Let's Talk Business 12-week Curriculum

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Lesson 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship

1. Become oriented to the workshop series and learning environment.
2. Define entrepreneur. 
3. Define business.

Lesson 2: Entrepreneurship in Action

1. Define characteristics one must possess to be an entrepreneur.
2. Recognize that seeing problems gives you the chance to see a solution too!
3. Define characteristics one must possess to be an entrepreneur.
4. Recognize that seeing problems gives you the chance to see a solution too!
5. Think about a problem in the world and what YOU might create to solve it! 
6. Students will recognize the importance of both success and failure in business and how growth can always come from a failure. 

Lesson 3: Ideation

1. Review the design thinking methodology
2. Practice entrepreneurial /design thinking skills by developing ideas to common problems
3. Discuss pros and cons of brainstorming
4. Define "groupthink"
5. Discuss the feedback process 

Lesson 4: Business Plan Development

1. Define your business
2. Use the brain mapping process to outline components of your business
3. Begin writing a business plan

Lesson 5: Mission & Vision

1. Define mission.
2. Define vision.
3. Write a mission and vision statement

Lesson 6: Competition

1. Define competition.
2. Discuss examples of competition.
3. Define competitive advantage.
4. Brainstorm competitors for your new business.

Lesson 7: Strategy

1. Define strategy.
2. Describe why you need a strategy.
3. Understand the power of the SWOT analysis. 
4. Define competitive advantage.
5. Create a SWOT analysis

Lesson 8: Marketing

1. Define marketing.
2. Describe the importance of marketing.
3. Name the 5P's of marketing.
4. Develop a logo.
5. Describe a customer segment.

Lesson 9: Finance

1. Define finance.
2. Define revenue.
3. Define expense.
4. Define profit, loss, and breakeven
5. Describe the differences between revenue and expenses.
6. Identify revenue and expenses for the new business.

Lesson 10: Finance Review & Application

1. Apply finance concepts to a case study
2. Apply finance concepts to business idea

Lesson 11: The Business Pitch

1. Define business pitch.
2. Describe the importance of a business pitch.
3. Differentiate between a regular pitch and an elevator pitch.
4. Develop an elevator pitch. 

Lesson 12: Pulling it all Together

1. Define "Board of Advisors".
2. Identify possible members for a Board of Advisors for your company.
3. Identify key features of an impactful visual presentation.
4. Develop a visual business presentation.
5. Present final business presentation!

Facilitators can move as quickly or as slowly through the material as you would like. Each lesson is meant to run approximately 30-40 minutes, but can vary based on the time the instructor wishes to spend on each concept and the learning styles of the participants.  

Some basic school supplies needed such as pencils, art supplies, building materials etc.