The Vancouver Urban Farming Society, Young Agrarians, and Vancity are partnering to present a workshop to help you grow your urban farm business! To support new and aspiring entrepreneurs, Vancity offers the Each One Grow One sessions which provide information and tools to help make your young business more financially stable and sustainable.
The half day workshop will address two topics as identified by the urban farming community, Keys to Market Research and Making the Most of Your Money. It will be co-facilitated by Vancity and Urban Farmer Marc Schutzbank.
WHERE: Vancity Oakridge Community Branch, 5594 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC V5Z
WHEN: Saturday, 25 April 2015 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (PDT)
COST: $12 per person (includes lunch)
REGISTER: Market Research & Money Management for Urban Farmers
Join the event and invite your farm friends on Facebook!
Part 1: Keys to Market Research
You have a business idea that everyone says you should pursue. That’s encouraging, but how will you figure out if there’s a large enough market for your product or service to support you in your own business? Or, if you’ve already launched and the clients aren’t beating down your door, how can you find them?
In this session, you will:
- Learn how to determine who your customers are and how to reach them
- Learn about the different benefits and drawbacks of a variety of market research tools
- Identify the best market research approach for your own business
Key Points:
- What is market research?
- Why do market research?
- What are market trends?
- Market research process
Part 2: Make the Most of Your Money
You may be applying for a loan but don’t know if your credit score will help you or hurt you. Your business idea is advancing with expansion around the corner. All signs say that you are on the right track, if you only had access to more funding to support increased sales. Where do you turn to get access to financing you need to start or grow your business? Discover business account options and cash management strategies to facilitate your business operating needs.
In this session, you will:
- Learn about credit history and why it is important
- Learn how to maintain good credit history
- Identify common places to find business financing
- Learn what business accounts might suit you best
Key topics:
- Credit records, Financing, Bank accounts
- Types of financing
- Managing business money
- Cash management strategies
- Cash flow solutions
- Investment opportunities
- Small business resources
About the Urban Farming Co-Facilitator
Marc Schutzbank is the Executive Director of Fresh Roots. Marc helped to develop the non-profit organization and build educational farms on school grounds to provide food and educational opportunities for the school community: cafeterias, food security organizations, and neighbours.
Marc hails from the United States, coming to Vancouver as a Fulbright Scholar. As a graduate of the M.Sc. Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems program at the University of British Columbia, he investigated the economic viability of urban farming – exploring how urban farmers are developing their businesses here in Vancouver. One of those farms was Fresh Roots. Marc has worked with Fresh Roots to develop a green thumb business model that does social good. Marc has a background in genocide prevention policy and finance – issues that he worked on at the University of Pittsburgh when exploring ethical institutional investment. Marc loves to grow, cook, eat, and share – come on over for dinner! When Marc is not on the farm, you can find him running along the beach or checking out a new recipe.
