Resources

Econedlink

Economics and Personal Finance Resources for K-12

econlowdown

Economics and Personal Finance Education Resources from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Knowledge@Wharton High Schools

A comprehensive educational resource for high school students and educators

NGPF Next Gen Personal Finance

Free online curriculum of 65+ complete lessons and 200+ standalone activities you can access from anywhere

NY SBDC’s Webinars

Links to New York Small Business Development Center webinars, covering a variety of business-related topics

SBA Learning Center

The Small Business Administration’s collection of business related trainings

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Module 1: Intro to entrepreneurship

BOOKS

A World of Wealth by Thomas G. Donlan. FT Press, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2008. Family Business, Risky Business by David Bork, Borkinstitute for Family Business, 1993. Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. Back Bay Books, 2008. The Nature of Economies by Jane Jacobs. Vintage, 2001. We Are All Self-Employed by Cliff Hakim. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003.

ONLINE RESOURCES Interview with Alex Tew, Entrepreneur magazine Interview with Alex Tew, Swindon Advertiser Jeff Hawkins describes his definition of entrepreneur New York Small Business Development Center

Module 2: Becoming an entrepreneur

BOOKS Artful Work by Dick Richards. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 1995. Coaching and Mentoring Skills by Andrew J. Dubrin. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 2005. Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus. Public Affairs, New York, 2009. Even Eagles Need a Push by David McNally. Dell, 1994. Get a Life, Not a Job by Paula Caligiuri. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010. Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. How to Change the World by David Bornstein. Penguin Books, New York, 2005. In the River They Swim edited by Michael Fairbanks, Marcela Escobari-Rose, Malik Fal, and Elizabeth Hooper. Templeton Foundation Press, West Conshohockten, PA, 2009. Leading Social Entrepreneurs. Ashoka, Arlington, VA, 2004. Peak Learning by Ronald Gross. Tarcher, 1999. Student Entrepreneurs by Michael McMyne. St. Louis University, 2006. The Dip by Seth Godin. Portfolio, New York, 2007. The Empowered manager by Peter Block. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1991. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by C. K. Prahalad. Wharton School Publishing, 2010. The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. Currency, New York, 2004. The Way of the Guerrilla by Jay Conrad Levinson. Mariner Books, 1998. Upstart Start-Ups! by Ron Lieber. Broadway Books, New York, 1998. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1998. Working for Good by Jeff Klein. Sounds True, Boulder, CO, 2009.

ONLINE RESOURCES Local hardware stores are more than an amenity, Chestnut Hill Local Small-town hardware store still going after century, The Washington Times 12 Ethical principles for business executives, Michael Josephson The Skoll Foundation Business Mentor NY

Module 3: Starting a business

BOOKS

Business: The Ultimate Resource. Basic Books, 2006. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, by Michael J. Gelb. Dell, New York, 2000. The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Portfolio, New York, 2004. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber, HarperBusiness, New York, 1995. The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook by Michael J. Gelb. Dell, New York, 1999. The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. Picador, 2007.

ONLINE RESOURCES Milton S. Hershey article, Entrepreneur The second-gen Google Glass could look even sleeker, TNW News The Top 12 Reasons Startups Fail, CB Insights Amazon.com Consumer Reports From Couch Potato to Furniture King New York Small Business Development Center U.S. Small Business Administration website University of North Carolina’s website 4 Ways to Find Out If Your Idea is the Next Great Product Top 20 crowdfunding platforms Survey monkey Google Forms Kickstarter Indiegogo Investigating a network marketing opportunity Multilevel Marketing Watch Make sure your proposed business name is available United States Patent and Trademark Office Superpages Google Bing NY Department of State SBA's website BPlans.com

Module 4: Positioning your business

BOOKS

Conscious Business by Fred Kofman. Sounds True, Boulder, CO, 2006. Fish! by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen. Hyperion, New York, 2000. Growing Your Business! by Mark LeBlanc. Expert Publishing, 2003. Managing By Values, by Ken Blanchard and Michael O’Connor. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003. Managing for Dummies by Bob Nelson and Peter Economy. For Dummies, 2010. Putting the One Minute Manager to Work by Kenneth Blanchard and Robert Lorber. William Morrow, 2006. The Heart Aroused by David Whyte. Broadway Business, 1996. The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. Berkley Books, New York, 1982. The Power of Ethical Management by Kenneth Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale. Fawcett Crest, New York, 1988. The Responsibility Revolution by Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2010. Tribes by Seth Godin. Portfolio, New York, 2008.

