Module 1
Introduction to Small
Business Environment
Amy Shapiro
Module 1
Introduction to Small Business Environment
(3 hours) (Amy Shapiro)
• Small business systems,
• Workforce demographics
• Social responsibility
• Business ethics
• State of small business
• Issues, trends, and the future of small business
• Opportunities in a regional economy.
• Obstacles that minority/women/immigrant business
enterprises confront
• The role of technical assistance to ensure business
sustainability and growth.
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
1. Understand functions of management
2. Explain how economic indicators shape business decisions
3. Identify and analyze business cycles
4. Explain and identify leadership and management skills
5. Identify obstacles that small businesses confront
6. Understand obstacles facing minority/women/immigrants
7. Understand factors that contributed to the racial wealth gap
8. Understand business development strategies for local places
9. Identify financial contributions to local communities
10. Explain the environmental impacts of businesses
11. Understand the importance of technical assistance
Module Learning Objectives
1. Function of Management of a Small Business
Owner
Job Description (CEO: Chief Executive Officer-CFO: Chief Financial Officer -CCO:
Chief Communication Officer -COO: Chief Operation Officer )
• Direct and control the company
• Manage resources (equipment, capital, labor, and all input resources and
materials)
• Manage cash flow and investments
• Deal with internal and external forces and mitigate their impact in the company
• Responsible for the performance of the company
• Manage efficiently by controlling wastes and expenses
• Communicate with customers, suppliers, and employees on behalf of the
company
• Carry on requirements, rules and regulations of the business industry
• Ensure that the company meets the law
• Understand the legal aspect of the business
Discussion: Strategies to evaluate business owners strengths and gaps.
What questions can be asked to determine client skill level?
Adaptation by A. Shapiro
Macro View Considerations
2. How economic indicators shape business
decisions
• Political/Legal: Increase in wages $11-$15
• Technological/Physical: Square & POS, Smart Phones
• Social/Cultural: Immigrant, racial equity
• Demographic/Environmental:
Millennials, Baby boomers, climate change
• Local: Influences and changes
What can you add to this list?
3. Business Life cycles
• Life cycle: start-up, growth, maturity, decline
• Seasonality
• Why people fail: management, strategies
• Succession planning: transfer, sell, close
Describe the indicators that determine the business stage.
4.
Leaders
hip
and
Manage
ment
skills
necessa
ry
for
a
success
ful
busines
s
How to engage a client to discuss their idea using the following to
manage internal and external forces
Tactics to help discover and evaluate:
• Critical thinking: Describe what works & doesn’t and evaluate strategies to
overcome challenges
• Strategic thinking: What are the questions? $$$ needed in personal assets to
start biz? This than what?
• Organizational: Describe efficiency and waste assumptions
• Financial: Ratios, metrics, & relationships to understand business
assumptions
• Administration: Roles and responsibilities descriptions
• Management: Style, culture, & goals description
Strategic Questions
• How did you get to this point?
• Where do you want to be in 3-5 years?
• Describe your family/friend support?
• Where do you get information from?
• What is your learning style?
• Do you have a retirement plan? Will?
• What is easy and what is hard?
• What are your strengths and gaps?
• TedX, Hazel Wagner shares her work on mind mapping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTuScU70As
Exercise: Listening to information and asking questions.
5. Obstacles that small businesses confront &
How to overcome those obstacles.
What is impact,%, assumptions?
Personal
• Lack of credit history
• Limit of personal assets
impact when starting, financing, growing
• Lack of business experience
client’s cooking = a great restaurant?
• Lack of industry knowledge
challenges to start and grow ?
• Lack of network/connections and
understanding of the economic
environment
Counselor’s role
Business
• High cost of goods
• Lack of customers
• Lack of cash
• Lack of qualified employees
• Lack of time
• Lack of efficiency
Using data to discuss information (worksheets, documents, 1-1 meetings) to review
obstacles with a client.
6. Understand particular obstacles
• Minority/women/immigrant businesses,
• Lack of personal wealth (or access to wealth from
family/friends),
• Lack of business and social networks that can provide
customers, suppliers and opportunities,
• Lack of formal business education.
