SCORE Chester and Delaware County has teamed up with SCORE Lancaster Chapter to offer a 5-part live online program, “’Simple Steps’ to Starting a Business.”

The series will run 6 to 8 p.m. on May 5, May 12, May 18, May 26 and June 2.

 “Simple Steps” is a comprehensive program offered by SCORE with the goal of assisting and equipping small business entrepreneurs with the tools needed to develop a successful business plan.

The program will help business entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

“Simple Steps” Workshops consist of five, two-hour sequential classes. The classes provide valuable insights on structure, business basics, and marketing and how to determine your start-up costs and financial statements.

A welcome email with the link and log-in instructions for ZOOM will be emailed to each participant before the program begins as well as a separate email just prior to each class with the corresponding course materials and a reminder with the ZOOM login information.

Registration for the Simple Steps program is $100 per registrant, $80 for the second registrant in the same business, and free for veterans.

SESSION 1: Starting a Business  An introduction to the SIMPLE STEPS Program including steps an entrepreneur needs to know to start a business or run a new business. This session provides:

Introduction to SCORE and entrepreneurial colleagues also starting a business–

• Myths and realities of entrepreneurship
• Critical success factors
• Types of Businesses–
• Overview of key business planning components to be addressed in detail in upcoming session
• Components of business ownership
• Legal considerations (structure, licensing, taxes)
• Business and Marketing plan overview
• Financial Plan overview including cash management and funding

SESSION 2 : Business Planning  This session focuses on business planning.

It discusses how to develop the business idea/concept, create the business model and data collection of core information to create a professional and viable business plan.–

• Developing your business concept
• Elements of a Business Plan
•  Identifying customers and competitors
• How and where to collect the information to complete a Business Plan

SESSION 3: Marketing This session provides an overview of a marketing plan and guides the participants on the steps necessary to build a successful plan.

The discussion will touch on product definition, pricing strategy, competition, target markets, marketing strategies to reach customers and costs elements as related to marketing plan choices.

• Define your product or service and the benefits they provide
• Define and target your customer and the benefit you provide them
• Differentiate your product or service
• Promote your product or service
• Place your product in the marketplace (retail store, website, mail order, etc.)

SESSION 4: Financial Planning and Projections  This session focuses on financial planning for a successful business. The session is intended to take the mystery out of the“numbers” and provide a clear financial framework and tools for understanding and tracking business performance.

Participants will learn how to create:

• Forecast of revenue and expenses
• Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet
• Profit and Loss Statement
• Break Even Analysis and Benchmarks for your company compared to industry norms

SESSION 5: Funding and Financing and Panel Discussion with Key Resources  This session discusses financing your business.

The discussion includes:

• Sources of funds
• Financial statement analysis
• Accounting and bookkeeping systems
• The six C’s of credit
•  Banking relations
• Ratio analysis
•  Monthly preparation and review of financial statements.

A bank loan officer will provide an inside view of how a banker assesses the merits of business plans and loan applications.

In addition, a panel of key resources every small business should know will be available to answer questions on why and how to get started.

Resources include: Banker, Insurance Agent, Lawyer, bookkeeper and SCORE Mentor.

Click here to register for this 5-part series.