Entrepreneurship 101

[ZE Entrepreneurship]

Price: $ 49.95+GST

(Available in Entrepreneurship Program only)

Wouldn’t it be nice to be your own boss, work on your own schedule, and make money doing something that you’re passionate about? Millions of people around the world are living that dream and running their own business. You can, too, with this introductory entrepreneurship course.

In this course, you’ll learn the basics of entrepreneurship. You will learn how to find and evaluate business ideas, flesh out those ideas by developing value propositions and financial projections, consider your ownership options, prepare the appropriate documents (including a business plan, pitch deck, and white papers), and gather funding for your business. You’ll also learn the steps of developing, testing, marketing, and launching a product or service. To wrap things up, you’ll learn how to grow your business and become an entrepreneurial leader.

Table of Contents

Entrepreneurship 101

Session 1: Course Overview

Learning Objectives
Pre-Assignment
Pre-Course Assessment

Session 2: What It Takes to Make It

Pre-Assignment Review
Traits of an Entrepreneur
Traits of an Entrepreneur

Session 3: Resources to Consider

Introduction
Friends and Family
Books, Magazines, Industry Publications, and Social Media
Training
Mentors, Coaches, and Consultants
Government Organizations
Chamber of Commerce
Business Groups
Special Programs

Session 4: Laying the Groundwork

Finding Business Ideas
What Other Skills Do I Have?
What Can I Make Money At?
What Problems Exist?
What If I Already Have a Business Idea?
Considering the Options, Part One
What Other Skills Do I Have?
What Can I Make Money At?
What Problems Exist? (Part One)
What Problems Exist? (Part Two)
What If I Already Have a Business Idea?
Outlining Your Ideas
How Much Research Should I Do?
Asking Others for Their Advice
Making Connections
Considering the Options, Part Two
Idea One
Idea Two
Idea Three
Assessing Your Ideas
SWOT Matrix
Advanced Types of SWOT Analyses
Considering the Options, Part Three
Evaluating Your Capacity for Risk
There Are Options!
Caution!

Session 5: Building On Your Business Idea

Developing Your Product Idea
Problem Statement
Functional and Non-Functional Requirements
Features and Benefits
User Stories (Part One)
User Stories (Part Two)
Making Connections (Part One)
Making Connections (Part Two)
Identifying Your Target Market and Customers
Step One: Theories
Step Two: Testing (Part One)
Step Two: Testing (Part Two)
Step Two: Testing (Part Three)
Step Three: Take It All In
Developing Your Value Proposition
Creating Financial Projections
Sample Sales Process
Things to Consider
Part Two: Sales Metrics
Sample Sales Metrics: Bicycle Company
Sample Sales Metrics: E-Commerce Company
Getting it Right
Part Three: Expenses
Part Four: Calculating Ratios
Operating (Net) Margin
Head Count per Client

Session 6: Business Ownership Options

Types of Business Ownership
Speaking About the Entrepreneur
Purchasing a Franchise
Where to Find Franchises and Resources?
Words of Warning
Purchasing an Existing Business (Part One)
Purchasing an Existing Business (Part Two)

Session 7: Key Documents to Prepare

Business Plan
The One-Page Plan
The Formal Plan
Executive Summary
Polishing the Executive Summary
Pitch Deck
Sample Pitch Deck
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 2
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 3
Sample Pitch Deck: Slides 4 and 5
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 6
Sample Pitch Deck: Slides 7 and 8
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 9
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 10
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 11
Sample Pitch Deck: Slides 12 and 13
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 14
Sample Pitch Deck: Slide 15
How It Works
30-Second Pitch
Pitch Template
Practicing the Pitch
White Papers

Session 8: Gathering Funding

The Basics of Financial Statements
The Income Statement
Income Statement Equation
Sample Income Statement
The Balance Sheet
Balance Sheet Equation
Balance Sheet Accounts
Current vs. Fixed Assets
Cash Flow Statement
Statement of Retained Earnings
Brainstorming Solutions
Funding Options
Funding Options

Session 9: Developing Your Product

The Steps of Product Development
Idea Development
Planning
Design
Beta and Quality Testing
Limited Production and Quality Testing
Full Production, Quality Checks, and Product Release
Protecting Your Intellectual Property
What is Intellectual Property?
Following the Rules
What Should Be Copyrighted?
Is It Worth It?
Employee and Contractor Agreements

Session 10: Creating a Sales and Marketing Strategy

Introduction to Marketing
Cycle Overview
Stage One: Consumer and Market Analysis
Stage One: Consumer and Market Analysis
The Buying Process (Part One)
The Buying Process (Part Two)
Segmentation (Part One)
Segmentation (Part Two)
Stage Two: Analyzing the Competition and Yourself
SWOT Analysis
Next Steps
Stage Three: Analyzing Distribution Channels
The Distribution Process
Stage Four: Creating a Marketing Plan
Product
Price (Part One)
Price (Part Two)
Place
Promotion
Packaging
Making Connections (Part One)
Making Connections (Part Two)
Stages Five and Six: Implement, Evaluate, Review, and Revise
Leveraging Social Media
Leveraging Social Media
Building Your Sales Force

Session 11: Branding 101

What Branding Is All About
Why a Brand?
What's In a Brand?
What is Branding, Then?
Why Branding is the Most Important Investment a Company Can Make
Why Branding is the Most Important Investment a Company Can Make
Developing a Slogan
Types of Logos
Letterform
Wordmark
Emblems
Getting Creative

Session 12: Setting Up Your Office

Choosing a Location
Finding Resources
Asking the Right Questions
The Pros and Cons of Home-Based Businesses (Part One)
The Pros and Cons of Home-Based Businesses (Part Two)
The Roaming Entrepreneur

Session 13: Launching the Business

Getting Off the Ground
The Launch
Setting Up Your Organizational Chart
First Stages of Growth
Next Stages of Growth
Recruiting and Engaging the Right People
Recruiting and Engaging the Right People
Recruiting and Engaging the Right People

Session 14: Keeping the Business Moving

Keeping Track of Your Business
Other Considerations
Growing Your Business
Growing Your Business
Don't Give Up!
Coming Out on the Other Side

Session 15: Being an Entrepreneurial Leader

Michael Gerber's Three Perspectives
Identifying the Activities
Working It Out
Case Study
Activity

Session 16: Bringing It All Together

Checklist for Success
Entrepreneurial Traits
Resources to Consider
Business Groundwork (Part One)
Business Groundwork (Part Two)
Developing Your Product Idea (Part One)
Developing Your Product Idea (Part Two)
Developing Your Product Idea (Part Three)
Identifying Your Target Market and Customers
Developing Your Value Proposition
Creating Financial Projections (Part One)
Creating Financial Projections (Part Two)
Creating Financial Projections (Part Three)
Creating Financial Projections (Part Four)
Product Development
Product Development (Part One)
Product Development (Part Two)
Intellectual Property
Sales and Marketing (Part One)
Sales and Marketing (Part Two)
Sales and Marketing (Part Three)
Sales and Marketing (Part Four)
Branding (Part One)
Branding (Part Two)
Branding (Part Three)
Choosing a Location (Part One)
Choosing a Location (Part Two)
Getting Off the Ground
Setting Up Your Organizational Chart
Keeping Track of Your Business
Entrepreneurial Leadership Characteristics (Part One)
Entrepreneurial Leadership Characteristics (Part Two)

Session 17: A Personal Action Plan

Starting Point
Where I Want to Go
How I Will Get There
Summary
Recommended Reading List
Post-Course Assessment