What are some examples from your communities?
7. Understand factors that contributed to the
racial wealth gap
• Lack of investment in certain communities.
• Business development as a core strategy for closing wealth and income gaps, creating
jobs and bringing vitality to local places
• Urban Instatute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvZllI9-U
• Break into groups, describe what you know and record contributions.
• https://shelterforce.org/2019/12/23/battling-inequity-in-food-
systems/?utm_source=sfweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010
720
• 2017 by FIELD at the Aspen Institute Published in the United States of
America
https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2017/01/Briding-the-
Divide.pdf
• Mel King: Amy Traub Dēmos Laura Sullivan, Tatjana Meschede, & Tom
Shapiro Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP), Brandeis University
https://melkinginstitute.org/reports/bridging-divide-how-business-
ownership-can-help-close-racial-wealth-gap
• https://melkinginstitute.org/reports/asset-value-whiteness-understanding-
racial-wealth-gap
8.Understand business development strategies for
local places
• Financial contributions
• Volunteerism
• Supporting local causes
• Environmental impacts of businesses and the importance of
sustainability from a neighborhood perspective.
• Industry sectors: micro-brews, creative placemaking
Examples in Urban and Rural locations
9.Identify financial contributions to local
communities
Statistics on local impact
• MA Community & Banking Council
http://mcbc.info/CRA_Project.html
• MGCC TA impact reflected in report
• https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2018/report-on-
nonemployer-firms
• https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/cdf.
htm
• Leaders – Mentors – Groups
Discussion: Examples of local impact
10. Explain the environmental impacts of businesses
• Cultural
• Energy – Transportation
• Financial
Discussion: Questions used to engage clients in
environmental impact starting with evaluating the
business’s waste (administration, operations, materials) and
the financial impact of decisions
11. The importance of business technical
assistance
• Business Technical Assistance Provider or Business Consultant wants to influence, without
exercising direct control. The recipients of all advices are called business clients.*
• Definition: A business technical assistance provider is a person with technical expertise and
interpersonal skills, in a position to advice and have some influence over and individual,
business owner and/or a group, an organization and/or a business, but who has no direct
control and power to make changes or implement actions beyond the service contract or what
was agreed with the business client.*
• Community Development: CED is generally defined as a need or desire of a community to develop
economically by developing businesses, jobs, income, housing, and other asset-related necessities in a
manner that enables community residents to improve the quality of their lives and exercise greater
determination over their daily affairs.
• CED can be broken down into overlapping sub-concepts: economic development and community
development.
• Economic Development strives to achieve wealth through the mobilization of human, financial, capital, physical, and natural
resources to generate marketable goods and services, encourage creation of new businesses, or relocate existing businesses
to a particular area.
• Community Development refers to social, human, and physical structure development activities at a neighborhood or
community level to allow ordinary citizens to come together to address common problems, giving communities a say in what
happens through citizen mobilization and leadership.
*Source: Alison Moronto, Mass Growth Capital Corp
Source: Saint Louis University-Public Law Review, Volume XXVII, Number One 2007, Promoting Economic Justice, pg 7. This article referred to
The National Economic Development and Law Ctr., A Lawyer’s Manual on Community-Based Economic Development 1-3 (1974).
Where business development and technical
assistance connect?
The difference between:
From TA provider: Asking questions
• Provide support to navigate process
• Build client capacity via confidential counseling & group training
• Assist client to develop loan package
• Connect clients to industry experts & referrals
• Develop community leaders
From Business owner: Answer questions
• Receive advise & support
• Validate data, strategies and answers
• Ongoing assistance
Discussion: What get’s in the way when assisting a client?
Case study and discussion
YouTube resources
• How to Start a Business with No Money: Best way to Succeed
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2m6JkJvv4w
• Zingerman's co-founder Paul Saginaw treats his employees like customers
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J8bMht0u9s
• Hazel Wagner– Mind Maping - TedTalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTuScU70As
• Tony Buzan The power of Mind Map Ted Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMZCghZ1hB4
• The Racial Wealth Gap in America - Urban Instatute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvZllI9-U
Review
• Small business systems,
• Workforce demographics
• Social responsibility
• Business ethics
• State of small business
• Issues, trends, and the future of small business
• Opportunities in a regional economy.
