Sustainable Entrepreneurial Course

Entrepreneurship is the study of creating a new venture or business and the steps necessary to successfully manage that process. Opportunities for entrepreneurship can arise in a variety of ways. It can be as simple as starting a small business, or planning out your teams approach in creating a huge corporation. In each case there are critical steps which eventually determine your possibilities for success and limit your chances of failure. No course can guarantee success, but acquiring the right knowledge and training will certainly improve your odds dramatically and may be the determining factor as to why you eventually succeed.

This exciting new course provides an overview of all the issues associated with creating a successful, sustainable business. These challenges range from recognizing a true opportunity and evaluating the potential for your “concept”, to acquiring the resources and skills you will need to start to effectively manage your venture. It is designed to appeal to individuals with strong desires to become entrepreneurs and start their own businesses, and to those looking to join startup companies as a skilled, knowledgeable, and socially responsible team member.

One of the innovative aspects of this course is the addition of the “Genesis” gaming platform that serves as an active and “interactive” training tool for the course. Game sections follow the lecture modules as students do their homework by playing sections of the game that correlate to the daily subject material. Learning new skills and concepts has never been so much fun!

The course objectives are threefold: 1) to develop a scientific understanding of entrepreneurship, and the empirical evidence in support of theories; 2) to transform this scientific understanding to practice; and 3) to provide firsthand experience with dealing with uncertainty and managing the start-up process.

This ground breaking course is taught by real-world trained business professionals using state-of-the-art online connectivity and advanced training techniques. The ideal students for this course are those wishing to learn how to properly start a business, or those wanting to get their concept “pitch ready” for investors. This course will be of extreme value to any stakeholder in the overall process including owners, investors, customers, suppliers, potential employees and so on.

The 13-module program can be taken together, or experienced in individual sections that address different stages and skill sets required to start your business or launch your entrepreneurial vision. Each section will be conducted via video conferencing and Blackboard in a series of 3-hour sessions.  The course includes an instructor, course materials, and a final presentation/evaluation at the conclusion on each section.

For those taking the entire 13 module course, students are required to come to class with an idea for a business that they are passionate about creating.  We will start Day 1 from there.

The course pack includes all the materials and software needed for any and all of the sections, for which students are charged a one-time course pack access fee of $99.  The student is then able to download the complete slide deck for all 13 modules of training, as well as the accompanying Entrepreneur’s Manual and supporting Financial and Marketing Worksheets.

These materials are what are to be used in the program and what you will use to evaluate and oversee the development of your own business/entrepreneurial vision.

General:

• Improve Communication Skills: Help the student better express in oral and written form their entrepreneurial idea and vision (Relevant Assignments: Class Participation; Interview with an Entrepreneur; Case Studies; Business Plan).
• Critical Thinking Skills: Apply critical thinking to business challenges (Relevant Assignments: Class Participation; Interview with an Entrepreneur; Case Studies; Business Plan).
• Information Analysis: Possess the research skills necessary to study business challenges and evaluate the impact of managerial actions. (Relevant Assignments: Class Participation; Interview with an Entrepreneur; Case Studies; Business Plan).
• Leadership and Team Interaction: Work effectively and collaboratively (Relevant Assignments: Interview with an Entrepreneur; Case Studies; Business Plan).
• Business Practices: Integrate knowledge across business disciplines (Relevant Assignments: Class Participation; Interview with an Entrepreneur; Case Studies; Business Plan).

Course Specific Learning Outcomes

The outcome of taking this course is three-fold:

• It is a unique, state-of-the-art way to learn. The secret sauce in getting you to understand what you need to do to be successful is the education format and style of the course:  We will take students from their initial concept to pitch-ready preparedness with our unique, interactive, 13-module training.
• The course will accelerate launching your business, in a sustainable way. Instead of learning through the school of hard knocks, sometimes taking years and losing huge sums of money, you can learn through experienced entrepreneurs who made those mistakes, and how they ultimately worked around them to succeed.
• It trains you professionally and personally. The core elements to being a successful entrepreneur are the same elements for being successful in many areas of your life:  financials, team building, goal setting, branding and marketing all play many roles, far beyond this course.

Section 1 (Getting Your Concept Ready)

Module 1:

What is My Vision as an Entrepreneur?

