Progress

As the CLIMB program moves into the seventh week I have learned several things.

1) Writing a complete business plan is not easy.
2) Only dedicated and passionate individuals can complete the CLIMB course.
3) Being your own boss is not as easy or carefree as it sounds.
4) Marketing strategy can make or break a start-up business.

The CLIMB program gives individuals a very complete, step-by-step process to writing a business plan. As the course has progressed the material becomes more difficult and more detailed. Each section builds on the previous one and the business plan really starts to come together.

Unfortunately as things become more challenging the number of students who attend the course decreases. Although this may seem discouraging, I believe it actually helps illustrates how the course really does work.

Those people who do not complete the course usually discover that opening a small business is not for them. Either the timing was not right or they realized that it was much more work than they ever dreamed. This education prevents them from obtaining a loan or investing time and money in a business that eventually fails down the road.

Those people remaining in the course really posses the entrepreneurial spirit that any small business owner must have. Their drive and determination is evident by the way they approach the difficult assignments that are required to graduate from the CLIMB program. The group works as a team to help one another whenever possible. This strong group mentality has helped each individual persevere and continue their pursuit of business ownership.

CLIMB

The CLIMB program is in high demand. Creating Livelihoods in Micro Business is a ten-week course offered by International Relief and Development (IRD) in Gulfport, MS. The course helps people throughout Southern Mississippi that aspire to open their own small business. The focus is writing a detailed business plan. Upon completion, graduates are eligible to participate in a peer-lending program to help get their business started.

After graduating the first class in August the second class is well under way. One of the graduates from the first session has already secured two separate government contracts to provide janitorial services to large facilities.

In order to get the word out about the program we invited a local news station to the second class of the new session. The report was aired several times on local television and the response was amazing! We now have a waiting list of over ninety people who are interested in participating in the third session of the course scheduled to start in January.

To read the transcript of the report check out the link:
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?s=9029831.