Business Plan Coach Skills BootCamp

Do You Coach Entrepreneurs?

A complete system along with all the tools and skills you need to coach entrepreneurs to research and write their own business plans, plus an unlimited membership to the RiskBuster Business Plan Oasis.

Length: Six 3-hour modules (total 18 hours)

 

 Description:

The purpose of this series of workshops is to introduce Business Plan Practitioners to business planning as an educational opportunity and an effective tool with which to coach others to become experts in their businesses. The learner will be introduced to the Business Planner’s RoadMap and a manageable process for researching and shaping a business concept from the first idea to a completed business plan.

Small group learning activities are followed with time to ask questions or share what he or she has learned. Each learner will gain understanding of how to guide clients through the various steps of business planning.

Course goals:

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the benefits of a business plan
• Discuss positive and negative business outcomes
• Use market research process to help clients learn about their business
• Discover an effective business plan structure and process
• Guide clients to prove or disprove a business case
• Coach clients to write draft business plan elements
• Assist clients through the process of forecasting business financials
• Review and decide whether to finance a business plan

What You Will Learn

• What a business plan is – why it is necessary
• Where to access business planning tools
• To coach others to research business ideas
• Where to access information and help
• How to prove or disprove a business case
• Effective business writing techniques
• How to avoid business planning pitfalls
• How to identify and manage risk

This Workshop Is For…

• Business Coaches
• Business Analysts
• Financing or Funding Program Managers
• Business Consultants
• Business Plan Facilitators and Trainers

What You Can Expect

This workshop is learner-centered and designed for maximum participation and practice. You will fill your business planning toolchest with tricks and techniques, and have opportunities to practice applying new information in a safe and fun learning environment. You will leave the workshop with a clear idea of the role of a Business Plan Coach and how to assist others to develop their own business plans. Each participant will get the following workshop materials:1 copy of Business Plan or BUST! By Dan Boudreau

• Unlimited Membership to the online RiskBuster Business Plan Oasis
• 1 copy of Business Plan or BUST! by Dan Boudreau
• 1 copy of RiskBuster by Dan Boudreau
• 1 copy of Business Planner’s RoadMap by Dan Boudreau
• 1 RiskBuster Business Planner CD

Module 1: Grassroots Business Development

• Discuss roles and responsibilities of coaches and facilitators
• Brainstorm entrepreneurial characteristics and types
• Prioritize businesses according to degrees of difficulty
• Identify teachable moments and opportunities to educate
• Recognize positive and negative business outcomes
• Discover internal and external reasons to do a business plan
• Discuss the benefits of do-it-yourself business planning
• Review factors that influence business planning timelines
• Evaluate a business plan and decide whether to finance it

Module 2: Business Plan or BUST!

• Discuss the current big picture and local economic conditions
• Identify local business gaps and opportunities
• Review Business Planner’s RoadMap™ Steps 1 to 10
• Overview of the Business Planner’s RoadMap™: The Process
• Discover the RiskBuster Business Plan Shell™: The Structure
• Explore ways to motivate clients to be curious about their industry
• Discuss the benefits of doing conservative business projections
• Review the elements of proving a business case
• List twenty ways to increase a business plan’s credibility
• Tour the RiskBuster Business Plan Oasis membership website

Module 3: Researching Business Ideas without Going Crazy

• Review Business Planner’s RoadMap™ Steps 11 to 31
• Identify business plan supporting documents and appendices
• Develop market research questions and strategy
• Adapt templates to create market survey questionnaires
• Coach clients to prove or disprove their own assumptions
• Identify customer needs and spending habits
• Ease novices into researching their competitors
• Focus market research efforts by prioritizing customers
• Determine feasibility and make a go/no go decision

Module 4: Tell Your Story—Make Your Case

• Review Business Planner’s RoadMap™ Steps 31 to 53
• Install and use the RiskBuster Business Planner CD™
• Discover and use the RiskBuster Business Plan Shell™
• Arrange business plan folders and files for maximum retrieval
• Use The RoadMap™ in conjunction with the Shell™
• Discuss best practices for writing the business plan elements
• Describe products and services in ways that make sense
• Prepare for forecasting by prioritizing revenue streams
• Discover 60 sure-fire tricks for enhancing business plans

Module 5: Take The Fear Out of Forecasting!

• Review Business Planner’s RoadMap™ Steps 54 to 65
• Use the Biz4Caster spreadsheet-based forecasting tool
• Build and troubleshoot a 3-year bottom-up financial forecast
• Discuss basic business and industry assumptions
• Calculate business owner’s personal financial needs
• Use the price generator to create units and prices
• Forecast cash flow and estimate start-up expenses
• Create 3-year pro forma income statements and balance sheets

Module 6: Making a Difference, One Business at a Time

• Discuss the impacts of politics on small business
• Brainstorm how to sift through opportunities to find real gems
• Review Business Planner’s RoadMap™ steps 90 to 99
• Explore how eBusiness can enhance existing ventures
• List sources of funding and financing for small business
• Discover affordable marketing strategies and techniques
• Develop business, marketing, and operations action plans
• Adapt business plans to work for different audiences
• Review and discuss business plan workshop strategies
• Discuss ways to use what has been learned to coach others

Who Will Facilitate This Workshop?

Dan Boudreau, President and CEO, Macrolink Action Plans Inc. uses the business plan as a learning process to empower entrepreneurs to start and grow small businesses and create the lifestyle and financial stability they want.

Dan has owned and operated small businesses since 1980, ranging from single owner home-based enterprises to more than 180 employees. Over the past 20 years, Dan has designed and facilitated workshops in the areas of entrepreneurship, business planning, market research, forecasting, proposal development, and train the trainer.

Call or email for a quote today:
info@riskbuster.com
Toll Free 1-877-612-9161