This presentation will help new entrepreneurs understand the journey that they are undertaking in starting a business, and learn about the important attributes within themselves that will help them become successful in running their business. The presentation will explain the path involved in the first few years of a business, including:

• The high level view of launching a successful company.
• The Successful Entrepreneur’s Personal Foundation – the first and overlooked step.
• The anatomy of a business idea.

This presentation will help new entrepreneurs learn how to build a complete business strategy around their idea through the business planning process. This presentation will help entrepreneurs learn what their goal is for the plan (creating an internal strategy vs. giving to investors), what goes into a complete business plan, and strategies for making business plan writing easier. The “What goes into a business plan” section will include the following:

• Research: The Market, Industry, and Competition
• The Marketing Foundation: Product Description, Mission Statement, and Marketing Plan
• The Operations: Operations Plan and Management Team
• Financial Projections: Explanation of what is included in good financials
• Executive Summary

This presentation covers what entrepreneurs must do once they’ve written a business plan to get ready to launch. These actions include filing government documents; setting up your legal, accounting and insurance; creating your initial marketing tools; and setting up your business infrastructure. What is included in each section is outlined below.

• Government Documents: Overview of the following government documents and explanation of who needs them: Federal tax ID number, business license, fictitious business name, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and sellers permit.
• Legal and accounting: Overview of the following topics: business bank accounts, NDA’s, insurance, and setting up your legal entity.
• Marketing: Overview of the following topics: Setting up your website, designing a logo, getting business cards, and printing flyers.
• Infrastructure: Overview of the following topics: Where to locate your business, setting up your office utilities and hardware, and important business software.