fiu

 

One of the most important steps for an aspiring entrepreneur is to create a business plan. Business plans captures a complete snapshot of your company: executive summary, team, financial summary, marketing plan, etc. It gives any potential investors or bankers the opportunity to understand what type of business it is and its potential to make money. However, creating the actual plan itself can be time-consuming and difficult. Many entrepreneurs rely on experts to create the document for them (for a fee). Well, if you do not have the funds to pay someone, here’s an excellent opportunity for new and seasoned business owners to learn how-to create a plan for themselves.

 

The Miami Herald newspaper and Florida International University will offer a free business plan workshop on March 17.

 

BUSINESS PLAN BOOTCAMP

 

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 17

 

Where: Miami Dade College Auditorium, Room 1261 (Building 1), Wolfson Campus

 

Cost: Free (free parking is available in the MDC lot at 500 NE Second Ave.; entrances are on Northeast Fifth and Sixth streets.

 

Register: Please visit https://extra.herald.com/events/ (Choose the Business Plan Challenge logo)

 

 

BUSINESS PLAN CHALLENGE SURVIVAL GUIDE

 

What to enter: Three-page business plan

 

Who can enter: Entrepreneurs with businesses less than 2 years old or with business ideas. There is a Community Track, FIU Track and High School Track.

 

Entry deadline: April 5

 

Email entries to: Challenge@MiamiHerald.com, FIUchallenge@MiamiHerald.com, highschoolchallenge@MiamiHerald.com

 

Contest rules, judges’ bios, other info: MiamiHerald.com/challenge

 

Find out more: Nancy Dahlberg, Challenge coordinator, will be at the Miami Open Coffee Club at MEC261, 261 NE First St. in downtown Miami, 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday to answer your questions, or you can always email ndahlberg@miamiherald.com.

 

The Business Plan Challenge will include a panel of business experts who will discuss various tips, investor insights, and a Q&A.

 

• Melissa Krinzman (moderator), founder of Venture Architects, which positions private companies for capital-raising success, and co-founder of Krillion Ventures, a new venture capital fund that provides Seed and Series A stage funding to tech-enabled companies in Miami, New York and San Francisco.

 

• Richard Ginsburg, co-founder of G3 Capital Partners, an early-stage investment company in South Florida, a former CEO of two publicly traded security companies, and a mentor.

 

• John Hall, executive director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Miami Dade College, a new program focused on helping companies scale, and former managing partner or president/CEO of five businesses.

 

• Rob Strandberg, president of Enterprise Development Corporation of South Florida (EDC), a public-private partnership that assists emerging science tech companies, and a former CEO or director for tech companies.

 

• Mike Tomas, CEO of Miami-based Bioheart, mentor and active investor in early-stage technology and biotech companies, and chairman of FIU’s Pino Global EntrepreneurshipCenter.

 

For more information regarding the Business Plan Challenge, visit to MiamiHerald.com.