Your Business - Start Smart
Are you a military spouse, veteran or active-duty service member who is thinking about starting a small business or are you already running a small business and looking for some free training to help you succeed? If so, join our series on business ownership. This course is comprised of the following courses:
Introduction to Business Ownership In this course, you will get a high level overview of some business ownership considerations in the areas of business entities, using planning tools, and the need to conduct market research and industry analysis.The following courses delve into these topics more deeply.
Introducing the Business Model Canvas as a Planning ToolHere you will learn the components of a Business Model Canvas and what information you need to complete each section.In the “Business Plan Development” course, you will get insight into how the Business Model Canvas ties to your business plan.
Understanding your Value Proposition This course will take a deeper dive into your “Value Proposition.”By understanding and leveraging your value proposition, you will then better understand who your customer segments will be and then be able to work on marketing (which you will learn about in the next course)
Marketing Your Venture Now that you are familiar with the Business Model Canvas, and you have nailed your Value Proposition, it is time to learn about your customer base.In this course, you will learn where to conduct market research and start to quantify numbers of customers.This research will not only let you learn about your customers, but will also provide you valuable data to use in the next course.
Financial Planning for your Business In this course, you will get an overview of a sales forecast, cost of goods forecast, cash flow analysis, as well as a profit and loss statement.By the end of this course, you will have an understanding about how to use research to make realistic projections and estimations of start-up expenses for your business.
Business Entities & Safeguarding your Business In this course, we will take a deeper dive into the more common business entities and associated liability concerns, insurance protections, intellectual property considerations, partnership agreements and some other matters small business owners will want to consider.
Business Plan Development Whether you need funding or not, it is always advised to write a business plan.In this course, you will discover the various sections of a business plan, see some examples and you will see how your Business Model Canvas ties in to your ultimate plan.
Financing your Vet Owned Venture Now that you have a well-researched and written business plan (and financial forecast), you can seek outside funding.In this course, you will learn about debt v. equity financing, the 5 C’s a lender will look at when you apply, and you will learn of some non-traditional/alternate forms of financing your veteran owned venture.
Your Instructor
Amber Bittner has a lifetime of experience within the military community having grown up on various military bases, and being a current military spouse. She started her career at the age of 16, and was promoted as the youngest night manager of a large box retail establishment by the age of 18. She did this all while attending college at the University of South Alabama where her original focus was Computer Science and Programming. In attempts to obtain her first degree she worked two full time jobs at a time in order not to utilize loan funding and gained experience as a qualified plan assistant putting together 401(k) and PSP plans for large companies along the gulf coast within a CPA firm. During tax season she also worked on different business payrolls, and general bookkeeping which gave her much knowledge about the accounting aspects of business.
After a terrible car accident, Amber went full time into general management and was not able to finish her degree, being a mere 4 credit hours short from her BS in Computer Science. She broke into the banking world when she married a service member and started working with the military banking overseas division as a personal banker; this work continued when she worked as a relationship manger with Bank of America, and provided monetary solutions to small business owners within that role amongst other financial aspects. Amber currently attends the University of Maryland where her focus is corporate pre law, she has a 4.0 GPA. Amber’s clients finds a lot of value in speaking with her as she has fifteen years’ experience in general retail management and interim district management, seven years within accounting and finance, successful business ownership experience, as well as 4 years within small business banking.
Course Curriculum
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StartYBSS - Part 1 Introduction to Business Ownership (25:44)
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StartYBSS - Part 2 Introducing the Business Model Canvas as a Planning Tool (24:14)
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StartYBSS - Part 3 Understanding your Value Proposition (27:51)
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StartYBSS - Part 4 Marketing your Venture (21:28)
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StartYBSS - Part 5 Financial Planning for your Business (21:20)
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StartYBSS - Part 6 Business Entities and Safeguarding your Business (42:16)
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StartYBSS - Part 7 Business Plan Development (29:31)
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StartYBSS - Part 8 Financing your Vet Owned Venture (24:51)