I'm going to a business coach Monday....

**chem** · 08-03-2006 06:43 PM

Okay, I have been talking with Chambers of Commerce and they have set me up with a guy who helps Small businesses start up. I met him today(wearing a nice button up but dirty khakis, so my presentation wasn't the greatest.) for a brief few minutes. So I'm going to go get some better pants and get a little more business like. My problem is I'm 19 and I barely look 14, so I got to get this guy to take me serious so I get more out of him.

So I have a few questions.

He asked me to bring up some information. So I decided to make a presentation and show him that as my information. Should I just give the general business idea, what we do, who we are, the market, ect... like a business plan?

Should I bring up our downside?

Should I make my presentation short and sweet or long and full of information? I watched Guy Kawoskia, I think is his name and he said make your presentations 10 slides long with least ammount of words and do all the explaining you can, and I'm following this advice.

Should I present this to people before I show him? I plan on showing my girlfriend's dad(accountant) tommorow and see how he feels about it. Should I show someone else? Who?

Should I say "we" for the business? "we give the client this" or "the business gives the client this"? (We are registering as an LLC, my partner and I that is.)

Any other tips?

I'm trying to show this guy I mean business and not have him blow me off becuase of my age and lack of experience. I feel if I wow him tommorow I'll be invited back in the future to get more information.

Thank you!

**3ntrepreneur** · 08-03-2006 07:16 PM

What type of business are you starting?

**chem** · 08-03-2006 07:30 PM

Modeling club

**clegg** · 08-03-2006 10:12 PM

I am not sure what that is, could you expand a little further?
-clegg

**Nigami Enterprise** · 08-03-2006 10:59 PM

Firstly evaluate what YOU want from the meeting and make sure you get it. What sort of advice do you want from him eg.Finance/startup/business. And aim your presentation towards that. Make sure you hit his interest to get the best out of him. Also Make sure you show him everything you have and not what you don't have, you might not have age on your side but thats something we all will get so show him your young and motivated. Is there any more info you can give us.

**youngmoneyblog** · 08-03-2006 11:23 PM

is he a SBDC counselor? if so just tell him everything. He's there to help you no matter what... your tax dollars pay for it.

**Mechanical** · 08-03-2006 11:56 PM

If he is experienced don't overload him with tons of information, unless he asks you to. Too little info is just as bad. Just some thoughts: say your idea is a restaurant.

If you say "we sell cooked food", that is too short. If you go into detail and say" we buy x-meat from ACME distributor and thaw it at room temperature for 30 minutes and sear it on high heat then store it under a heat lamp till the actual order....." then that is too much info. If, like a national burger joint, you add "flame-broiling and speedy service with a smile" then that is relevant content.

Hope that helps some. I have to agree with Nigami Enterprise and I go one further and recommend that you write down questions you need answered. If you forget what they are or you are diverted, you can pull them out and read them directly.

**chem** · 08-04-2006 12:00 AM

Thank you for all the responses.

A modeling club is what it sounds like. I started off as making it a modeling agency then looked into it more and decided to make it a modeling network(like myspace) not I'm set on club. Some of what we offer is a profile, experience, advice, presenting models to agencys and so on. I have lined up quite a few big projects such as short clips, promo videos, interviews, video shoots, really it's endless and well worth it.

I'm not sure if he is an SBDC counselor or not.

What I'm looking foward to hearing is basic start up(registering, vendors liscenes, ect...). How to handle the money wisely is another thing I feel most small business probally mess up on. I wonder how he feels about the business and if it will be sucessful.

I'll sit down later and write everything down that I'd like from the meeting.

Thank you everyone for all your advice, I'm sure it'll make or break this meeting.

**PHPMine** · 09-27-2006 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by chem

Thank you for all the responses.

A modeling club is what it sounds like. I started off as making it a modeling agency then looked into it more and decided to make it a modeling network(like myspace) not I'm set on club. Some of what we offer is a profile, experience, advice, presenting models to agencys and so on. I have lined up quite a few big projects such as short clips, promo videos, interviews, video shoots, really it's endless and well worth it.

I'm not sure if he is an SBDC counselor or not.

What I'm looking foward to hearing is basic start up(registering, vendors liscenes, ect...). How to handle the money wisely is another thing I feel most small business probally mess up on. I wonder how he feels about the business and if it will be sucessful.

I'll sit down later and write everything down that I'd like from the meeting.

Thank you everyone for all your advice, I'm sure it'll make or break this meeting.

I've worked on several projects like these. let me know if you need help. you might want to post the url (to get free hits here!!) and you better not charge your members!