Entrepreneurship and Small Business Certification
The ESB certification is built to test and validate foundation-level concepts and knowledge in entrepreneurship and small business management. These core concepts include entrepreneurship; recognizing and evaluating opportunities; planning for, starting, and operating a business; marketing and sales; venture capital and seed funding; and financial management.
Class Objectives are as follows:
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The Entrepreneur:
1.1 Identify the characteristics of entrepreneurs
1.2 Given a scenario including a self-assessment outcome, identify the strengths, weaknesses, and risk tolerance the self-assessment identifies and how to compensate with services
1.3 Given a scenario, recognize a business opportunity
1.4 Identify the risks, benefits, opportunities, and drawbacks of being an entrepreneur -
Opportunity Recognition:
2.1 Identify the benefits and drawbacks of different types of opportunities (e.g., start a new business, buy an existing business, and buy a franchise)
2.2 Given a scenario, analyze the demand for the goods or service and opportunities in an environment
2.3 Given a scenario, identify the customers or potential customers for a business
2.4 Given a scenario, recognize a value proposition -
Starting a Business:
3.1 Identify the purposes and value of a business plan
3.2 Identify the appropriate legal structure, benefits and drawbacks for different legal structures for a business
3.3 Given a scenario, identify different types of licenses and regulations that are required
3.4 Identify the benefits and drawbacks of various sources of start-
up funding: Equity (friends/family, angels, venture), Debt (bank, credit cards, personal loans), and Grants (government, foundation, corporate)
3.5 Given a scenario, identify support that is available for the business on a local, state, and federal level
3.6 Identify the ethical practices and social responsibilities of a business
3.7 Identify potential exit strategies for a business -
Business Operations:
4.1 Given a scenario, identify key positions and human capital needs (including compensation and benefits)
4.2 Given a scenario, determine whether work can be completed by the owner or whether employees or service providers are needed
4.3 Given a scenario, identify the taxes that are required
4.4 Given a scenario, identify intellectual property issues of trademarks, copyrights, and patents
4.5 Given a scenario, identify standard operating procedures (e.g., setup, conduct, internal controls, separation of duties)
4.6 Given a scenario, identify the factors that led to sustainability
4.7 Given a scenario, identify milestone as part of a growth strategy -
Marketing and Sales:
5.1 Given a scenario, develop a sales strategy and identify characteristics of a successful sale
5.2 Given a scenario, identify and analyze the costs/benefits of finding customers
5.3 Given a scenario, identify how to retain customers and develop a relationship with repeat customers
5.4 Given a scenario, determine value and methods of communication including: web sites, brochures, social media, and advertising -
Financial Management:
6.1 Given a scenario, interpret basic financial statements such as income statements and balance sheets
6.2 Given a scenario, identify the factors that influence credit ratings and the importance of a positive credit rating
6.3 Given a list of expenses, identify which are fixed versus variable
6.4 Given a scenario, identify the factors that impact the price to the customer
6.5 Given a scenario, identify and analyze cash flow including accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, and debt
6.6 Given a scenario, create a cash flow budget
6.7 Given a scenario, identify the breakeven point for the business