BUSINESS SKILLS

TRAINING MANUAL
Introduction About this Manual

This is developed to help community people on how to start a business, providing basic
skills needed for starting up or improving a micro business.

The training manual is developed on the belief that business, community and nature are
interlinked. Economic growth in itself can no longer be seen as the answer. Instead, it
must be coupled with a broader understanding of the principles of sustainability and
ecology. Otherwise, we only accelerate the destruction of the web of life that we all
depend on. Understanding how to sustain this web of life will help people to build
healthy and thriving communities.

When we want to create sustainable communities, we can learn from nature, because
ecosystems are sustainable communities of living organisms. The training manual will
be uses many images to provide basic understanding on effective business skills. The
purpose of the training manual is for participants to be able to communicate practical
business skills in a fun and effective way, and at the same time inspire an integrated
understanding of business, community and environment.

Target Groups

The training program is intended for people with low levels of formal education,
including illiterates.
However, choosing the target groups can be a challenge, because people vary according
to three independent parameters:

• Literacy level

• Level of business experience

• Languages spoken

You might find almost any combination of these people with business experience who
don't read and write, people who read and write but don't speak English, people who
speak English but don't have any business experience, etc. it is crystal clear that we
would ha a mixture of participants where everybody has his/her understanding about
business activities, So it’s important to make a choice of the groups you want to reach.

The definition of the two target groups includes all project Beneficiaries (SLE 1076) in
the 37 operational communities. to reach everyone, it's better to start focused and ensure
quality for those who attend the training.

Key characteristics

• Most Cannot read and write

• Don't own a business

Those who own business

• Harder to reach and train

• Lives in the rural/bush areas

• Less resourceful

Key training needs

• Learning how to start up a business
• Team building and team management
 • Time management skills
• Team-building skills
• Analytical skills
• Negotiation skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Sales and marketing skills
• Financial management skills

Filtering Participants based on knowledge in business skills

To know how many will

attend the training with
basic skills, you need to
setup a registration
process before the
training using small
postings papers and ask
them about the
knowledge they have in
business activities, by
so doing you will be
able to filter them based
on the knowledge they
have in business.
Barriers to Self-Employment
Not everybody is ready to start a business. Their
circumstances might prevent them from having
success in business. In such cases, it's better that they
deal with these barriers before they try to start a
business. The registration or public information
meeting can include a discussion about such barriers
and the pros and cons of self-employment. This can
help people to make a more informed choice of
whether or not to invest time in the training.

STARTING A BUSINESS
 What is Business?

 an organised economic activity

 exchange of goods and services for adequate consideration.

 a method of making money, from commercial transactions.

 activities whose sole aim is to make available the desired goods and services to the
society.

Characteristics of Business

 Economic Activity: Business is an economic activity, as it is conducted with the

primary objective of earning money, i.e. for an economic motive.

 Production/purchase of goods and services: Goods and services are produced or

procured by business entities, so as to add value and sell them to the consumer. Goods
 are either manufactured by the company or procured from the supplier, with the aim of
selling it further to the consumer, for profit.

 Selling of goods and services: Business must involve the transfer of goods to the
customer for value, through selling, meaning that if the goods are acquired for personal
consumption, then the transaction will not amount to business activity.

 Continuity in dealings: Every business requires regularity in transactions, i.e. an

isolated transaction of exchange of goods or services will not be considered as business.
So, to constitute business, the dealings must be carried out on a regular basis.

 Profit earning: The basic purpose of business is to make the profit from its activities. It
is the spine of business, which keeps the business going, in the long term.

 Element of risk: Risk is the key element of every business, concerned with exposure to
loss. Efforts are made to forecast future events and plan the business strategies
accordingly. However, the factors that affect business are uncertain and so does the
business opportunities, which can be a shift in demand, floods, fall in prices, strikes,
lockout, money market fluctuation, etc.

 Uncertain return: In business, the return is never predictable and guaranteed, i.e. the
amount of money which the business is going to reap is not certain. It may be possible
that the business earns a huge profit or suffer heavy losses.

 Legal and Lawful: No matter, in which type of business the company is engaged, it
should be legal in the eyes of the law, or else it will not be considered as business.

