ASSETS COURSE: Business Design and Management

Course is 13 weeks long, offered three times a year, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.

Section I - Preparing To Go Into Business For Yourself

1. The Challenge of Entrepreneurship: Living Your Values The session draws out the entrepreneur's values and ethics and how they impact their community, customers, and employees.

2. Your Behavior Style and Your Business The I - Sight Personality Test (Carlson Learning Center, Minneapolis) is used to: diagnose the individual's own work behavior style relate behavioral styles to ownership of various types of small businesses develop and share effective strategies for utilizing strengths and compensating for weaknesses

3. Introduction to the Business Plan An overview of the business plan workbook and discussion on the importance of planning and writing a business plan.

Section II - Marketing Your Business

4. Your Product or Service: Defining Your Dream The participant is helped to discover what is special about his or her product or service and how to go beyond the obvious in finding ways to the heart of the customer.

5. Competition and Positioning Market niche is identified as businesses look at what makes their product or service different in relation to their competition.

6 - 7. Pricing Discussion on the significance of price on a product or service, purpose of pricing, and different methods of pricing.

8. Building Your Market Plan Library director introduces the services of the library and the wealth of print and electronic resources available for market research.

9. The Customer/Making the Sale Strategies for successful selling are discussed.

10. Promotion and Advertising Principles are developed for preparing a marketing plan. Attention is given to decisions about what to promote and advertise and in what media systems.

11. Business Idea Reports Opportunity for the participants to share their business idea and to receive feedback from other classmates.

12. Computer Class Introduction to basic computer applications for a business.

Section III - Finances and Your Business

13. Financial Recordkeeping This session deals with basic bookkeeping such as cash receipts, cash payments, income ledger, expenditures, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

14. Cash Flow Projection Participants are introduced to the monthly Cash Flow Projection and asked to complete one for their business.

15. Financial Statements The Income Statement (Profit and Loss) and the Balance Sheet are studied with attention to budget, sales, gross, profits, net profits, cost of goods sold, and fixed and variable costs.

16. Review of Cash Flow and Financial Statements

Section IV - Operating Your Business

17. Taxes: Local, State, and Federal Guidelines and discussion concerning tax obligation for the entrepreneur and their employees.

18. Loans/Financing Your Business Presentation from local community lending organizations. Discussion on how to apply for funds. A bank officer gives guidance and suggestions on how to apply for business financing.

19. Fundamentals of Leasing Discussion on leasing terminology, shopping for lease space, types of property, location analysis, negotiating the lease, and working with real estate brokers.

20. Your Business Name/Other Legal Issues An attorney gives advice on choosing your business entity, registering a business name, and satisfying City Hall.

21. Insurance Discussion on insurance options and levels of coverage for the small business and advice on how to choose a carrier.

22. Management and Decision Making Ideas and exercises to understand and strengthen personal approaches to decsion-making that will bring greater effectiveness in solving problems.

23. Next Steps An ASSETS alumnus talks about the alumni group and networking with other small businesses.

24. Motivation: The Inside Story - DO IT! A motivational expert leads an uplifting evening on do-it-yourself steps to success.

25. Graduation

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