Tag Archive for: training

5 Resources to Jumpstart Your Business Planning Process

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You may have a business idea but are feeling a bit lost on what to do next. Creating a business plan is a great way to get started. There are loads of useful tools and articles to read as you walk through this process. Here are a few to help you get started crafting a great plan:

The 6 Key Components Of Writing A Business Plan – Forbes
Sometimes entrepreneurs create business plans just to tell their investors they have one. Instead you need to think critically about how your business will work so you have good answers for yourself and your stakeholders.

A Standard Business Plan Outline – Bplans
It’s not exciting or flashy but this outline covers all the bases you need when putting your plan together. You can look at the brief descriptions as well as drill down into detailed explanation for each component.
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Want to Upgrade Your IT Skills? Useful Resources for BAMers

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Whether you’re preparing for a career in Tech, looking for resources to train your employees or just need to upscale your own IT skills, here are some helpful tools:

Learn to Code

Treehouse
Treehouse delivers ‘tech education redesigned’. A huge selection of online courses are available for a fixed monthly cost. A free 14 day trial is available. Treehouse’s mission is to bring affordable, technology education to people everywhere, in order to help them achieve their dreams and change the world.

Code School
With a mission to help you ‘learn by doing’, Code School is very similar to Treehouse. Code School offers a whole range of courses, and directs you through various training paths. There is a monthly cost for unlimited access to courses, or try their free package with 10 courses included. Read more

When Helping Hurts: Book Review

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when helping hurtsWhen Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert is a comprehensive guide on effective approaches to missions and poverty alleviation. It is a must read for present and future missionaries and BAM practitioners hoping to fight poverty. Corbett and Fikkert are both part of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College, USA. Corbett is an Assistant Professor of Community Development at Covenant College, and has worked for Food for the Hungry International as Regional Director for Central and South America. Fikkert is the founder and president of Chalmers Center for Economic Development, and is a professor of Economics and Community Development at Covenant College. 

When Helping Hurts provides practical strategies and systems that will change the way Christians approach working with the poor. Many have agreed that traditional approaches to poverty alleviation have had a negative long-term impact on the poor. Corbett and Fikkert test this theory, address the issues, dissect them and provide solutions.

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Ask a BAM Mentor: Meet the Mentors

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We are excited to introduce a new regular blog feature for ‘The BAM Review’: Ask a BAM Mentor.

Ask a BAM Mentor will be an opportunity for readers to ask practical business questions to experienced business as mission leaders, business owners and consultants. Every two weeks we will post a new question and hear responses from our panel of mentors. Submit a Question

Meet the Mentors:

Christa Foster Crawford 
Christa has worked to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion since 2001. In 2003 she started a social enterprise for freedom, pioneering small Food and Beverage/Hospitality businesses to offer sustainable alternatives to exploitation. She currently empowers the work of other organizations through the Trafficking Resource Connection, providing expert advice and referrals, resource development and sharing, and teaching and training. A passionate advocate, Christa speaks, writes and teaches internationally on issues of human trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation, and children at risk. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Claremont McKenna College.

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Four Pillars of BAM Preparation

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Living in Thailand, we are surrounded by houses built on pillars. This picture hangs in our house, a constant reminder of the importance of strong foundations. I think of a BAM business being like a house built on pillars. No matter what shape the house is, what it looks like on the outside, the pillars (or foundations) must be strong to support the structure.

Each individual launching into BAM will have different experiences and a different journey of preparation. BAM models and strategies will naturally be diverse. God is creative and He has made each of us to be creative. There is no single BAM model that will work for everyone, everywhere. However, there are at least four common areas that need to be intentionally built to form a strong foundation for any BAM business. Like the pillars supporting a house, if one of these areas is weak or missing the whole structure will be unstable. If you are getting ready for business as mission, be intentional about building up these four pillars of BAM preparation:

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Total Commitment: Import-Export in China

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For 9 years Gabriella and her husband Marco have been successfully exporting goods from China to their native Brazil.  Starting from nothing, they have built up a small company ‘Total Import & Export’, based in China. The company handles research, negotiations, quality control, logistics and shipping arrangements on behalf of their Brazilian clients. Most of their income is generated in commission, as a percentage of the value of the goods exported. Other income sources include the company’s hospitality services and product research services.

To date Gabriella and Marco have exported over 200 containers and have been profitable since the beginning. They export a diverse range of goods, everything from industrial sewing machines to floor tiles, from power tools to fashion accessories. Their company has grown through referrals from existing clients, with recent approaches from new clients in Singapore and the USA, as well as ever growing interest in South America.

However, in the past Gabriella and Marco have been somewhat reluctant to embrace this growth, in fact they have been reluctant business people. Gabriella admits, “I have actually asked some clients to keep quiet about us, I have told them I don’t want the business to grow too much!” However, recently everything has changed and as Gabriella puts it, “I have had my thinking turned completely upside-down.” Read more

Tag Archive for: training