Frances Dodds

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When Javier Muchado joined Gentle Giant Moving Company in 2004, he thought he would be there for a few months and then move on. But Larry O'Toole and John "J.P." Pacocha, the Somerville, Mass.-based company's owners, had other ideas. They observed Muchado on a few jobs and recognized that he was physically strong and smart--a winning combo for a business that requires equal measures of muscle, troubleshooting ability and people skills.

Moving up: Javier Muchado (right, with Patrick potter) says Gentle Giant's training gave him the confidence to lead.
Moving up: Javier Muchado (right, with Patrick potter) says Gentle Giant's training gave him the confidence to lead.

Muchado--who sailed through the company's two-day training period, which focuses on basic moving skills--easily could have gotten stuck in a basic role. With his quiet demeanor and shy nature, he was often the "silent helper" on jobs and was reluctant to take a bigger role in the company. "I wanted to do small jobs, not big jobs. I was always afraid of driving [the bigger] trucks," he says.

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