First Step FastTrac

First Step FastTrac is an entrepreneurial training program created by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that offers 36 hours of hands-on training. Participants examine their business idea in-depth and develop a feasibility plan.

Is this right for you? A key part of First Step FastTrac is the feasibility plan. You find out whether your business idea has merit before you quit your job or invest your life savings. A feasibility plan helps you to:

• Examine your willingness, desire, and courage to be a successful entrepreneur.
• Define your personal vision and goals.
• Gather information.
• Solve problems.
• Test assumptions and solutions on paper.
• Make sure the business is in line with your personal vision and goals.
• Finalize the plan.

Specifically, the 12 classes will:

• Define your personal vision and goals.
• Transform business ideas into business concept statements.
• Receive feedback on business concept statements and consider personal financials.
• Describe your proposed product or service, including features, benefits and uniqueness.
• Examine opportunities in the industry and evaluate competition.
• Define target markets and develop market strategies.
• Examine pricing strategies and the effect prices have on profitability.
• Determine financial feasibility through cash flow.
• Using cash flow report, evaluate feasibility and key legal issues.
• Finalize the cash flow report and key accounting issues for success.
• Determine the tools and resources you will need to start your business.
• Tell your entrepreneurial story and turn in your feasibility plan.

At the end of the course, the prospective entrepreneur will have a working feasibility plan and one-, two-, and three-year financial projections for the anticipated business.

The 2008 First Step FastTrac classes will start/finish on the following dates:

January 17, 2008  (Graduation April 17, 2008)
April 24, 2008 (Graduation July 24, 2008)
July 17, 2008 (Graduation October 14, 2008)
September 30, 2008 (Graduation December 18, 2008)

For more information on future First Step FastTrac classes or to sign up for a class email Clark Trammell or call him at 785-231-6000

First Step FastTrac forces you to thoroughly explore your business idea. The most important thing I learned was that you are not a failure if you decide not to start a business at the end of the class. You're a failure if you do start your business, knowing it's not feasible.
--Cheri Phillips, Portraits by Cheri

You have to follow your dreams, but you also have to make your decision to start your business with your eyes open. FastTrac teaches you to do just that. I needed basic business training and I needed to thoroughly research my business idea. I had not even operated a cash register before. Yet, my dream was to open a retail business.
--Sonia De La Torre Aponte, Fiesta Boutique