Business Plan 101 - Week 1
The Business Plan 101 course is a 9-week program where you will receive instruction, direction and information on resources that will help you better understand what to include and what not to include in your business plan. Not only will you receive guidance on preparing your business plan, you will also have the opportunity to work on your business plan in class. It is possible, with your commitment and dedication, that you will be able to complete a business plan by the end of this 9-week course. Week #1 What is a business plan? In this class you will learn what a business plan is and why you need one. You will also learn how to develop a timeline for creating your business plan and build in check points to make sure you are on target for completion. Week #2 Business Idea and Competitive Advantage -In this class you will learn how to best explain your business idea. In addition, this session will assist you in identifying your competitive advantage. You will have an opportunity to work on your business plan and include the information important to your plan. Week #3 Market Analysis - In this class you will learn how to do market research and learn how to identify the size of your market, define your customer segment, identify buying patterns, etc. In addition, you will learn about the competition, the economic environment and understand the barriers to entry and regulation. Week #4 Market Plan - In this class you will learn about different ways you can choose to market your business. You will have the opportunity to start developing a marketing plan for your business. This marketing plan will describe marketing activities, costs, and anticipated results. Week #5 Timeline, Financials to include Start-up Cost and Cash Flow Projections - In this class you will learn why it is important to have a timeline for your start-up business. In addition, you will learn why it is important to include start-up cost and cash flow projections. Examples will be shared in this class. You will have an opportunity to work on your timeline, start-up costs, and even the cash flow projections, if time permits. Week #6 Cash Flow Projections - In this class you will learn the importance of the cash flow projections in a business plan. You will learn the components of a cash flow and how to develop your own cash flow projection. Participants will be offered the opportunity to work on their individual cash flow projection. Week #7 Management Team - In this class you will learn why a strong management team is important not only to your business plan but in your business. You will identify all of the roles and responsibilities in your business in addition to the responsibilities you want to outsource. Week #8 Executive Summary - In this class you will learn the role of the executive summary in a business plan. If you have worked on all of the components of your business plan then you will be able to work on the executive summary in this class. Participants will have an opportunity to write and work on their executive summary. Week #9 Keys to a Winning Business Plan - In this class you will learn and/or review the components of a business plan. You will learn the key things a lender or investors looks for as they are reviewing a business plan. If time permits you will have an opportunity to review and edit your business plan.
Speaker(s): Clincy Trammell IV MBA/ MHRM
Co-Sponsor(s): Wells Fargo Foundation
Class meets on Thursdays evenings from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. starting on February 6. Class dates are 2/6/20, 2/13/20, 2/20/20, 2/27/20, 3/5/20, 3/12/19, 3/19/20, 3/26/20 and 4/2/20.
Fee: No Cost