Objectives: You will

• Understand the mindset of an entrepreneur
• Define the success factors for being an entrepreneur—and assess them personally
• Explore two crucial success factors: passion and conviction
• Begin to create a powerful vision statement
• Ask “What is my WHY?”

Module 2:

What am I Offering and Will it Work?

Objectives: You will

• Learn how to screen for great ideas and apply them to your business
• Know how to follow and adapt to key market  trends
• Discover the  best way to define your product/service
• Review necessary financial components
• Fine tune your business idea

Module 3:

Is it Sustainable?

Objectives: You will

• Understand the key issues of business sustainability
• See why the traditional business model is broken and out dated
• Review strategies for how to integrate TBL into your business model
• Outline a globally conscious business
• Embrace your business’ social and environmental responsibilities as it maximizes profits

Module 4:

What are Key Marketing Strategies and Challenges?

Objectives: You will learn

• How best to research your key customers
• How to explain competitive advantages
• What you want from your marketing
• How to build your brand
• How to get to break even
• To determine strengths and weaknesses of you and your competitors

Section 2 (Evaluating the Market Place and Preparing to Do Business)

Module 5:

What is my financial plan?

Objectives: You will:

• Understand core financial components of a successful business
• Create an outline for a financial roadmap outline to success
• Build a strategy to compensate yourself as you build your business

Module 6:

What is the best way to refine my offering?

Objectives: You will

• Fine-­‐tune your product/service definition
• Understand key legal issues for launching your company/offering
• Determine the necessary start-up expenses for the business
• Integrate crucial supply chain components and sustainable resources

Module 7:

What is My Marketing Strategy?

Objectives: You will

• Know exactly who your target customers are
• Lock down competitive analysis and advantage
• Nail how you will brand your business
• Understand how you will price your product/service
• Map out a powerful 5-year marketing plan to

o Leverage your sustainability strategy to attract business

o Build a strategy to use technology to grow your business

o Learn the key online marketing strategies for your business

Module 8:

How Do I Lead My Organization?

Objectives: You will

• Learn what makes a solid team for your business
• Develop a strategy to build your team
• Build your leadership strategy
• Learn how best to integrate TBL into your management style
• Understand the pitch selection process

Module 9:

How Best Do I Raise Capital?

Objectives: You will

• Review your 5-year financial strategy
• Assess the amount of money you will need to start
• Determine where this money will come from
• Understand how to value your company on the market
• Explore offering investors an exit strategy

Section 3 (Running My Business Successfully) 

Module 10:

How Best Do I Manage My Stakeholders?

Objectives: You Will

• Update and upgrade your Pitch
• Analyze your business against the competition
• Understand your stakeholders needs associated with your business
• Build strategies for key partnerships
• Learn how to balance your business and personal lives

Module 11:

What Is My Roadmap to Launch My Vision?

Objectives: You will

• Create a detailed one year action plan
• Complete the key components of your business presentation
• Video and post your elevator pitch
• Declare when you will go “live” with your business

Module 12:

How Best Do I Get Action From My Presentation?

Objectives: You will

• Present your business concept to your peers
• Get specific feedback on what works and what to refine.
• Determine a detailed plan for the next three months
• Graduate and celebrate getting your business plan in place

Module 13:

What’s it Like Out There?

Objectives: You will:

• Pitch your business to a panel of potential stakeholders
• Develop a support group

November 29th^th:  Module 1: What is My Vision as an Entrepreneur?

December 1^st:  Module 2: What am I Offering and Will it Work?

December 6^th: Module 3: Is it Sustainable?

December 8^th: Module 4: What are Key Marketing Strategies and Challenges?

December 13^th: Module 5: What is My Financial Plan?

December 15^th: Module 6: What is the Best Way to Refine My Offering?

December 20^th: Module 7: What is My Marketing Strategy?

December 22^nd: Module 8: How Do I Lead My Organization?

December 27^th: Module 9: How Best Do I Raise Capital?

December 29^th: Module 10: How Best Do I Manage My Stakeholders?

January ^3rd: Module 11: What Is My Roadmap to Launch My Vision?

January 5th:  Module 12: How Best Do I Get Action from My Presentation?

January 10^th:  Module 13: What’s it Like Out There?