Small Business Basics
A series of instructor-led training sessions designed to give new entrepreneurs the knowledge required to successfully start, run, and scale a small business.
The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network — a partnership between the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Business Council, and the U.S. Small Business Administration — offers no-cost advising and resources to Wyoming entrepreneurs. In April 2023, we partnered with them to develop off-the-shelf training that the organization’s advisors could deploy to small business owners across the state.
Audience
We worked collaboratively with the project owner to design and develop training materials custom-tailored to the diverse learner population represented by the organization's client base. This included entrepreneurs on the Wind River Indian Reservation, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. Where appropriate, we tailored the materials to address the specific requirements of registering and operating a business on the reservation.
Topics Covered
The project included five workshops, each focused on a core component of business ownership:
Launching a small business
Securing business funding
Business planning
Marketing
Sustainable scaling
Each workshop included:
Slides and presenter notes for a 90-minute instructor-led training session
Two handouts
Between 10 to 12 minutes of original video
A participant guide
Our Approach
Realistic scenarios in each workshop allow participants to apply new knowledge to real-life business problems.
Reflection and application questions stimulate group discussion and help participants connect new concepts to existing knowledge.
Where applicable, “Understanding the Lingo” sections pre-teach key terms that might be unfamiliar to novice entrepreneurs.
Handouts help small business owners tackle critical tasks like estimating startup costs, describing their ideal customer, scheduling marketing content, and calculating the costs of hiring a new employee.
Short videos provide additional context on topics like securing a business loan, conducting market analysis, measuring ROI for marketing efforts, and implementing HR best practices.
Multiple calls-to-action throughout the workshop encourage participants to reach out to their regional advisor for additional support on crucial business management skills.
Tools Used
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
OBS Studio
ShotCut
Audacity
GIMP
ChatGPT (for ideating scenarios and examples)
ElevenLabs.io (AI-generated voiceover for videos)
Project Gallery
Pulse check questions at the beginning and end of each workshop allow participants to self-evaluate, making them active agents in their own learning.
Understanding the Lingo sections pre-teach key terms.
A cost calculator gives participants a head start in calculating their employee hiring costs.
Pulse check questions at the beginning and end of each workshop allow participants to self-evaluate, making them active agents in their own learning.