Teaching Entrepreneurs at Business Ownership Initiative

This month, I had the pleasure of teaching a class at Business Ownership Initiative. This organization, funded by one of Women’s Fund’s “Bold and Transformative” grants, (and formerly called the Neighborhood Self Employment Initiative), is simply fantastic. And I have had the honor of being one of their volunteer instructors for their curriculum of workshops.

BOI, in addition to free one-on-one business consulting services, offers a full slate of workshops designed to assist individuals in starting or operating small businesses in central Indiana. Most of the workshops are very affordable (often only $10!) and are taught by local area professionals, with expertise in the subject matter of the class. The classes range from subjects as basic as how to register a business in Indiana to as complex as how to implement sales and marketing strategies. BOI also offers workshops to address specific areas of interest such as “An Introduction to Quickbooks” and “How to Start a Personal Care Business.”

This month, I had the pleasure of teaching a group of ten individuals about the basic legal issues that can arise when starting a small business. The group was comprised of mostly people who had great ideas about starting a company, but weren’t sure where to start. Along with my section on legal issues, there was also an accountant to discuss taxes, a banker to speak about financing, and an insurance agent to explain the basic types of insurance most businesses need when getting started.

What is so refreshing and fun about teaching at BOI, and this class in particular, is how energized and engaged the attendees are. They are there because they truly want to learn about how to help themselves. No one is ever nodding off or staring out the window - which can happen at some of my other speaking engagements! Instead, the participants are hanging on the speaker’s every word, and asking great questions. This past class, I had to go back and do some research after the class because I had been stumped!

BOI isn’t just for low-income or marginalized populations, although it is a great resource for those groups. What I love most about it, and what I enjoy about being a volunteer there, is that I have the opportunity to get in the trenches with people who have big dreams, and are truly working hard to achieve them, often with no advantages, and even less resources. BOI gives them some of the tools to get there. And Women’s Fund has helped by funding BOI so they can continue supporting women of our community.