• Obstacles that minority/women/immigrant business enterprises confront
• The role of technical assistance to ensure business sustainability and
growth.
Experiential Learning Project
Bring to next class:
• Develop a research brief to be used in the business plan that
identifies what people want, need, and believe and how they
behave.
• Put business plan information together
• Business & regional challenges
• Environmental impact –sustainability
• Why is this business important?

introduction_to_small_business_environment_amy_shapiro.pptx

  • 1.
    Module 1 Introduction toSmall Business Environment Amy Shapiro
  • 2.
    Module 1 Introduction toSmall Business Environment (3 hours) (Amy Shapiro) • Small business systems, • Workforce demographics • Social responsibility • Business ethics • State of small business • Issues, trends, and the future of small business • Opportunities in a regional economy. • Obstacles that minority/women/immigrant business enterprises confront • The role of technical assistance to ensure business sustainability and growth.
  • 3.
    Upon successful completionof this module, you will be able to: 1. Understand functions of management 2. Explain how economic indicators shape business decisions 3. Identify and analyze business cycles 4. Explain and identify leadership and management skills 5. Identify obstacles that small businesses confront 6. Understand obstacles facing minority/women/immigrants 7. Understand factors that contributed to the racial wealth gap 8. Understand business development strategies for local places 9. Identify financial contributions to local communities 10. Explain the environmental impacts of businesses 11. Understand the importance of technical assistance Module Learning Objectives
  • 4.
    1. Function ofManagement of a Small Business Owner Job Description (CEO: Chief Executive Officer-CFO: Chief Financial Officer -CCO: Chief Communication Officer -COO: Chief Operation Officer ) • Direct and control the company • Manage resources (equipment, capital, labor, and all input resources and materials) • Manage cash flow and investments • Deal with internal and external forces and mitigate their impact in the company • Responsible for the performance of the company • Manage efficiently by controlling wastes and expenses • Communicate with customers, suppliers, and employees on behalf of the company • Carry on requirements, rules and regulations of the business industry • Ensure that the company meets the law • Understand the legal aspect of the business Discussion: Strategies to evaluate business owners strengths and gaps. What questions can be asked to determine client skill level?
  • 5.
    Adaptation by A.Shapiro Macro View Considerations
  • 6.
    2. How economicindicators shape business decisions • Political/Legal: Increase in wages $11-$15 • Technological/Physical: Square & POS, Smart Phones • Social/Cultural: Immigrant, racial equity • Demographic/Environmental: Millennials, Baby boomers, climate change • Local: Influences and changes What can you add to this list?
  • 7.
    3. Business Lifecycles • Life cycle: start-up, growth, maturity, decline • Seasonality • Why people fail: management, strategies • Succession planning: transfer, sell, close Describe the indicators that determine the business stage.
  • 8.
    4. Leaders hip and Manage ment skills necessa ry for a success ful busines s How to engagea client to discuss their idea using the following to manage internal and external forces Tactics to help discover and evaluate: • Critical thinking: Describe what works & doesn’t and evaluate strategies to overcome challenges • Strategic thinking: What are the questions? $$$ needed in personal assets to start biz? This than what? • Organizational: Describe efficiency and waste assumptions • Financial: Ratios, metrics, & relationships to understand business assumptions • Administration: Roles and responsibilities descriptions • Management: Style, culture, & goals description
  • 9.
    Strategic Questions • Howdid you get to this point? • Where do you want to be in 3-5 years? • Describe your family/friend support? • Where do you get information from? • What is your learning style? • Do you have a retirement plan? Will? • What is easy and what is hard? • What are your strengths and gaps? • TedX, Hazel Wagner shares her work on mind mapping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTuScU70As Exercise: Listening to information and asking questions.
  • 11.