ONLINE RESOURCES Interview with Jaden & Amaya, Huffington Post Mission statement examples Effective Mission Statement Examples Accenture's website 6Q's list of company values Understanding the Four Levels of CSR, The CSR Journal

Module 5: Know your market

BOOKS Competitive Advantage by Michael E. Porter. Free Press, New York, 1998. Competitive Strategy by Michael E. Porter. Free Press, New York, 1998. Why We Buy by Paco Underhill. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2008.

ONLINE RESOURCES History of Coca-Cola Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse Bureau of Labor Statistics Small Business & Technology Development Center Library and research services Survey Data Analysis SurveyMonkey Google Forms SPSS 19 Insider tools to spy on your competitors, Hexowatch Who Are My Competitors Online?

Module 6: How you do business

BOOKS Adhocracy by Robert H. Waterman, Jr, W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1993. Business Process Improvement by H. James Harrington. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1991. Implementing the ISO 9000 Series by James L. Lamprecht. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1993. The Deming Management Method by Mary Walton. Perigee Books, 1988. The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox. North River Press, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 2004. Zapp! The Lightening of Empowerment by William C. Byham. Ballantine Books, 1997.

ONLINE RESOURCES About Dell 11 elevator pitch examples for entrepreneurs Tips for a winning elevator pitch

Module 7: Developing a strategy

BOOKS Strategy Pure and Simple II by Michel Robert. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998. The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge. Broadway Business, 2006. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge, Charlotte Roberts, Richard B. Ross, Bryan J. Smith, and Art Kleiner. Currency, New York, 1994. The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Systems Thinking & Learning by Stephen G. Haines. HRD Press, Amherst, MA, 1999. The Mind of the Strategist by Kenichi Ohmae. McGraw Hill, 1991. Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows. Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2008.

ONLINE RESOURCES About Google Wikipedia's Google SWOT Analysis Examples differentiation strategy How Walmart Works SMART Goals Examples

Module 8: The marketing plan

BOOKS Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service by John Tschohl. Bestsellers Publishing, 2008. All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin. Portfolio, New York, 2009. At America’s Service by Karl Albrecht. Grand Central Publishing, 1995. Conversational Capital by Bertrand Cesvet. FT Press, Upper Saddle River NJ, 2009. Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. Mariner Books, 2007. How to Write a Successful Marketing Plan by Roman G. Hiebing, Jr. and Scott W. Cooper. CCH, 1999. Integrity Selling for the 21st Century by Ron Willingham. Currency Doubleday, 2003. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy. Vintage Books, New York, 1985. Selling with Integrity by Sharon Drew Morgen. Berkley Books, 1999. Spin Selling by Neil Rackham. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1988. The One Minute Sales Person by Spencer Johnson and Larry Wilson. William Morrow, New York, 2002. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay Books, New York, 2002. The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Daniel S. Kennedy. Adams Media, 2006. Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin. Hyperion, New York, 2001.

ONLINE RESOURCES Interview with Ryan Kelly, Heavy.com How to Write Market Positioning Statements Positioning Tag Line Generator 10 Catchy Slogans and Taglines That Stand The Test of Time The Basics of Direct Marketing What Is Direct Marketing? 5 Tips for Creating a Beautiful Business Website Print Collateral: The Right Marketing Materials for Your Message Press Release Sample How to Write a Press Release How to Use Social Media for Small Business: 12 Simple Tips Online Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide SurveyMonkey How to Design and Build a Great Survey: 10 Lessons Learned from Voice of the Customer Trenches Customer Satisfaction Surveys: A Comprehensive Guide 5 Ways to Leverage Word-of-Mouth Marketing in a Digital Age

