 Ithaca, NY - Alternatives Federal Credit Union's Business CENTS program is introducing an intensive, one-day business plan writing workshop for existing or aspiring entrepreneurs. The workshop will take place Saturday, December 15, from 9:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Alternatives, 125 N. Fulton Street, in Ithaca. The workshop fee is $15 and registration is mandatory. Space is limited; first come first serve.
"The key word here," says Michelle Matro, Business Consultant and Trainer at Business CENTS," is writing. We won't be talking about business plans, we'll be writing them! You'll leave with a framework begun and a clear idea of how to continue the research and outline the rest of your plan," she promises.
Imagine you're thinking about starting a business. You have lots of ideas, probably at least as many questions, and most likely, no clear idea how to move forward. Ask almost any business advisor or consultant what to do, and he or she will tell you, "write a business plan."
The problem is, most aspiring entrepreneurs and even many long-time business owners don't really know how to write a business plan. "It's not rocket science," says Leslie Ackerman, Director of the Business CENTS program at Alternatives Federal Credit Union, "but writing a business plan is a new experience for most people, and it's often something of a mysterious 'black box' that they don't know how to approach. So it really helps most people to have some guidance and some structure."
Mary Biggs, owner of Under Cottonwood Childcare Center agrees. When she was preparing to take over the business, she said, "I am not a business person and didn't know what I was doing. I worked with Leslie on writing a business plan - she talked me through the whole thing."
Michelle Matro explains the value of business plans: "They force thinking through every aspect of a business - getting what's in your head down on paper where you can see that some things will not work as you thought and need to be tweaked. So for you, it's a plan to check the feasibility of your business idea. It vastly increases your chance of business success."
----
v3i46
|
