Start-It: A Step-by-Step Course to Starting a Business Without Going Broke (Phase 1: Plan)

Real, practical business tools and strategies to start a business that meets the needs of you and your family.

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It's been nagging at you for awhile now, hasn't it? Knowing you have to go to that job again just makes you want to hide under the covers, but you need the money.



 

Imagine...


...You wake up in the morning, get the kids off to school, and sit down with your favorite coffee at your computer to work. No commute. No stopping to get a gourmet coffee (and spending that extra $$).


...Your dream of starting a business starts taking flight: you get one customer, then two customers...and all of a sudden, you have income. You have money coming in!


...Your children and spouse get to see your work. They get to see your successes and struggles and they know how committed you are to YOUR dream, too.


And the best part—you don't have to go to that job that makes you want to call in sick and stay hidden under the covers all day.

What if we told you you could start a business without going bankrupt or having to eat Ramen noodles at every meal?

What if we told you that WE did it, and that we know how hard it is to take that leap?

What if we taught you—in plain English, non-fluff, not-too-much business speak—how you can do it too?

You've watched other women quit their jobs and start a business, and wondered if you could do it to.

And, you've spent many hours dreaming of what products you'll offer, how you'll market, and who'll want to buy what you're passionate about.

The thought of being able to have a more flexible day, one that meets your family's financial and lifestyle needs, makes you so excited you can't sleep.

We've totally been there. And now, we are living that life and know that you can, too.


 

You can do it, too. And we can help. At the end of Phase 1 of Start-It, you'll have a plan and a clear path forward.



You'll be ready to set a launch date for your business.

What You'll Learn About Business in Start-It: Phase 1

The Personal

  • How to evaluate your values and vision
  • How to apply your values and vision to your business
  • How to fine-tune your personal finances in preparation
  • How to prepare yourself and your family

The Operational and Organizational

  • Tips for naming your business (as well as Megan and Mindy's own personal naming stories)
  • How to determine the best way to organize your business
  • Avenues of distribution for your products or services
  • How to choose the best work space for your needs
  • Tips on choosing the right tech and suggestions for free (or practically free) software that will make your life so much easier

The Financial

  • Step-by-step instructions for building a firm financial foundation
  • Questions you could be asking an accountant
  • How to determine start-up costs
  • How to build a cash-flow projection
  • How to determine your break-even point
  • What you need to secure a loan and how to determine if it's a good idea
  • How to set your business up to accept payment

The Legal

  • How to determine the right legal structure for you
  • How to protect your business and your family
  • How to search existing trademarks and copyrights

The Selling and Marketing

You'll learn how to:

  • Build a brand that focuses on your unique selling point
  • Develop online branding
  • Craft your brand message
  • Determine who is your target market
  • Market products and services
  • Properly build a message for your products
  • Pitch your business
  • Identify marketing vehicles
  • Develop a marketing strategy
  • Learn about sales funnels
  • Position yourself in the market
  • Conduct competitive research
  • Network effectively
  • Sell without resorting to sleazy techniques

The People

  • Determining your strengths and weaknesses
  • How to supplement your weaknesses and play to your strengths
  • How to know when it's time to hire a subcontractor or employee
  • Tips for working with family
  • Tips for hiring

Get started now!



About the Instructors

Megan and Mindy are owners of their own businesses, enjoying the freedom that entrepreneurship brings to their lives. Megan knew from early on that she wanted to be a business owner and worked her butt of to make her dream a reality. Mindy never wanted to be a business owner, until she needed more flexibility in her life.

About Megan:

Part educator, part consultant, and all strategy; Megan loves helping women start and grow businesses. She's got an academic side, with a BA in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, and a MA in Organizational Leadership. And a practical one, with years of business consulting and ownership under her belt.

Megan uses plain language to teach business concepts and tools and has a knack for breaking down complex ideas into actionable steps that anyone, with any level of business experience, can understand and use.

About Mindy:

Mindy is the owner of Sincerely Me. She partners with St. Louis area web services professionals frequently, and continues to do so to better serve area customers who need a range of services from website design to social media marketing. Copywriting, content marketing, and branding are her favorite services to provide.

Building a Foundation

Both Megan and Mindy are eager to show others that this lifestyle is possible for them, too, and that there isn't a magic formula or a special secret to unlocking success. It's about having the right tools and using them appropriately.

"The first step is understanding how to build a foundation for your business, and then beginning to fit pieces together. Often times, we see a mishmash of things that someone has stuck together to build their business, and the result is an unstable foundation that makes expanding and building more dangerous and sometimes impossible without starting over. We'd like to help others start laying out their dream, brick by brick." — Mindy Schoeneman

Course Curriculum


  Introduction to the Course
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  Personal
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  Financial
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Frequently Asked Questions


How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited lifetime access to this course for as long as you'd like - across any and all devices you own as long as the course is live.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and if you share with us your completed worksheets and we can see that you have worked hard in the course (the software we use will tell us how far you've gone into each lecture), we'll give you a full refund.
Why is Start-It in phases?
Many studies have shown that giving students too much information ends up in information overload and they stop working towards their goals. We know this course is full of lots of information and action items, and we want you to have time to go through the lessons, do the worksheets, and implement what needs to be done before we give you a bunch more work.