Module 9: Your business and the Internet

ONLINE RESOURCES Google Warby Parker case study Xterrawetsuits Marshalls Mr. Tire Small Business Website Checklist wix.com upwork.com Federal Trade Commission’s Cybersecurity for Small Business Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide yelp.com

Module 10: Global marketplace & government opportunities

ONLINE RESOURCES Starbucks Company Information Starbucks case study Why Export? Lost in Translation: 13 International Marketing Fails The World Bank Doing Business website The U.S. Commercial Service Small Business Administration US Department of Commerce Trade Finance Guide International Project Finance Association (IPFA) Export-Import Bank SBA Export Loan Programs U.S. Trade Development Agency (USTDA) U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets US Department of State’s list of Cross-Cultural Training & Consulting Organizations Transparency International U.S. State Department’s website United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Cleaner Production (CP) Cleaner Production Applied in a Small Furniture Industry New York State Contract Reporter

Module 11: Finances

BOOKS Finance for Non-Financial Managers by Lawrence W. Tuller. Adams Media, Holbrook, MA, 2007. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Business Plus, 2010. Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Running Press, 2009. Small Business Financial Management Kit for Dummies by Tage C. Tracy and John A. Tracy. Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NJ, 2007.

ONLINE RESOURCES Twitter Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur) The Man Behind Major Startups Including Blogger, Twitter, and Medium New York State’s Business Express Annualcreditreport.com SBA Loan Programs The Pros And Cons Of Angel Investing Venture capitalists Get to Know Your Business Financing Options The SBIR and STTR Programs Small Business Grants Crowdfunding What is an income statement? Understanding the Cash Flow Statement What is a Balance Sheet? What is a Break-Even Analysis? Create a Small Business Budget in 5 Simple Steps Accounting Bookkeeping system IRS: Recordkeeping New York State: Recordkeeping for business SBA's Types of Business Insurance What types of Insurance Should Small Business Explore? 5 Types of Business Insurance and Why You Need Them IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center NYS Department of Taxation and Finance IRS Video Portal IRS Employer ID Numbers IRS State Government Websites IRS Employment Taxes NYS Hiring employees NYS Sales and use tax

Module 12: Risk

ONLINE RESOURCES Chamber Foundation Hosts Top Young Entrepreneurs 2 teen brothers create small roasting stick business Managing Risk in a New Venture SMART Goals Template FTC's Business Center Department of Homeland Security's Ready Business Identity Theft

Module 13: Legal matters

BOOKS Business Law. Barron’s Educational Series, Hauppauge, NY, 2009. Managing To Stay Out of Court by Jathan Janove. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2005.

ONLINE RESOURCES Oprah Winfrey's Official Biography SBA's Choose a business structure NY Business Express website Register your business USA.gov Apply for licenses and permits U.S. Copyright Office United States Patent and Trademark Office The Federal Trade Commission United States DOL elaws SBA’s Hire & manage employees IRS Apply for an EIN Online IRS Employment Tax Recordkeeping IRS Employer’s Tax Guide NYS Withholding Tax Tables and Methods I-9 Central NYS New Hire Reporting NYS Workers’ Compensation NYS Unemployment Insurance Disability Insurance Department of Labor's Poster Advisor US Department of Labor Environmental Protection Agency's Laws & Regulations State Environmental Laws What is a green business? Clean Air Act Clean Water Act Safe Drinking Water Act Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Pollution Prevention Act Toxic Substance Control Act IRS Closing a Business SBA's Close Your Business FindLaw Closing a Business NOLO Notify Creditors of a Business Closure to Limit Your Liability How Do You Tell Your Customers You're Going Out of Business? allBusiness Announce a Company Closing to Your Staff Debt.org What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Filing Bankruptcy?

Module 14: Succession planning

ONLINE RESOURCES Mark Bao Interview Who is Mark Bao? SBA's Close or sell your business Online valuation tools for small businesses

Module 15: Writing the business plan

BOOKS Business Plans Kit for Dummies by Steven Peterson, Peter E. Jaret, and Barbara Findlay Schenck. For Dummies, 2010.

