James Burke
Being a grandpa is more fun than working
A few weeks ago, I had mentioned the Kaufmann Foundation's FastTrac Growth Venture classes that were being offered in our community. Basically, Growth Venture is designed for current business owners who desire a better understanding of their business in preparation for future growth or maintaining sustainability.
Since Michigan's ecomony is practically at the bottom of the dumper, each participant was given a $720 scholarship (from grant money) for the class, leaving us with just $100 to pick up on our own.
Several of us in the class come from non-business backgrounds, but I was surprised by how many seasoned business owners were coming "back to school" to take a long hard look at re-defining their businesses in a declining economy...fraught with new startups and ever increasing low-ball competition. The "battle stories" I heard were quite an eye opener.
Last Thursday was the first day of class. The course runs six weeks, and we meet one day a week for six hours of instruction and group discussion. I'm finding that the homework takes me about four to six hours to complete each module.
A majority of the material can be studied independently, but the interaction between participants during class has proven very beneficial, and has challenged my thinking in several ways. I'm looking forward to breaking away from a lot of the preconceived notions I have.
For those who might be interested in what they teach, I'll try to keep a weekly outline of the material we cover.
Here's what was on the schedule for last week:
Module 1: Sizing Up Your Business-
Conducted a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats)
Defined a three-year vision of our business
Identified goals for the business and our goals for the FastTrac program
Module 2: Exploring Growth Opportunities
Assessed Industry potential
Developed my customer profile
Analyzed my direct, indirect and future competition
Evaluated our business growth opportunities
Module 3: Making Strategic Decisions
Defined my business strategy
Defined my executive summary (for business plan)
Jim
Since Michigan's ecomony is practically at the bottom of the dumper, each participant was given a $720 scholarship (from grant money) for the class, leaving us with just $100 to pick up on our own.
Several of us in the class come from non-business backgrounds, but I was surprised by how many seasoned business owners were coming "back to school" to take a long hard look at re-defining their businesses in a declining economy...fraught with new startups and ever increasing low-ball competition. The "battle stories" I heard were quite an eye opener.
Last Thursday was the first day of class. The course runs six weeks, and we meet one day a week for six hours of instruction and group discussion. I'm finding that the homework takes me about four to six hours to complete each module.
A majority of the material can be studied independently, but the interaction between participants during class has proven very beneficial, and has challenged my thinking in several ways. I'm looking forward to breaking away from a lot of the preconceived notions I have.
For those who might be interested in what they teach, I'll try to keep a weekly outline of the material we cover.
Here's what was on the schedule for last week:
Module 1: Sizing Up Your Business-
Conducted a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats)
Defined a three-year vision of our business
Identified goals for the business and our goals for the FastTrac program
Module 2: Exploring Growth Opportunities
Assessed Industry potential
Developed my customer profile
Analyzed my direct, indirect and future competition
Evaluated our business growth opportunities
Module 3: Making Strategic Decisions
Defined my business strategy
Defined my executive summary (for business plan)
Jim
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). He wasn't interested. I offered to go with him to chamber and other networking events. He said he would, but wouldn't ever commit. In the end, I realized he was a very shy person that didn't like to speak in public.
