Entrepreneur Fundamentals
- Review your entrepreneurial traits and personal skills inventory
- Consider your motivation for starting in business
- Identify and develop a business idea
- Understand legal structures & choose the right one for your business
Starting A Business
Business Ideas
There are several ways to help you identify a business idea, however, before you start you need to consider your approach and start thinking like an entrepreneur – laterally! By solving those niggling problems, you just might find a new business under your nose! Use your own experience, watch current trends and look out for changes in legislation which may open up a new market opportunity.
Business Planning
- Identify the key elements of a business plan
- Understand important role of business planning
- Use your plan to set and review business targets
Marketing, Market Research and Sales
- Explore customer-centred marketing
- Assess and research the market opportunities
- Understand the 4 P’s (product, price, promotion and place)
- Develop advertising/promotional plan for start up business
Financial Planning
- Identify your business start up costs
- Estimate your business income and expenditure
- Understand difference between cash-flow and profit
Networking and Influencing People
- Appreciate the importance of networking for your business
- Identify benefits and blocks to effective networking
- Develop and deliver your business elevator pitch
Finance and Taxation
- Identify book-keeping decisions for your business
- Manage business receipts and invoices effectively
- Understand tax registration process for different legal structures
Sources of Finance
- Assess your banking needs and opportunities
- Review the main causes of rejection of business loan applications
- Explore fund-raising options including local enterprise boards, government bodies and financial institutes
Using the Internet to advantage your business
- Review various internet business models
- Understand the costs of setting up your business on-line
- Identify ways to use the internet as a business marketing tool
- Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Goal setting & Effective Time management
- Explore your personal management of time
- Identify how to develop an effective time schedule
- Review business prioritisation process
- Identify your business SMART goals