    5. Obstacles thatsmall businesses confront & How to overcome those obstacles. What is impact,%, assumptions? Personal • Lack of credit history • Limit of personal assets impact when starting, financing, growing • Lack of business experience client’s cooking = a great restaurant? • Lack of industry knowledge challenges to start and grow ? • Lack of network/connections and understanding of the economic environment Counselor’s role Business • High cost of goods • Lack of customers • Lack of cash • Lack of qualified employees • Lack of time • Lack of efficiency Using data to discuss information (worksheets, documents, 1-1 meetings) to review obstacles with a client.
  • 12.
    6. Understand particularobstacles • Minority/women/immigrant businesses, • Lack of personal wealth (or access to wealth from family/friends), • Lack of business and social networks that can provide customers, suppliers and opportunities, • Lack of formal business education. What are some examples from your communities?
  • 13.
    7. Understand factorsthat contributed to the racial wealth gap • Lack of investment in certain communities. • Business development as a core strategy for closing wealth and income gaps, creating jobs and bringing vitality to local places • Urban Instatute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvZllI9-U • Break into groups, describe what you know and record contributions. • https://shelterforce.org/2019/12/23/battling-inequity-in-food- systems/?utm_source=sfweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010 720 • 2017 by FIELD at the Aspen Institute Published in the United States of America https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2017/01/Briding-the- Divide.pdf • Mel King: Amy Traub Dēmos Laura Sullivan, Tatjana Meschede, & Tom Shapiro Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP), Brandeis University https://melkinginstitute.org/reports/bridging-divide-how-business- ownership-can-help-close-racial-wealth-gap • https://melkinginstitute.org/reports/asset-value-whiteness-understanding- racial-wealth-gap
  • 14.
    8.Understand business developmentstrategies for local places • Financial contributions • Volunteerism • Supporting local causes • Environmental impacts of businesses and the importance of sustainability from a neighborhood perspective. • Industry sectors: micro-brews, creative placemaking Examples in Urban and Rural locations
  • 15.
    9.Identify financial contributionsto local communities Statistics on local impact • MA Community & Banking Council http://mcbc.info/CRA_Project.html • MGCC TA impact reflected in report • https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2018/report-on- nonemployer-firms • https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/cdf. htm • Leaders – Mentors – Groups Discussion: Examples of local impact
  • 16.
    10. Explain theenvironmental impacts of businesses • Cultural • Energy – Transportation • Financial Discussion: Questions used to engage clients in environmental impact starting with evaluating the business’s waste (administration, operations, materials) and the financial impact of decisions
  • 17.
    11. The importanceof business technical assistance • Business Technical Assistance Provider or Business Consultant wants to influence, without exercising direct control. The recipients of all advices are called business clients.* • Definition: A business technical assistance provider is a person with technical expertise and interpersonal skills, in a position to advice and have some influence over and individual, business owner and/or a group, an organization and/or a business, but who has no direct control and power to make changes or implement actions beyond the service contract or what was agreed with the business client.* • Community Development: CED is generally defined as a need or desire of a community to develop economically by developing businesses, jobs, income, housing, and other asset-related necessities in a manner that enables community residents to improve the quality of their lives and exercise greater determination over their daily affairs. • CED can be broken down into overlapping sub-concepts: economic development and community development. • Economic Development strives to achieve wealth through the mobilization of human, financial, capital, physical, and natural resources to generate marketable goods and services, encourage creation of new businesses, or relocate existing businesses to a particular area. • Community Development refers to social, human, and physical structure development activities at a neighborhood or community level to allow ordinary citizens to come together to address common problems, giving communities a say in what happens through citizen mobilization and leadership. *Source: Alison Moronto, Mass Growth Capital Corp Source: Saint Louis University-Public Law Review, Volume XXVII, Number One 2007, Promoting Economic Justice, pg 7. This article referred to The National Economic Development and Law Ctr., A Lawyer’s Manual on Community-Based Economic Development 1-3 (1974).
  • 18.
    Where business developmentand technical assistance connect? The difference between: From TA provider: Asking questions • Provide support to navigate process • Build client capacity via confidential counseling & group training • Assist client to develop loan package • Connect clients to industry experts & referrals • Develop community leaders From Business owner: Answer questions • Receive advise & support • Validate data, strategies and answers • Ongoing assistance Discussion: What get’s in the way when assisting a client? Case study and discussion
  • 19.
