November 26, 2018

Registration Open for the Nature-Based Preschool Business Planning Workshop

When: March 7-9, 2019
(Thu, 6pm-8pm; Fri & Sat, 9am-4pm)
Where: Held at Chippewa Nature Center, Midland, MI
Facilitated by: Rachel Larimore & David Catlin of Samara Early Learning LLC
Registration: Early bird registration (through January 31) is $395; Regular registration is $485.
Registration will be limited to 15 participants to provide tailored support.

Details: Our goal for this Nature-Based Preschool Business Planning Workshop is to help your nature-based or forest preschool dream take flight. This two-day-and-a-half day workshop will not only help you get started, but also provide you the road map for accomplishing your vision. We will begin with an overview of the business planning process, then we will guide you on questions to ask and tools to answer those questions—all specific to the unique business needs of nature-based and forest preschools. We will provide specific guidance related to these topics:

• Key decisions (e.g., mission, goals, administrative model, partnerships)

• Programming plan (What will the program look and feel like?)

• Site plan (How do I determine if a site is right for my business?)

• Building plan (What does the ideal physical space look like and how can I achieve that vision?)

• Marketing plan (Who is the target market? How do I reach them? How do I identify potential competition?)

• Operating plan (How do I identify the nuts and bolts of my program such as schedule, registration process, insurance, etc.?)

• Financial plan (How do I identify and track start-up and operating expenses?)

• Risk analysis (What might go wrong in my business plan and how might I respond if it does?)

The workshop itself will be a mix of presentations and small-group interaction and problem-solving. We will also visit Chippewa Nature Center’s Nature Preschool. All of these activities are designed to ensure you leave the workshop having made substantial progress on your business plan. Yes, you’ll leave with more work to do, but our goal is for you to leave with a clear road map of next steps to quickly and efficiently make your preschool a reality.

Handouts, snacks, and lunch will be provided.

To register visit https://www.samarael.com/shop/nbp-business-planning-workshop-march-7-9-2019