Issue
Starting a small business can be one way for low-income individuals to be come self-sufficient. However, knowing how to start a business and determining its likelihood for success can be difficult without the proper training. The Yazoo Community Action, Inc. micro-enterprise project encouraged and supported low-income individuals in starting small businesses.
Action
AmeriCorps *VISTA members organized weekly small business classes. The training number was limited to 18 people on a first come, first served basis. Participants developed a business plan during the training that could be used to apply for a small business loan. The agency provided assistance to qualifying individuals in acquiring loans from lending institutions
The classes were as follows:
Class one: overview of the business plan
- Personal finance and money management
- Business structure
- Start-up costs
- Break even analysis and fixed versus variable costs
- Marketing plan (customer analysis, competitive analysis, location, pricing, and promotion)
- Cash flow concepts
- Record keeping and taxes
Class two: record keeping
- Taxes
- Control of the business: making decisions
- Business checking account
- Initial set up of books
- Who keeps the books
Class three: marketing plan
- Customer analysis
- Product analysis
- Competitive analysis -- local markets
- Pricing
- Promotion
Class four: Cash flow concepts and business planning
- Cash flow cash cycle
- Pro-forma cash flow
- Cash flow versus budget
Class five: Review
- Key concepts
- Importance of a written business plan
Individual technical assistance was offered at each class.
Context
Yazoo Community Action Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of services to the Yazoo County community in Mississippi. Two major areas of focus are social services and economic development. The organization's objective is to identify and eliminate poverty through the most efficient and effective use of resources and to enable the less fortunate to secure opportunities needed to become self-sufficient.
Yazoo County has a population of 25,697. The unemployment rate in 1999 was 8.1 percent.
