Leading Edge for Entrepreneurs – Class Two

I’m happy to report that I was able to attend class number two in person! It is a great group of people all of whom are looking to start their own business! In this class we went over the “Why” homework and then moved on to discuss the different sections of a business plan which includes: Executive Summary, Opportunity, Execution, Company, and financial plan. Interestingly the first part you write last! So, you write your executive summary once you’ve written the rest of the business plan. With that noted, we started with the opportunity portion of the Business Plan that focuses on the ‘problem’ as in what is the problem my business is trying to solve? This was followed by what is my ‘solution’ to the problem? We then went over the software that we use for this class called “Live Plan” and I drafted both my problem:

My husband and I have been visiting Palisade for over 20 years and have stayed at various accommodations and are personally familiar with numerous vineyards and winery owners and other local attractions. Palisade is a tourist destination for its Colorado wines, peaches, outdoor sports, and other local festivals. Tourism to the Grand Valley continues to increase every year. There are not enough Airbnb’s available in Palisade and even more limited number of luxury and experiential centered Airbnb’s in Palisade. 

And my solution:

Posh Airbnb will focus on the concept of living a balanced and joyful life by providing luxury overnight accommodations that include full kitchen, inviting outdoor space and experiential additions. After spending the day visiting wineries, orchards, participating in outdoor activities or festivals Posh guests will have an inviting place to return to that has a luxury feel where they can relax, enjoy the views, cool off and slow down. They will have access to a kitchen and the Putnam Boutique farm so they can enjoy a farm to table experience. There will be a plunge pool as part of the accommodation for quests to cool off from the 100-degree days and multiple outdoor spaces to enjoy a glass of wine in the evening or a cup of coffee in the morning or dine alfresco under the stars.

There were also several books that were mentioned that were said to be useful reads. I’ve not yet read them but have listed a few of them below: 

The One Thing

By Gary Keller

Seven Levels of Intimacy

By Matthew Kelly

Think and Grow Rich

By Napoleon Hill

Rich Dad Poor Dad

By Robert T. Kiyoski

Relating to the last book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, our instructor showed a chart as part of his power point presentation that presented four types of people or categories: Employee, Sole Proprietor, Business Owner, and Investor. The employee works for someone else; the sole proprietor also acts like an employee in that they are employees to themselves; the business owner is just that, they own the business and do not work for anyone one; the investor also does not work for anyone. If you are trying to move away from working for someone else, including yourself your goal is to be on the right side of the chart as a B (Business Owner) or I (Investor). I found this realization interesting as I’ve always only ever been an employee or a sole proprietor! 

The last part of the class talked about the concept of Urgent and Important. There are different kinds of configurations of Urgent and Important but in a nutshell what you want to do is address the important things first so that they never become urgent. It sounds like a no brainer until you sit down and think about all the times you find yourself in ‘Urgent’ situations! All in all it was a really productive night and with each class I find myself having better clarity and more focused on my path forward with Palisade Posh!