Am I an entrepreneur? Lessons learnt from the Business Skills

101 course.

Stephen Madigan

Aquatic Sciences

• A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit (Oxford Dictionaries)

• Course = better business management

Am I an entrepreneur?

• Investment by Seafood CRC

• Training & Education Program

• Innovation seafood industry profit

• 8 monthly modules

• Creativity, marketing, business models, risk, leadership, business planning

• Idea(s) business plan

About the course

• Informal

• Not “chalk & talk”

• Experienced & professional

• Inspirational

• Give you a library of information

The lecturers

• Australian & NZ residents

• Seafood CRC participants free tuition

• You pay for travel, accommodation, time & meals

• It’s a $20k course!

Attending the course

1. Don’t f**k with Microsoft

2. Have a customer b4 you start your business• Can I have that in writing?

3. Ask for forgiveness, not permission

4. Always have a sustainable competitive advantage

5. Understand the Law of 70

6. Start a business in an industry you know well

6 Golden Rules For Entrepreneurs

• 52 point checklist• Target market• Product• SCA• Financial

performance• Harvestability• Strategic

differentiation issues

Opportunity Screening Tool

• Detailed spreadsheet pro-forma financial statements (Income, Balance Sheet, Cash)

• Sales Projections• Cost of Good Sold• Yr 1 – 5 details (income statement, cash flow

statements, depreciation schedules, HR worksheet, expense details)

• NPV-IRR• Annual Statements• RRR (Required Rate of Return)

Financial Analysis

• Producing a business plan

• Company & the Product, Marketing Plan, Operational Plan, Financial Plan, The Ask and the Offer, Appendices (Industry & Market Overview, Detailed Market Research Information, Resumes of Key Personnel, Worst-Case Financial Statements)

Business plan template

Adapting to change

• Be creative• Be perceptive and

ready for opportunities

• Have skills necessary to adapt to change