Simple Steps for Starting Your Business

Materials Updated January 2023

Session 1 – Startup Basics

This introductory workshop focuses on the basics of testing your business idea and identifying the key factors that influence start-up success. Start-up Basics provides you with an overview of the skills and tools you need when deciding to start a business. In this session, you learn about the advantages and disadvantages of owning a business, the most profitable form for your business, and the fundamentals of formation, organization, marketing, cash flow and funding sources.

Presentation: 
https://score.box.com/s/pd0it7zsuyxu0uzle3ibo0dbsx0s8lsx

Handouts:
Small Business Readiness Self-Assessment: https://score.box.com/s/snfbrwlb5brvj1hubmkplc3f2xlge114 

Session 2 – Business Concept

The second workshop focuses on your business concept and step-by-step guidance in researching your idea, your market, and your competition. At the end of the Business Concept workshop, you are able to identify your target markets, describe your products and services, and collect key competitive information to support your feasibility plan.

Presentation: 
https://score.box.com/s/u7r5k2xju8lizwemqr5xwt76x9lmy747

Handouts:
Is Your Idea Feasible?: https://score.box.com/s/5zzl9znyubw7siibv9qakp2ni3tci10h 

Session 3 – Marketing Plan

The third workshop provides you with an introduction to marketing communication methods and tools to maximize your customer reach. The discussion in the Marketing Plan workshop covers pricing strategies, positioning, the difference between features and benefits, and different marketing strategies. At the end of this session, you will know how to outline your marketing strategy, test your marketing message, choose the right sales channel, and exercise your marketing strategy.

Presentation: 
https://score.box.com/s/k89t10lbmd8uf2ekvdcawlfh96vhviie 

Session 4 – Financial Matters

The fourth workshop uses exercises to help you better understand financial concepts. This session reviews sales and prices, financial risks and rewards, true start-up costs, ongoing operating expenses, setting benchmarks for tracking progress and the organization of all your financial information. Using a hands-on approach, you learn how to use our financial model to forecast sales revenue and build solid pro-forma financial forecasts.

Presentation: 
https://score.box.com/s/h3qubi2qgs6t7evm0fxl0ldf9sgxb6st
Handouts: 
Financial Projections Workbook: https://score.box.com/s/589mowyvf9tvbjrnt8ubr55ebkjdbky5 

Session 5 - Funding Options

The final workshop offers information on how to fund your small business. In this session, discussions include sources of funds, the six C's of credit, banking relations, the borrowing process, setting the right expectations and making financial preparations. You will get an inside view of how a banker assesses the merits of business plans and loan applications. At the end of the series, you will have all of the tools necessary to decide whether or not to launch your small business.

Presentation: 
https://score.box.com/s/ziiivns9ikihjztglm2ntlmiruwovefz

Handouts: 
Getting Funding and Borrowing Strategies - A: https://score.box.com/s/n9qydc6bzcb6ei551f9koxttxg7zyb97 
Getting Funding and Borrowing Strategies - B: https://score.box.com/s/9q3ehgatyekxnh1353vfmqrxvl6y4phf 
Getting Funding and Borrowing Strategies - C: https://score.box.com/s/rorg16tm3k47f0q6u66rqtpojn0qsgvd
Small Business Readiness Self-Assessment: https://score.box.com/s/jl4m80k7uwx1napeo93csx74k2hp991h

Marketing Resources

In this folder, you will find two versions of a flyer (both in the same file), social media artwork to market the program as a whole, as well as social media posts for each individual workshop. 

https://score.box.com/s/y96tx12do4z49vonziqnkf2hdfrk3m80 

Public Webpage

• Link: www.score.org/getstarted
• Page has downloadable links to all session handouts and homework forms.
• Page is not indexed on the SCORE site. The only way someone would find it is if they obtain the link from the student manual and/or if you tell them about it.

Spanish Materials

The Simple Steps for Starting Your Business materials in Spanish have not been updated. If you would like to host this series in Spanish, please read through the course materials and update as needed. 

https://score.box.com/s/zfildz6buxpfoywpjif6kyzn5cjpabam