Spotlight On: Starting/Growing a Sustainable Business

plant growing inside a lightbulb representing sustainabilityA brand new class offered at Cañada for entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in the world and make a profit while doing it!

  • Learn how to start and/or grow a business that thrives by reaching the triple bottom line: profits, environmental stewardship and social responsibility
  • Conduct a self-assessment on whether you have the right stuff to start/grow a business
  • Learn the legal, financial and marketing basics of start-ups and young companies
  • Develop leadership and team building skills
  • Write a fundable business plan
  • Transfer: CSU.

BUS. 393 LA  - Starting/Growing a Sustainable Business for Fall 2014
CRN  93691
Wednesdays, 6:10-9:15pm
Building 5-221
3 units
Instructor: Chris Yalonis yalonisc@smccd.edu

Use WebSMART to register.

Who this course is for:

  • Students wishing to start a business while in school or in the future.
  • Entrepreneurs in the process of starting a business or at beginning stages.
  • Managers/leaders of existing businesses who want to embed sustainable practices in operations and products/services to cut costs and improve revenues/reputation.
  • Business community leaders, chamber leaders, policy makers, incubator managers, economic development leaders, who want to promote sustainability in their organizations and communities.

What you will learn:

  • Increased awareness and understanding of the broad range of business environments, structures, and management/leadership concepts for small business.
  • Create a business plan, capable of raising money and recruiting team members and partners.
  • Develop critical thinking and decision-making skills to balance environmental, social and economic performance requirements.
  • Self-assessment of personal values and embedding them into the business for social equity and justice, as well as environmental stewardship and responsibility.
  • How to demonstrate the business case for sustainability, its meaning and performance metrics.
  • Understanding profit and value creation using sustainable principles and practices.
  • Understand how to conduct a SWOT analysis as well as inexpensive market and competitive research techniques.
  • Raised awareness of business structures, legal issues, ownership forms, regulations and tax implications related to small businesses.
  • Work on a small team to analyze and critique an existing business on its business model and its use (or non use) of sustainable principles.
  • Increased awareness of green business entrepreneurial opportunities in various sectors of business, review of cases across industries.

Instructor – Chris Yalonis is a 25-year veteran of 7 start-ups as a founding management team member, as well as strategy consultant and marketing expert-advisor to over 100 other organizations large and small across the technology, consumer goods, and professional services sectors. He is the author of 7 books on management, technology marketing and international relations, including Guide to Writing a Business Plan and a new 24 week online course, Sustainable Innovation in Business, a masters level program, sponsored by The University of Vermont. He is founding partner with Sustainametrics, a sustainability consultancy that helps cities, businesses and colleges with sustainability strategy planning and execution. Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/chris-yalonis/0/58/109