Simple Steps for Writing Your Business Plan - A Workshop Series
Simple Steps for Writing Your Business Plan was designed for new entrepreneurs who want to start a business but don’t know how to get started. Writing a business plan is the most important part of starting a business because it tests your business idea from all aspects of the business for viability before you sink time, money and sleepless nights into the business. By completing the workshop you will have many parts of your business plan complete or well under way.
Session 1 - Describing Your Business
In this session you will learn the importance of developing the business plan and how it acts as a roadmap to determining if your business idea is potentially viable. Learning to describe your business in terms that others can understand is one of the keys to a successful start. By interacting with other participants in the workshop you will get immediate feedback on your business description. This will lead to developing the short and long term goals for your business
Session 2 - Running Your Business
For many start-up businesses an often overlooked area for the business is how you will run the business day to day. Focusing on this topic for this workshop will highlight the areas that need early attention such as daily time management and how to respond to competitors. A discussion of the different types of planning necessary for your business will help you improve the likelihood of success in your business. You will learn about the all-important topic of pricing your product or service.
Session 3 - Marketing Your Business
Convincing people to buy your product or service is one of the most important functions of your business. Here you will learn the difference between sales and marketing. The importance of the earlier exercise of describing your business will become more evident here as you describe your product or service in a way that enables you to refine your message to your customers. You will learn more about competition and how to identify it. Making sure you have identified your target market will help you continue on the shortest road to success in your business.
Session 4 - Financing Your Business
Businesses fail to start when they don’t have enough money. Businesses fail to succeed when they run out of money. In this workshop you will learn why money is sometimes described as the oxygen of a business. Here you will learn why it is critical to understand the financial reports of your business and why budgeting and forecasting can keep your business alive even in difficult times. Find out why “cash is king” for your business and if you want long term success you need to have it all of the time
At the end of the series, you will have all the tools necessary to decide on whether or not to launch your small business and continue the development of your business Plan.
You may also request the assistance of a Delaware SCORE mentor assigned to you when you register for this course, or at any time during the course or through our web site.