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FastTrac® Entrepreneurship Training Offered in San Diego
By Debra Sherman, Beyster Institute Staff
  The Beyster Institute’s mission of promoting entrepreneurship and employee ownership worldwide has taken us to many far-away places including Russia, Bolivia, India, the Middle East, and even Mongolia. Now, however, we’re heading into our own backyard with FastTrac entrepreneurship training.
In conjunction with the Women’s Business Center of California and the newly formed San Diego Small Business Community Coalition, the Beyster Institute will be offering FastTrac programs to entrepreneurs in the San Diego area. FastTrac is a non-credit, comprehensive entrepreneurship educational program that provides entrepreneurs with business insights, leadership skills and professional networking connections so they are prepared to create a new business or expand an existing enterprise. The FastTrac program includes practical, hands-on business development programs and workshops for existing and entrepreneurs.
FastTrac, a program of the Kauffman Foundation, is designed to help entrepreneurs hone the skills needed to create, manage and/or grow successful businesses. Participants don't just learn about business, they live it! They work on their own business ideas or ventures throughout the program – moving their venture to reality or new levels of growth.
Concurrent with the launch of the San Diego Small Business Community Coalition, a group of non-profit organizations which provide resource assistance to entrepreneurs and collaborate to strengthen awareness of services to best serve the San Diego small business community, the Beyster Institute will be offering First Step™ FastTrac in March.
First Step FastTrac is an educational program created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Taught by seasoned entrepreneurs in the community, First Step FastTrac's hands-on program uses the participant’s own business concept as a case study. In class and in coaching sessions, participants explore issues such as: What additional opportunities exist for entrepreneurs? How can I market my new business? How do I price my products and services? How do I begin developing a budget?
By the end of the program, the aspiring entrepreneurs will know whether their business concept has "legs" and if starting a business is the right decision for them.
First Step FastTrac will help participants:
- Explore strengths and opportunities for personal and professional development.
- Develop a feasibility plan for evaluating the business concept. This plan will include:
- An Executive Summary;
- Products and Services;
- Market Analysis;
- Price and Profitability Analysis;
- Plan for Further Action.
They will work closely with other entrepreneurs, sharing ideas and experiences, and laying the foundation for future business relationships. Through the program, participants will discover whether the life of an entrepreneur is right for them.
The First Step FastTrac program includes instruction on communicating the business concept; gathering information for feasibility; analyzing the market; developing strategy; and understanding costs, profits and cash flow.
Future FastTrac classes will include FastTrac NewVenture, FastTrac GrowthVenture, and FastTrac TechVenture. FastTrac NewVenture assists start-up entrepreneurs in developing their business concept and evaluating it through each step of the business planning process. FastTrac GrowthVenture™ assists entrepreneurs in evaluating their current business framework and determining the changes needed to improve performance and grow their business.
FastTrac TechVenture will be offered in conjunction with the Center for Executive Development at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego. This course offers technology and life science entrepreneurs the tools needed to start or refine their business venture (including the business concept itself), learn to access capital, and advance their venture to the next business stage.
For upcoming FastTrac courses offered through the Beyster Institute, check our web site often. More information on the FastTrac program is also available at http://www.fasttrac.org.
About the Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Kauffman. Information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.
©2007 The Beyster Institute and its authors and their entities. All rights reserved.
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