    YouTube resources • Howto Start a Business with No Money: Best way to Succeed • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2m6JkJvv4w • Zingerman's co-founder Paul Saginaw treats his employees like customers • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J8bMht0u9s • Hazel Wagner– Mind Maping - TedTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTuScU70As • Tony Buzan The power of Mind Map Ted Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMZCghZ1hB4 • The Racial Wealth Gap in America - Urban Instatute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvZllI9-U
  • 20.
    Review • Small businesssystems, • Workforce demographics • Social responsibility • Business ethics • State of small business • Issues, trends, and the future of small business • Opportunities in a regional economy. • Obstacles that minority/women/immigrant business enterprises confront • The role of technical assistance to ensure business sustainability and growth.
  • 21.
    Experiential Learning Project Bringto next class: • Develop a research brief to be used in the business plan that identifies what people want, need, and believe and how they behave. • Put business plan information together • Business & regional challenges • Environmental impact –sustainability • Why is this business important?

Editor's Notes

  • #4  The Goal is to provide information that will assist you as a TA counselor After Learning Objectives: 9:05 Intros: Groups of 2: 10 minutes: 5 min each Name, Org & length of time, Owned a biz (1st choice)or in current position, most enjoyed and least enjoyed task, & 1 characteristic 9:15 - 9:45 Begin Intros: 1 min each A: Chart data: Length of time, owned or not, tasks, characteristics Total up and report out. Collective group knowledge
  • #5 9:50 Review slide and ask Question: Ask about Work experience / Personal life What questions would you ask to measure skill level? Do you have an example of a client where you were not sure if they were competent? In what they do? To run a business? Most common problems are record keeping, paperwork, organization, and sales
  • #6 10-10:1:1 Political/Legal: Increase in wages $11-$15. Electio s Technological/Physical: Square & POS, Smart Phones Social/Cultural: Immigrant, racial equity Demographic/Environmental: Millennials, Baby boomers, climate change Local: Influences and changes
  • #9 10:15
  • #10  10:30-10:50 Hazel Wagner 15 minutes (examples of mind mapping) Another options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMZCghZ1hB4 Tony Buzan The power of Mind Map Ted Talk 19:35 minutes Case Study: Whit: Bike Shop: A bike shop closed – Whit working in garage – wanted to open his own repair/retail/ workshops Found space – realtor pressure to sign lease – owner would not pay for leasehold improvements (new door) – estimated to be $3,000 and needed to be returned to same conditions when leaving 5 minutes with 10 minutes sharing Initial Assement: What ??? Would you ask to gather information ? Role play with 2 people?? Everyone breaks into groups for 5 minutes report back Don’t worry about answers we are seeking questions? Create a mind map in groups of 2 then – come back and share maps 5 minute break
  • #12 11:00 back from break
  • #13 G
  • #14 11:05 Urban Institute: 3 minutes 3:33 Break into groups, describe what you know and record contributions. In your community Food Disparity: ShelterForce https:/ /shelterforce.org/2019/12/23/battling-inequity-in-food-systems/?utm_source=sfweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010720
  • #15  Local impact from new and existing businesses Describe examples of communities that have changed over time (example: Shelburne falls from small stores that served locals to galleries serving tourists) Greenfield (Wilsons). Athol (social service & thrift shops majority storefronts) Group Brainstorm: Examples from participants: How can businesses change local communities?
  • #16 CRA project report: View CRA Project Report Federal Reserve Bank: Small Business Credit Survey https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2018/report-on-nonemployer-firms view: CRA by lender county https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/cdf.htm Community Development Finance (terms that include CRA, CDFI, impact investing,)
  • #19 Blocks? Judgmental? Critical? Ego? Doubt? Personality? Likability? Confidence? Share examples in your community where a business owner has made an impact in the community? Dick Haas Hillside Plastics, Alden, People’s Pint, Hope & Olive, Jack OIC
  • #20 What other resources do you have to share with us. Bring them next week. Wrap up: what worked, didn’t and could have been better Time for the Evaluation