 Consumer satisfaction: The aim of business is to supply goods and services to

consumers, so as to satisfy their wants, as when the consumer (final user) is satisfied,
he/she will purchase the goods or services. But, if they are not, there are chances that
they will look for substitutes.
The consumer is regarded as the king, and so all the activities of the business are aligned
towards the satisfaction of consumers. This can be done by making available quality-
reached goods easily available to them, at reasonable prices.

Why Business Failed?

It’s no secret that a large portion of entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners fail.
Studies have shown a full 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% in their
second year, and 50% by year five. A full 70% of small businesses don’t make it past
their tenth birthday.

As a new entrepreneur getting ready to start a business, there is a lot of uncertainty

ahead of you. You are probably being reminded by family and friends how unlikely it is
your endeavour will succeed.

Here are eight common reasons small businesses fail

No vision

Successful businesses owners have a clear vision of their purpose and mission. Your
vision serves as a roadmap to help you see where you are today in relationship to where
you want to be tomorrow. Your business plan serves as the mechanism that will get you
there.
When you don't have a clear vision, it’s like taking a road trip without a map. You don’t
know where you are going, so you end up wasting a lot of time, money, and energy
trying to get on the right path. A well-defined vision will help keep you on track.

No niche

One of the most common reasons for business failure stems from having a poorly-
defined niche. A niche refers to a target market or area of specialization. If you try to
make your business attractive to everyone, it will end up being attractive to no one.

It’s better to specialize. The narrower your market, the better your odds of speaking to
the very people you want to serve. Market yourself as an expert in a specialty while
showcasing yourself to the narrow market that can benefit most from your services.

No business plan

Your business plan is your strategy. It details your business niche and target market,
your marketing plan, financial projections, staffing, and the features of your products or
services. It is your business plan that provides the strategies you need to move you from
where you are today to where you want to be.

If you don't have a plan to follow, your chances of achieving success are greatly
diminished. Plans have a way of becoming reality. Craft your plan carefully and use it to
guide your progress going forward.

No marketing plan

A marketing plan outlines the steps you intend to take to sell your product or service. As
one component of the overall business plan, it identifies your niche and the marketing
strategies you'll employ to reach your target market.

You should have a defined marketing plan identifying how you plan on reaching your
target audience. You should also have a marketing budget and a way to calculate your
ROI for each marketing method employed.
No action

Taking action is the foundation of progress. You have to get things done. Some business
owners get so caught up in process they are unable to make decisions. Others are
perfectionists who don't implement ideas because they think they aren’t good enough.

Neither are acceptable. Anything that prevents you from moving forward will lead you
down the path to failure. At some point you have to decide and move on. It's better to
make a decision and risk an outcome you might not desire, than to mull over the options
indefinitely.

No commitment to learning

There is no place for complacency in an entrepreneur’s world. Successful business

owners are constantly looking for new and better ways to get clients, as well as to serve
the ones they already have.

They are aware of the latest trends. They are constantly innovating. They learn about
and implement processes that increase the effectiveness of their day-to-day operations.
By committing yourself to learning and innovating, you're committing yourself to
success in all parts of your business.

No follow-up

Business owners that don't follow up with clients and customers are perceived as
inattentive, uncaring, and unprofessional. Lack of follow-up is a surfier way to lose
clients and ensure you won't be referred any new ones.

Whether it's returning phone calls, responding to e-mails, or delivering a product or

service to the client as promised, make sure that you complete these tasks in a timely
manner. Following up is fundamental to creating long-term customer relationships. Not
only does it show you respect your clients, but it is a standard of excellence among
business professionals.
No consistency

Consistent action is one of the most important habits to cultivate if you truly desire
business success. You must be committed for the long-term, because it’s going to take
time to build your business. You have to grind on; grit is a quality of every successful
entrepreneur.

Each day, commit yourself to taking one action that will increase your visibility or
credibility. You'll be surprised at how quickly these little steps build into much larger
successes.
Skills needed to start up a Business

The goal of the training program is to help micro entrepreneurs start up a business, or
improve their existing business, by teaching a set of core business skills:

• Generating business ideas

• Choosing a marketing strategy

• Using a balance sheet

• Creating a business plan

• Creating a cash flow budget

• Taking and repaying loans

• Keeping business records

• Managing the use of profits for personal use

This might seem like an ambitious list, considering the fact that many participants can’t
read or write, and that the suggested length of the training is only two days. Many other
topics that could be taught, perhaps more easily, like producing sales materials or
improving sales techniques, and indeed this is often taught to micro entrepreneurs.
However, a lack of more fundamental business skills, especially financial skills, is often
what causes the biggest problems for micro entrepreneurs.

