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How Important Are Business Classes?

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by Steve Greechie @ June 17th, 2010 RSS Link Tweet

Question:
After years as a stay-at-home mom, I’m an aspiring small business owner who designs cooking products. I’m planning to go back to school to help me launch my business, but I’m not sure if I should take business courses or culinary classes. How important are business programs for entrepreneurs?

Answer:
The importance of business courses depends on your experience. Assuming that you’re planning on a significant investment of time and money, there are several small business skills you’ll need:

Business plan: the first thing you’ll need is a business plan that maps out your intentions and expectations for the first five years. You’ll use it first to attract financing at first. Later, you’ll need it as a decision-making tool. Plan before you act!

Finance: You’ll need money to set up your business. You’ll need to use some of your own cash, but beyond that you’ll need to know something about equity (investment) and debt (loans).

Marketing: It’s crucial that you understand at least the basics of marketing. How will you price your food line, promote it, and distribute it? And what should that product line be? Your brand will need to occupy a unique niche in the market. Finding it will take some analysis of the industry, the market, and competitors.

Accounting: Your business will need a budget, and you’ll need to keep track of expenses and revenue as you conduct business. And then there’s taxes – you’ll need to account for yourself to the government.

Management: How do you coordinate all these things? Allocate your time? Supervise help? Management can be trickier than you think.

So what’s your experience in these areas? If you don’t feel skilled in any of them, you should take some business classes to develop competence.

And bon appétit!

NURSES PLAN PARTY FOR LITTLE PALS : LOS ROBLES HOSPITAL WILL FETE `ALUMNI’ OF NEONATAL UNIT, PARENTS.(NEWS)

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) October 24, 1996 Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer Parents, nurses and doctors often become close friends while watching over sick or premature babies staying in the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, at Los Robles Hospital/Medical Center.

When parents take their babies home, sometimes after months in close quarters, nurses and doctors wonder about the families they learned to cherish. site los robles hospital

So nurse Janet Stein has organized a reunion for families of the babies and tots who are “alumni” of the NICU that opened in January 1995.

The reunion will be held Sunday in a field at Lynn and Janss roads in Thousand Oaks.

“There are just a lot of memorable names. I remember babies who could fit in the palm of your hand,” said Karen Stimpson, clinical coordinator of services for women and children. “I see the RSVP list and say, `Oh, wow, they’re coming!’ ” Nurses who came to the unit from other NICUs had enjoyed such reunions at other hospitals, and they wanted similar for little “graduates” of Los Robles, Stimpson said. go to web site los robles hospital

Nurses are eager to see and hear some of their little graduates old enough to walk and talk, Stimpson said.

“We deal very closely with these babies, some for up to six months of their lives,” Stimpson said. “They grow up and we don’t get to see the fruits of our labor. At the reunion, families will get to see the nursing staff, and the nursing staff will get to know that the work we do results in babies that are healthy and happy.” As it turns out, parents are just as eager to reunite with the hospital staff and other parents they met at the NICU, Stimpson said. More than 290 people have said they will attend the event, she said.

“All the parents are just so excited,” Stimpson said. “It’s just a very uplifting occasion. The nursing staff develops a bond with the parents and they do with us. . . . A lot of the parents developed friendships when they were in the unit, and a lot are looking forward to meeting up with old `roommates,’ too.” The staff and parents often feel like roommates in the NICU, explained Fran Montalto, director of maternal/child health.

“It’s just one big room with everyone – parents, nurses, doctors,” Montalto said. “Parents talk to each other and compare how their children are doing. We all really get to know each other.” THE FACTS WHAT: Los Robles Hospital/Medical Center neonatal intensive care unit reunion. Clowns, refreshments, gifts and activities will be featured.

WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Corner of Lynn and Janss roads.

INFORMATION: (805) 379-5464.

Tags: business courses, entrepreneurship, small business, start-up business