Business Class #6 - Presentations

Today was the second class in the series of business classes.  Today's subject was Presentations such as for presentation to a loan officer in preparation for applying for a loan.  Again, it was informative in that there was good information although this probably more than the rest was repetition for me since I did presentations all the time for work.  Knowledge and practice is always good, though and it helps to keep polished.

Most of the same people were in this class as were in the first in the series.  It's nice to see the same faces and encourage each other on ventures.  The diversity in plans is pretty interesting.  There is everything from funeral planning, event planning, herbal distribution, and at least one person who is taking classes after having been in business for a while.

Business Class #5 - Managing Business Finances

Who knew that a class about finances could be interesting???  There was of course all the boring info about balance sheets, profit and loss statements and all that (necessary but very dryyyyyyy) but it was all kept very interesting by the instructor but if anything, I am even more intimidated...all will come in time though.

Clyde didn't teach this class, but his colleague did and he was great.  He made it fun to sit and talk about that stuff.  One thing I learned is that you can get really crazy complicated with your finances, but the trick is to work at keeping it simple.  Only complicate it enough to include what you need, but nothing else...in other words, KISS (keep it simple, stupid).

Business Class #4 - Website Management

So when I signed up for all these classes, I signed up for a series involving digital media management.  This one is about website management.  Mike, of course, pshawed at the idea behing the whole series because each one seeme dlike something I already know it that would be unnecessary.   So for this one, it is because he is my website admin and I didn't really need something like that because I had him.  I went anyway because I was curious what they might have to say.  I'm glad I did because this wasn't design so much as minor changes on the fly.

Mike has a day job and if I came to him on a busy day because some seemingly minor change in wording needed to be made, he would put me off and if that minor bit of wording were say, a note about a sale, it could really affect the business.  So this was a good backdoor way for me to go in and make minor changes.

The class was run by a really cute guy who works for HP.  And Mike still pshawed at the class when I showed him the exercises...but oh well.  I enjoyed it.  :)

Business Class #3 - Business Plan Guidelines

This class was a really good one!  It was an all day course and a lot of the people from the first class were there.  Clyde was the teacher again and he had some really great information.  He also sent us all home with a flash drive with some worksheets and templates.  I looked at them and they will be a good place to start when I start writing. 

I am a little intimidated by the amount of research that needs to be done.  One of the bits of advice that Clyde gave is to go sit in some comparable shops around town and see what it's like.  Mike wants me to expand on that and explore all the shops in the area and visit them all several times during the week.  I know that I need to know what that information looks like, but it's still intimidating!  LOL

Business Class #2 - Saving Money in Taxes

So today, I took a seminar about saving money in taxes with your business.  In the class last week, it seemed like the LLC was the way to go.  The guy that gave the seminar this week was definitely in favor of incorporating.  I took Mom with me and she really liked this guy and said she would think I should go with him as an accountant...I am not fully convinced but I did like what he had to say.  It sounds like an LLC is okay until you make a profit...so we'll see what happens...LLC, here I come!  :)

Business class #1 - Business Basics

Today, I took a business basics class at the SBDC and it was a lot of information to process!  The instructor was a great guy named Clyde who made a lot of information seem palatable.  I found out that along with the classes, the SBDC offers counseling and advisory services as well. I think I have found my new home.  :)

There is a lot to know about small business, but the main thing I got out of this class is to write a business plan.  That and form an LLC.  So, it looks like I will be doing that soon.

Goodbye to the old life...hello to the new...

So, here I am back after another two years and embarking on a new adventure.  A while ago, I had written that I was in a funk, and it turns out part of that was probably my job.  I loved my job when I started.  I felt safe there.  I was doing biology which truth be told, I am not very good at but I really enjoy.  My now husband used to laugh at me because I would come home all excited about something that happened with whatever bacteria I was working with.

I felt a bit of stagnation after a few years but my passion rekindled when I started on a big new project that allowed me to not only learn something new but to specialize in something.  This was great for a while...then I started having some interpersonal issues.  Probably things I should have seen coming and definitely should have handled better...but real issues nonetheless and issues that weren't all in my head.  They were confirmed by others who I highly respected and saw what was happening but were powerless to help.  Meanwhile I spiraled.  I came close to quitting a few times being incredibly unhappy and feeling like I had no other choice.

Then, I did have a choice.  And I decided that I wanted to be done with the corporate world and that job in particular, but I wanted to be done on my terms.  So with the blessing of super supportive hubby, I took the plunge and decided to go into business for myself. I am hoping this will be a good move and fun to boot.  I am seeing a long road ahead of me so far but It looks like it's pretty straight and well-lit.

I have been vindicated somewhat in that it seems I am missed at my old job.  I am perversely happy about this especially since I felt like I had no impact there at all.  I miss my friends terribly, but am making an effort to keep in touch with them.