Visual Language

When working with illiterates, it’s very helpful to use an inviting visual language. The
training program uses the metaphor of a tree to explain key business topics, and create a
link to the natural world and the principles of ecology. The tree can provide you with
straight-forward metaphors for many business concepts:

• Tree - business
 • Seeds - ideas
• Water - money
• Branches - activities
• Roots - sources
• Withering - loss
• Drought - bad times
• Flowers - marketing
• Fruits - results
• Soil - market

The tree can therefore provide a shortcut

to an understanding of the dynamic
interplay of business activities, how a
business requires a continuous flow of
money, etc. The tree is also quite
culturally neutral, which helps to avoid
cultural misunderstandings during the
training.
Connecting to Business
The tree is a good way to explain the
dynamics of business, and can link a range
of business, community and
environmental topics in a natural way. For
example, it’s a way to explain the
otherwise difficult topic of the balance
sheet. Roots show assets, while branches
show liabilities.
In this way, the business tree work as an
inviting entry point into different business
topics like markets, balance sheets, cash
Bookkeeping and Accounting

In researching bookkeeping or bookkeeping accounting, you may come across

information on accounting or find that bookkeeping and accounting are used
interchangeably. While there is some overlap between bookkeeping and accounting,
several factors distinguish these processes, as we explore in the table below.

Bookkeeping Accounting
Purpose Record an organization's Collect an organization's
transactions. financial information; determine
its financial health; provide
insights to guide leaders'
business decisions.
Tasks Log individual transactions; Analyze data collected during
maintain a ledger; provide the bookkeeping process;
daily updates. produce reports; turn ledger
information into insights.
 Recordkeeping
For small business owners everywhere, recordkeeping is a necessary and sometimes
tricky part of making sure a business runs smoothly. Keeping clear records of income,
expenses, employees, tax documents and accounts isn’t just good business. It can bring
you peace of mind, help you monitor progress toward goals and save you time and
money

Basic records for small business include:

 Business expenses
 Sales records
 Accounts receivable
 Accounts payable
 Customer list
 Vendors
 Employee information
 Tax documents
 Invoices
 Purchase orders
 Receipts
 Banks statements
 Contracts

Keeping these records will help you:

 Know how much money to invest to create your product or service

 Set pricing
 Compare budgeted amounts to actual costs
 Track spending
 Make wise decisions about purchases
 Prepare for tax time
 Access customer and employee information easily
 Protect your business in the event of an audit or employee issue
 Calculate expected profit

To start the recordkeeping process, determine a system for tracking transactions and

other details. It may be online, on paper or a mixture of the two. Here are some of the
most important records to include:

Sales log: This log should include how much you sell per day, per week and per month,
including the date, type of product or service and the amount of each sale.

Accounts payable log: An accounts payable log lists the money that a company owes
other people or businesses. Include how much is owed, to whom, when payment is due
and the date you paid it. Keeping a solid accounts payable log will prevent you from
being charged for the same product or service more than once. It’s also useful to track
discounts offered for early payments to help yourself remember to take advantage of
them.

Accounts receivable log: An accounts receivable log lists the money that other people
or businesses owe to a company for goods or services the company delivered. This log
includes a list of customers who owe you money, how much they owe and when the
payment is due. You can also include a list of customers who should not be provided
with credit due to past failure to pay. For each record, include the date, customer name,
amount, date collected and status.
Business expenses log: Here you’ll record the total amount of business expenses you
have, such as rent, electricity, salaries and supplies. The log should include date, a
description of each expense and the amount.

Purchase order: A document which shows the official confirmation of an order by a

buyer committing to pay the seller for the sale of a specific product or service in the
future.

Contracts: Whether you sign a supply agreement with a vendor, rent a new piece of
equipment or take out a business insurance policy, you should keep a copy of the
contract in your records. Keeping a copy of any contracts can also help you prevent
disagreements in the future.

