Business Planning

How to write a business plan in under an hour

  • Value Proposition – one descriptive sentence about your business – the “idea”.
  • Market Need – the “problem” your product is responding to by being in the market.
  • Your Solution – a description of your products (photos are always appreciated).
  • Competition – who else in the market is doing a similar thing and why are your products better?
  • Target Market – who buys your product (or will buy your products)?
  • Financials, Budgeting and Forecasting – how much does it cost to produce one of your products? How much do your products cost, how many of them will you sell this year and how will you make a profit?
  • Sales Channels and Marketing Activities – how do (or will) you market your products?
  • Milestones – what are (or what will be) your business achievements?
  • Management Team – who are you and why are you the right person to lead your venture?
  • Funding Needs and Use of Funds – Optional – how much money do you need to launch or grow your business; and what specifically will you use the funds for in your business?

Remember, a Business Plan is a living, breathing document that changes and adapts to the flow of your customer feedback – it is not static, but it is a reference point!
Download a detailed checklist for starting a business.

These training classes are offered via webinar format with a live instructor.  Webinar Trainings are live workshops that are viewed from your computer, where you can interact with the instructor and the other participants. Webinar Training is a great way to learn, because you can learn from the convenience of your home or office.  Each live webinar classes will be recorded, so if you miss a class, you will be able to watch the class video at your leisure. Class recordings are generally made available within 24 hours after class was held.

You will also have access to a business mentor who will help you apply what you have learned to your unique business environment.  These business mentors are experienced business professionals.  A mentor will be available at your request.

The tuition is $395 (USD) per series.  Our refund policy gives you the opportunity to attend one class and then cancel for a full refund.  We must be notified by email within 24 hours of the end of the first day of training.  Otherwise, there are no refunds.  This also applies to any participants who were referred by Employment Security Division through the Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP).

Full payment must be received five working days before the start of the course unless other arrangements have been made in advance.  Your participation in the class will be cancelled and the deposit forfeited if payment is not made prior to Class Two.

  1. When registering, please check the box on the registration form that indicates you are part of ESD’s SEAP program.
  2. As part of the SEAP program, you must complete their registration form. We are an approved training provider and will complete the section for training providers.
    • Send the completed form to us so we can complete the provider section. Try to send a PDF scan rather than a fax. All of the contact information is on the last page of this document.

Please Note: We will no longer send your progress reports to ESD. However, we must still complete and sign the provider section of the report. After we sign the form, it will be sent back to you and it is your responsibility to get it to ESD in a timely fashion. Here is the new procedure.

  1. Send the completed form to us so we can sign the provider section. Try to send a PDF scan rather than a fax. All of this information is on the last page of this document.
  2. Within 48 hours of receiving your form, we will sign it and return it to you.
  3. You must then send the completed form to ESD. We will no longer know whether you sent the progress report in time.

Please carefully complete the Progress Report provided by ESD. A correct example of this form is part of this packet. We will no longer be correcting your progress reports if they are completed incorrectly. So, it is important that you are careful.

  1. One common area of mistake is the question regarding whether you have completed the training. According to our agreement with ESD, our program lasts for a full 6 months. The first 8 weeks are spent in training. The remaining weeks are spent working with your mentor or business coach to launch your business. When ESD uses the word “training”, they actually mean the entire program. As long as you are still working with us through our mentors or coaches, you remain in our program even though you have completed the training.
  2. For us to verify that you are still in the program, you must make contact with your designated mentor or business coach every month. We will be tracking this contact.
  3. After six months, you will have “graduated” from our program and we will report this to ESD.
  4. If you fail to make contact with your mentor or business coach, we will contact you and discuss whether you feel you have completed the program in a quicker timeframe than the allocated 6 months. We will then notify ESD of your completion of our program.

When communicating with us, please make sure a contact email or phone number is provided on every communication. This will make it easier for us to promptly correspond with you.

  1. When you register for the class, please check the box that indicates you are a Camo2Commerce program participant. Your fee is waived and is paid through the Camo2Commerce program.
  2. You will need to contact your Camo2Commerce representative before registering for the class.

Thurston Economic Development Council

4220 6th Ave SE
Lacey, WA 98503
360.754.6320