ONLINE RESOURCES Life is Good Bert & John Jacobs, Organic Spa Magazine Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) BPlans.com Sample table of contents

Module 16: Busness model canvas

ONLINE RESOURCES Business Model: Blueprint for Success, IdeaConnection Inventing The Future with Business Model Innovation, Innovation Ecosystem Business Model Canvas Explained - video (2:19) LEGO's Great Business Model Turnaround Story - video (1:33) Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Value Propositions building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Value Propositions building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Customer Segments building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Customer Segments building block of the Business Model Canvas? Interview questions Steve Blank: Acting on Customer Discovery LIFFFTInc’s customer discovery video series Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Channels building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Customer Relationships building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Revenue Streams building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Key Resources building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Key Activities building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Key Partnerships building block of the Business Model Canvas? Strategyzer Support: How do I use the Cost Structure building block of the Business Model Canvas? The Business Model Canvas Pitfalls

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Following is a listing of the EntreSkills™ modules and the learning objectives for each section within each module.

There is no right or wrong way to use EntreSkills. Some people use the entire program; others jump to the modules that are relevant to their needs.

Module 1: Introduction

• Introduce EntreSkills™
• Identify your motivation for learning to be an entrepreneur.
• Be aware of the program contents, and learn how to use its features.
• Define entrepreneurship.
• Identify your motivation for learning entrepreneurship.
• Identify what you want to learn from EntreSkills™.
• Introduce you to The New York Small Business Development Center.
• Introduce you to the EntreSkills™ team.

Module 2: Becoming an entrepreneur

• Consider why you want to start a business.
• Learn the reason for starting a business.
• Investigate learning plans.
• Understand what is required to learn entrepreneurship.
• Begin to think like an entrepreneur.
• Find your passion.
• Discover your purpose.
• Clarify your vision.
• State your principles.
• Assess your entrepreneurial characteristics.
• Stay motivated.
• Be introduced to social entrepreneurship.
• Clarify your life focus.
• Decide to apply this program to starting a business or to creating a satisfying life.
• Identify potential mentors.

Module 3: Starting a business

• Develop an idea for your business.
• Introduce the concept of developing a business idea.
• Examine your own experiences to begin generating business ideas.
• Research customer preferences and the experiences of other entrepreneurs for additional business ideas.
• Learn to brainstorm.
• Review a list of possible businesses.
• Evaluate each of your business ideas.
• Learn why business ideas fail.
• Test your business idea.
• Decide on the form of your business.
• Name your business.
• Introduce the concept of a business plan.

Module 4: Positioning your business

• Identify what business you are in.
• Define your business mission.
• Clarify your business vision.
• Choose your business values.
• Learn about business ethics and social responsibilities.
• Learn the basics of "going green".
• Develop your business model.

Module 5: Know your market

• Research your industry.
• Identify barriers to entering that industry.
• Identify ways to overcome those barriers.
• Identify who is your customer.
• Create a customer profile.
• Identify your competitors.
• Profile your competition.

Module 6: How you do business

• Write an elevator speech for your business.
• Become familiar with the categories of business capabilities.
• Describe the research and development capabilities of your business.
• Outline the operations capabilities of your business.
• Learn about the procedures used to produce your product.
• Go in-depth about the people part of operations.
• Decide where you want to locate your business.
• Choose the distribution channels for your business.
• Plan the organizational structure for your business.
• Discover the forms of organizational structure.
• Profile the key players in your business.

Module 7: Developing a strategy

• Understand the importance of strategic planning.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis of your business.
• Identify opportunities and threats in the marketplace.
• Analyze the results of your SWOT analysis.
• Apply what you learn from your SWOT analysis.
• Formulate a competitive strategy.
• Choose a growth strategy for your business.
• Select the resources you will use to grow your business.
• Set growth goals for your business.
• Create an action plan to achieve your growth goals.
• Outline how to implement your plan.
• Evaluate your plan’s implementation.
• Form an exit strategy.

Module 8: The marketing plan

• Assess your target market.
• Position customer perception of your product or service.
• Write a positioning statement.
• Craft a tagline.
• Choose a pricing strategy.
• Write marketing goals.
• Refine your distribution plan.
• Plan how you will promote your product.
• Describe how you will provide quality service to your customers.
• Record ideas for generating word-of-mouth advertising.
• Decide how to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing plan.

