This course will be delivered by Gordon McArdle from Rocas Training over 6 evenings starting on Monday 6th September and continuing over the following dates;

13th September, 20th September, 27th September, 4th October and concluding on 11th October

Course Content

• Business Basics – Key Questions when Starting a Business

1. Practicalities of being self-employed. Pros and Challenges.

2. Basic elements for starting a business. Premises, Equipment, Materials, Staff.
3. Legal Structures, registering your Business, Contracts and Business Law
4. Main reasons why Businesses Succeed and why they Fail
5. Steps to starting a business
6. Examples of successful local start-ups

• Business Plan

1. Elements of the Business Plan

2. Business Strategy

3. Developing a 3-year plan
4. P&L and Income and Expenditure – importance of the key figures.

• Legal Issues / Formality

1. Employment Law
2. Contracts
3. Insurance
4. Business Banking

• Book-keeping and Finance

1. Business book-keeping
2. Costs incl. Wages & Drawings
3. Cash Flow
4. Taxation & VAT
5. Calculating Break-even levels
6. Debtors / Cash Collection

• Marketing

1. The Marketing Mix
2. Market Research Methods
3. Market Segmentation; Demographic, Geographic, Behavioural and Psychographic
4. Using Marketing to help Sales
5. Promoting your Business
6. Social Media Marketing
7. Case Study - Marketing Plan.

• Competitors and Competitive Advantage

1. Researching Competitors
2. Competition Cockpit; an analysis of your top Competitors
3. Finding a Competitive Advantage, an angle for your business
4. Pricing and Break-even point.

• Sales

1. Sales – the Sales Process
2. Building a Sales Pipeline
3. Sales Call Preparation
4. Open & Closed Questions
5. Objection Handling
6. Closing the Sale
7. Managing your Sales