Existing and Future Entrepreneurs Panel Discussion

Curriculum developed in part with funding from

USDA/RCDI Building Entrepreneurial Community Capacity Project

Lesson Plan

Thiscurriculum consists of materials which can be used in whole or in part to help learners better understand how to engage in the development of a respectful, caring, cooperative relationship between a community and its businessemployers that can ultimately cultivate a more ‘entrepreneur-friendly’ community environment. The materials may include:

  1. Lesson Plan/Teaching Outline to teach a 2 hour session including:
  2. Introduction including purpose of session (how this supports building an entrepreneur friendly community)
  3. Teaching Steps
  1. Materials to be distributed prior to and during the class (handouts)
  2. Agenda or overview of session
  3. Work sheets
  4. Reading lists
  5. Web Based Media:
  6. Web based materials such as audio, video, podcasts, blogs, etc.
  1. Power Point slides and accompanying slide narrative comments
  1. Video podcast
  1. Additional Resources: to gain more depth
  2. Web sites or blogs
  3. Additional reading materials

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For more information, feel free to contact the author:

Myra Moss

e-mail:

office: 614.292.8436


Author bio:

Myra is currently engaged in sustainable economic and community development programming as a Community Development Educator with Ohio State University Extension. She works with public officials, residents and OSU Extension professionals to developprograms and tools that implement community activities in sustainable visioning, planning and entrepreneurship.

Primary Learning Objectives

Learners will:

  1. Assist class participants apply what they have learned in the instructional sessions to their local context
  2. Assist class participants identify critical issues where the community could provide support to assist emerging and existing entrepreneurs

Secondary Learning Objectives

Learners will

  1. Learn the importance of providing supportive services to local entrepreneurs (this learning objective is targeted to non-class participants who may come to this session)
  2. Discover the current contribution of entrepreneurs to the community
  3. Identify current entrepreneurs to potentially participant in the establishment of a local entrepreneur network

Facilitator notes, session arrangements and roles

Notes: The panel discussion was created to help community leaders apply what they have learned in the instructional sessions to their local context. Successful local entrepreneurs are asked to share their experiences with an audience of emerging entrepreneurs and community leaders. This session also encourages an invitation to community leaders and residents who are not class participants. Learning from successful entrepreneurs in the local community will bring out other individuals who do not wish to participate in the total program. Targeting the financial community and organizations that currently or potentially provide services to entrepreneurs is a good place to seek additional participants for this session.

Session arrangements:

Four to six local entrepreneurs are asked to share their business experiences with the participants. Be certain to assure the entrepreneurs that you are not asking them to disclose any confidential information about themselves or their businesses.

  • A good way to select the existing entrepreneurs to invite is through a representative survey of the program participants. Asking them each to name the entrepreneurs they feel are most successful should identify entrepreneurs to invite. Selecting the four to six entrepreneurs who are named by the most participants is a representative method to narrowing down the potential list.

The entrepreneurs will participate as a panel with each person given a set number of minutes to respond to each of the questions asked by the facilitator.

  • The list of questions should be provided to the existing entrepreneurs’ panel a few days ahead of the session date.
  • Entrepreneurs will also be asked to respond to follow-up questions directed to them from the participants. The ideal situation is an interactive conversation between the entrepreneurs and the participants. The suggested seven questions will be used to keep the conversation moving forward. Questions one, two, four, five, six and seven are to be answered by the existing entrepreneurs.
  • Question three is addressed to emerging entrepreneurs who are part of the audience. This question is intended to break the ice by getting the participants involved in the conversation as well as provide some background for the existing entrepreneur panel regarding areas of interest by the participants.

It would be helpful if key points by the entrepreneurs were recorded on a flipchart for use in the strategic planning sessions. Not all comments need to be capture, rather simply items that may be useful as the participants prepare their strategic plan. However, the responses to Question Seven should all be recorded for later use in creating the strategic plan. Also the session is designed to stimulate a conversation between the panel and class participants. The moderator should encourage responses and probing questions from the class participants to stimulate the conversation.

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