Module 9: Your business and the Internet

• Learn about e-commerce and the basic tools required to conduct business over the Internet.
• Decide whether your business should be on the Internet.
• Select a method or a company to develop your business’s website.
• Decide how you will maintain your website.
• Decide what kind of security you will need on your website.
• Learn how to increase the number of customers who visit your website.
• Decide how to maintain great customer service online.
• Review the key concepts that businesses should know about business on the Internet.

Module 10: Global marketplace & government opportunities

• Decide whether or not to do business globally.
• Learn the basics of international market research and e-commerce.
• Learn about international operations, including manufacturing, technology, and outsourcing.
• Become familiar with import and export documents, practices, laws, and modes of transportation.
• Learn about the fundamental components of financing.
• Learn the importance of local culture and political climate to global business, including business etiquette, local customs, and protocol.
• Learn how employment works for a global business.
• Gain an understanding of key environmental issues for a global company.
• Understand how the government may be a potential customer for your business.

Module 11: Finances

• Calculate the start-up costs for your business.
• Calculate how much you can personally afford to invest in starting your business.
• Select bootstrapping techniques you can employ for your business start-up.
• Consider outside funding sources you may ask for money.
• Prepare an income statement for your business.
• Prepare cash-flow projections for your business.
• Calculate your business assets.
• Calculate liabilities and equity.
• Complete your balance sheet.
• Conduct a breakeven analysis.
• Create a first-year budget for your business.
• Calculate financial ratios for your business.
• Review tips for hiring an accountant.
• Identify the insurance needs of your business.
• Identify which taxes your business must pay.

Module 12: Risk and the small business

• Learn about risk and how to identify it.
• Identify three types of business risk.
• Understand the risk management mistakes made by many business owners.
• Identify common business objectives and the related risks.
• Identify the key elements for assessing risk, identify four ways to manage risk, and understand risk management methods.
• Understand the risks that all small business owners face.
• Understand the basics of new business ownership, preventing fraud, and protecting business information to reduce risk.

Module 13: Legal matters

• Decide under what form you will organize your business.
• Identify registrations, licenses, and permits required for your business.
• Identify the types of contracts you may encounter operating your business.
• Identify works you created for which you may wish to seek copyright protection.
• Determine if you have an invention that may be patented.
• Consider the use of a trademark or servicemark.
• Assess your compliance with consumer protection laws.
• Follow labor laws when hiring employees.
• Review environmental laws relevant to business.
• Determine what zoning laws are relevant to your business.
• Follow guidelines for closing a business.
• Determine the advisability of filing for bankruptcy.
• Assess the suitability of an attorney to represent your business.

Module 14: Succession planning

• Learn about the importance of succession planning.
• Consider two key issues for succession planning.
• Plan how you will transfer control to your successor.
• Learn about options for transferring assets with the help of a financial professional.
• Learn about three steps to preparing to sell your business.
• Prepare your business financially for sale.
• Review the five major categories of business valuation methods.
• Learn about different types of buyers and describe the terms for your business’s sale.
• Review legal considerations often associated with selling a business.

Module 15: Writing the business plan

• Understand the importance of having a business plan.
• Identify the audience for your business plan.
• Receive guidelines for writing and assessing your business plan.
• Create the title page and table of contents for your plan.
• Write the executive summary for your business plan.
• Write the company overview section of the business plan.
• Draft the business environment section of the business plan.
• Write the management portion of the business plan.
• Prepare the company strategy portion of the business plan.
• Compose the marketing section of the business plan.
• Prepare the financial information to be included in the business plan.
• Create an action plan as part of your business plan.
• Identify items to be included as appendices in your business plan.
• Check that all necessary information is included in the completed business plan.
• Identify how you may use your plan.
• Monitor the need to revise your business plan.

Module 16: Business model canvas

• Learn about the origin of the Business Model Canvas.
• Be introduced to the purpose of the Business Model Canvas.
• Understand the difference between a business plan and the Business Model Canvas.
• Gain an understanding of how the Business Model Canvas works.
• Learn about the Business Model Canvas components.
• Learn about the customer discovery process.
• Create a Business Model Canvas.