How to Investigate your Business Idea Programme

Objective

To provide participants with necessary tools to research and analyse their idea and evaluate their suitability to becoming self-employed using the Lean Startup Canvas.

The course is aimed at individuals with a business idea wishing to start their own business or exploring the possibility of becoming self-employed for the first time and early-stage business owners.

Participants will be able to research and evaluate the viability of business idea by early engagement with target customer. By carrying out a gap analysis, they will know the elements they need to work progress their business proposal, create action lists and be able to determine their readiness to advance to the next stage of business start-up.

The programme is delivered as a highly-interactive online over two mornings.

The course uses the Lean Startup Canvas as a business planning framework. This nine-block business building tool will help the attendees to develop their business idea into products/service offering that solve customer problems.

By looking at the gaps in the Lean Start-up Canvas at the end of the programme, they will be able to see on one page the areas where they need to do further work/research, e.g., refining the offering, articulating the USP/UVA, what marketing channels and customers they are planning to serve, how they will generate income, finance requirements etc

In addition to the Lean Startup Canvas template the participants will be shown how to use key resources and templates such as:

• Customer Persona template
• Competitor Analysis template
• Market Research Cheat sheet – exploratory questions that they will need to answer across product, place, promotion, price, target customer etc
• Marketing tools and channels cheat sheet – what channels to use to reach, persuade and sell and when to use them, routes to market including: Elevator Pitch, Networking, Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Instagram, Websites, Focus Groups, Google adwords, PPC, Affiliate Marketing, Blogging, GoogleMyBusiness, TIk Tok, email marketing, emerging media etc) and traditional promotional tools (Word of Mouth, Customer “A” List, Advertising, Flyers, Editorials etc) Entrepreneur self-evaluation template (suitability to self-employment)
• SWOT and PESTLE analysis templates and cheat sheets (areas to consider under each heading)
• Costing spreadsheet and checklist
• Revenue streams – packaging products or service, ways to upsell, subscription models etc
• • Comprehensive slide deck

The course is intended to be interactive & hands-on, with templates, notes, breakout sessions and practical examples to involve the participants. The trainers will encourage the participants to ask questions, contribute to discussions and apply the material to their own experiences.

Participants will have access to download the templates and resources from an online repository for up to six months after the programme.

THIS PROGRAMME IS STRICTLY FOR BUSINESSES WHO ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING IN CO WESTMEATH ONLY

Please note: In the event you book a place and subsequently do not cancel your booking at least ten working days prior to the commencement of the course and do not take up the place no refund or fee transfer will be offered