Crash Course in Business Plans

The Enterprise Challenge contestants attended a jam-packed session the other night on business plan essentials and what exactly to include in a business plan.  There are numerous templates and samples available and it can be overwhelming to know where to start.  Business plans will also vary depending on the type of business.  A simple business idea, say a small cupcake bakery, may be less complex than a plan to start manufacturing solar panels.

If you are just starting out on developing a business plan, here are a few resources to help:

• This  template is similar to what the Small Business Development Center hands out to clients;
• SCORE .org has a full page of templates in its Template Gallery, including some very user-friendly Excel spreadsheets for the financial worksheets;
• SBA.gov has a very nice interactive business plan tool.

You can usually find a sample business plan online for almost any type of business.  Many of these free samples are provided by the makers of business plan software, so they are of course, trying to entice you to purchase their product.  One word of caution, business plan software programs can be a lot of work and a lot of the information is repeated throughout, which can turn your readers off.

We recommend starting with an outline of your business plan so you identify what kind of research you’ll need to do, whether it’s market research on number of customers, pricing of products or services, demographics, competition or the industry, just to name a few topics.  Visit our business plan assistance page for help getting started!

Let the Games Begin! 26 Entrepreneurs Competing in Enterprise Challenge

We are very pleased to announce that a wide variety of entrepreneurs have signed up for this year’s Enterprise Challenge.  Nascent companies from all over the Yakima Valley are stepping up to advance their businesses through our interactive business plan contest.  It is exciting to see the variety of companies involved in the contest.  We have a bike shop entrepreneur, a renewable energy company, a couple restaurant/cafes, a blueberry farm, a couple contractors, some personal wellness firms, and a few other cool emerging businesses participating.

Each contestant will go through four seminars over the next few weeks to get oriented on business planning, marketing, financing, and legal issues.  Participants are then expected to submit a business plan summary that will be reviewed by first round judges.  This review team will cut the field down from 24 to 16.

After the initial cut, remaining contestants gear up for a trade show in early November where they will interact with and pitch thirty new judges about their ventures.  This group of judges will evaluate these businesses and help us further reduce our contestant field to eight finalists.  The entrepreneurs still standing will then refine and finish their business plans by early December and gear up for final oral presentations.  Our final judges hear these presentations, review each contestant’s plans and ultimately pick our contest winners.

We are very pleased with the turnout for the contest and have designed the event so it benefits all participants even if they don’t advance through the contest.  By offering in-depth business seminars and offering hands on counseling to all contestants, our team is confident that our participants can gain traction with their business and learn what it takes to launch a successful enterprise.

Could You Use $10,000 To Start A New Business?

Have you considered throwing your hat in the ring for the Enterprise Challenge?  The Enterprise Challenge is a business plan competition to identify the best and brightest new local businesses and entrepreneurs.  Want more information?  Attend a free information night, Wednesday, September 21st, 5-6 p.m.  The Enterprise Challenge is tailored to and targeted at start-up companies and Yakima County entrepreneurs with limited independent business experience.  If participants have formed a business, it must be less than two years old.  Registration Deadline is Friday, September 23rd, 5:00 p.m.  The Top Prize is $10,000; 2nd Place $5,000 and 3rd Place $2,500.

For more information, attend a Free Info Night:

• Wednesday, September 21, 5-6 p.m., 10 North 9th Street, Yakima.

Contest activities will include high level workshops for contestants, business plan assistance and feedback from successful business professionals and valuable networking and mentoring.

 

 

Check out the schedule page for exact dates and ‘contestant only’ activities.  You can also download the brochure, give us a call at 575.1140 or email newvision@ycda.comfor

Four Cities to Participate in New Entrepreneurial Friendly Initiative

We are very pleased to announce the selection of four Yakima County cities – Grandview, Sunnyside, Tieton and Zillah – that will receive the special designation of  ‘Entrepreneurial Friendly City’.  The Entrepreneurial Friendly Cities (EFC) Initiative is designed to support small businesses in Yakima County’s rural cities and help them advance strategies that aid home town businesses.  These cities will work closely with New Vision to establish small business support offices in each of their towns.

According to David McFadden, New Vision President, “We were very pleased with the applications and commitment of the four cities.  They all bring strong community support and the passion to help entrepreneurs succeed in their cities.”  The four cities will work closely with New Vision to develop a small business support center in each city, and they will also recruit and train small business counselors that can help and mentor local companies.  An added bonus of the EFC designation is that New Vision and University of Washington – Heritage Partnership are supporting the cost of hiring a college intern to help kick-start the program.  The interns will be tailoring their duties to the needs of each city

As part of the application process, each of the EFC has formed a steering committee, developed a strategic plan, and talked with local business owners.  Sandi Fein, Chamber Director for Zillah comments, “Zillah is really excited to participate in this program.  Even the application process has been helpful so far to encourage coordination between the City, Chamber and the business community.”

The EFC will also be responsible for recruiting SCORE counselors and providing a location for a business support office.  Our office is working closely with the Yakima Valley SCORE Chapter, Heritage University, and the Yakima Valley Community College to support the EFC initiative.  These partners have been great resources throughout our entrepreneur initiative and we could not move this new program forward without their active involvement.

While each of the cities has unique goals and strengths, many of the small cities are facing similar challenges, such as how to draw more visitors (or customers) into their communities to support a retail base.    Our goal through the EFC initiative is to broaden the safety net for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Yakima Valley.  By developing satellite business assistance centers we hope to bring important help to companies closer to where they operate and live.

The Entrepreneurial Friendly Cities Initiative is a new program for New Vision, and we decided to work with a smaller number of cities first before trying to bring every rural city into the fold.  This allows our organization to evaluate results in each designated city, work out any implementation bugs, and ultimately determine how to scale up these services for other interested communities within the region.  “The momentum in Grandview inspired by our recent downtown revitalization has provided the infrastructure to attract new business and help existing business succeed”, added Brad Smith, Grandview Chamber of Commerce.  “The Entrepreneurial Friendly Cities designation helps provide us additional resources to us keep moving in the right direction. We are really looking forward to enhancing existing services for our local businesses”.

We are excited about the EFC initiative.  Through effective partnerships we are building capacity in our rural cities to help entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed.  For most of our smallest cities retaining and growing these firms is their lifeline to the future.