Customer list: Depending on your business, it can be smart to keep track of

your customers’ information so you can advertise deals or new products. Include the
customer’s name, products bought, phone number, email and mailing or shipping
address. You should have a security plan in place to keep this sensitive information safe.

To stay compliant and avoid legal trouble, it may be important to keep copies of some
records even after they’re not useful for day-to-day operations. For example, you may
want to keep copies of all your contracts for up to seven years, but you should probably
keep auditor reports, annual statements and retirement plan records indefinitely

Basic Sales Recordkeeping

Produc Product Price Retail Bulk Units Units Total Total

t ID Name/Descriptio Date Price Price Sold Sold Sales Sales
n Per Per (retail (bulk (#) (SL)
Unit Unit* ) )
                 
                 
                  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 

Receivable Ledger
Total
Current 06/04/2023 Receiva
Date: ble: PAYMENTS
Invoice Paymen Paymen Payment
Invoice Date Number CustomerTotal AmountDue Date Balance t Date Payment 1 t Date Payment 2 Date
12/05/15 A1102 Customer 1 SLL 20,000 12/30/15 SLL 17,500 SLL 1,500 SLL 1,000
01/05/16 B2300 Customer 2 SLL 1,000 02/05/16 SLL 650.00 SLL 150 SLL 200
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00

Account Payable Ledger

 Total
Current Date: 27/09/2016 Dues Till ₹ 68,200.00
date: PAYMENTS
Invoice Payment Payment
Date Supplier Name Total Amount Due Date Balance Due Payment 1 Payment 2
Number Date Date
09/15/16 1-1005 Supplier 1 SLL 25,700.00 10/30/16 SLL 7,200.00 9/25/16 SLL 10,500.00 9/30/16 SLL 3,000.00
10/10/16 256X5 Supplier 2 SLL 123,000.00 11/24/16 SLL 61,000.00 10/15/16 SLL 25,000.00 10/20/16 SLL 15,000.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00
SLL 0.00

CUSTOMER CONTACT LIST

Customer Company Contact Contact Email Business

Phone Notes
ID Name Name Title Address Address
               

               

               

             

               

               
Vendor Contact List

Billing State or Country/ Contact Phone

Customer ID Last Name First Name City E-Mail Address Notes
Address Province Region Title Number
 <Company Name>
<123 Street Address, City, State, Zip/Post>
<Website, Email Address>
<Phone Number>
INVOICE #301

BILL TO LOCATION

<Contact Name> <Name> Invoice Date: 11/11/11

<Client Company Name> <Address> Due Date: 12/12/12
<Address> <Phone>
<Phone, Email>

DESCRIPTION QTY UNIT PRICE TOTAL

0.00
0.00
0.00

0.00

0.00
0.00

0.00
0.00

SUBTOTAL 0.00

DISCOUNT 0.00

SUBTOTAL LESS DISCOUNT 0.00

Thank you for your business!
TAX RATE 0.00%

TOTAL TAX 0.00

Balance Due $ -

Terms & Instructions

<Add payment instructions here, e.g: bank, paypal...>
<Add terms here, e.g: warranty, returns policy...>
<include project timeline>
 PURCHASE ORDER

[Company Name]
[Street Address] DATE 23/04/2020
[City, ST ZIP] PO # 110000
Phone: (000) 000-0000
Fax: (000) 000-0000
Website: www.templatelab.com

VENDOR SHIP TO
[Company Name] [Name]
[Contact or Department] [Company Name]
[Street Address] [Street Address]
[City, ST ZIP] [City, ST ZIP]
Phone: (000) 000-0000 [Phone]
Fax: (000) 000-0000

SHIPPING TERMS SHIPPING METHOD DELIVERY DATE

Cost, Insurance & Freight FEDEX 23/05/2020

ITEM # DESCRIPTION QTY UNIT PRICE TOTAL

12345478 Small part for FUJITSU inverter 10 SLL 25.00 SLL 250.00
87654321 Lighting adapter 1 SLL 75.00 SLL 75.00

Comments or Special Instructions [42] SUBTOTAL SLL 325.00

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer TAX 10%
adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue SHIPPING SLL 1,000.00
massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar TOTAL SLL 1,357.50