One of the most successful, and popular, business planning training series ever offered by the team at Cornerstone Alliance is returning this fall, and enrollment is currently underway. The comprehensive CORE Four programming covers a broad spectrum of issues critical to anyone aspiring to, entering into, or already beginning their own small business enterprise. The new series of classes will begin early next month.
The Cornerstone Alliance Small Business Services team is offering the CORE Four workshop series beginning on October 8, 2016. The workshops teach aspiring and/or existing small business owners the information and skills they need in four fundamental or "CORE" elements of business planning: Success Planning, Marketing Planning, Cash Flow Planning, and Operations Planning. The over-arching fee is $150 for all four workshops.
The Core Four workshop classes will be held from 9am until noon at the Western Michigan University-SW Campus in Room 2405 at 2785 E. Napier Avenue in Benton Harbor.
The first workshop combines the first two fundamentals, Success & Market Planning into a single course, on Saturday, October 8th.
Success Planning will be led by Margaret Adams, Manager of the Women's Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance. The plan for business success is designed to offer tools for such things as:
- Self-Assessment
- Financial Goal Setting
- Setting Boundaries
- Communication & Selling Skills
- Contingency Planning
Marketing Planning will be led by Whitney Behnke, Executive Director of St. Joseph Today. The workshop focuses on issues such as:
- How to identify the features & benefits of products and/or services
- Imaging
- Packaging, pricing, selling, promotional planning & contingency planning
- Targeting customers
- Analyzing your industry and the competition
- Identifying your position in the marketplace
Cash Flow Planning will be held on Saturday, October 15th and will be led by Brian Bailey, owner of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, with a strong background in accounting & bookkeeping. The workshop is focused on detailed strategies for financial planing including:
- Projecting sales
- Setting sales goals
- Contingency planning
Operations Planning will be conducted on Saturday, October 22nd and again will be led by Brian Bailey. The final workshop in the Core Four series will focus on:
- Operating a legitimate business
- Compliance with legal standards and requirements
Cost for the four series workshops is $150.00 total. Pre-registration is required, and the deadline to register is Monday, October 3rd. A limited number of partial scholarships will be available for qualified Women's Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance and Micrloan clients. For additional information, click the link below or email Dubelsa Mata at dmata@cstonealliance.org or call 269-925-6100.
Cornerstone Alliance Small Business Services provides technical, business, and financial assistance to small businesses with an emphasis on income disadvantaged and women-owned businesses. The Women's Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance and Microloan Program are funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Here's the link for additional information:
