Big Bad Busines series workshops return

Published 4:15 pm Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Growing a creative small business is a lot like growing daffodils. Artists and creatives take on many challenges sacrificing time and money during the wintry beginning. Just when you think the challenges will never end, Pop! Out comes a moment of clarity and success like a daffodil to encourage you onward. The Big Bad Business Series workshops provide a networking and learning environment where any small business, but especially those that are arts-based or creative economy, can work through those tough challenges.

Kicking off the 2022 series will be a workshop on the Lean Canvas Business Plan. Not every business is ready to write a traditional and sometimes lengthy business plan. A business plan is a crucial tool for making sure a small business stays on mission and that each step one takes is going to support those goals. Learn about the Lean Canvas Business Plan–a perfect choice for creative economy small businesses and other startups that don’t need a full-fledged business plan right away.

This workshop includes:

  • 1 hour video on the Lean Canvas
  • Template and examples to fill out your own Lean Canvas Business Plan
  • Powerpoint to help you work through the template
  • Optional group session to go through the template on February 17th at 5 p.m. 
  • Zoom Virtual meetup with Gordon Magee of SCORE

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Prior to the meetup on February 21st, participants will watch the video and work through a rough draft of their Lean Canvas plan using the Powerpoint. Then bring your questions to our expert at the Zoom session. By completing the pre-session requirements and attending the Zoom session, participants will qualify for one-on-one mentoring related to their Lean Canvas Business Plan by qualified SCORE mentors. Registration for this workshop will end at 5 pm on February 18th.

You may not need to walk into a bank and ask for a loan to buy real estate or equipment, but everyone needs to have a handle on their mission, their vision, and this is the perfect chance to refine those ideas. Get a moment of clarity, that first daffodil before spring, by learning about this tool for your small business. 

The Big Bad Business Series is a partnership between the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council (YAC) and the Oxford-Lafayette Economic Development Foundation. YAC receives funding for the Big Bad Business Series from the Mississippi Arts Commission and from the National Endowment for the Arts Art Projects program. The Arts Incubator has mentored artists since 2009. In 2014, the incubator offered workshops on a quarterly basis. With funding from the NEA and partnership with the EDF, the Big Bad Business series will offer monthly small business workshops in 2022. To register for the Lean Canvas, visit incubator.oxfordarts.com.

 

Wayne Andrews is president of YAC and writes a weekly column for The Oxford Eagle.