The Curriculum

The Legwork

Module A: BRANDING
Module B: PLANNING
Module C: INCORPORATING
Module D: FINANCE

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started
is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks
into small manageable tasks,
and starting on the first one.”

Mark Twain

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The Webwork

Module E: WEB PRESENCE BUILDING
Module F: WORDPRESS
Module G: DIGITAL MARKETING
Module H: SOCIAL MEDIA

The Legwork

Module A: BRANDING

In this module we will focus on the WHO and the WHY of your new venture and how this applies to your brand.

Part One will shed light on Swiss company naming rules, explore why a good name and tagline can be key to your success, and provide exercises that can help you find a great name for your business, product or service.

Part Two will focus on translating that name into key visuals for your brand. We’ll look at different options to create the all important logo (for every budget), how to create a brand’s identity (including fonts, brand colours etc) and at online tools that make creating screen and products a breeze.

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Module B: PLANNING

In this module we will focus on figuring out HOW to get to where you want to go.

Part One will focus on why planning plays an important role in the entrepreneurial journey and the different methods and tools of planning. We’ll also look at setting goals and objectives to act as waypoints and milestones to help you progress to the next stage.

Part Two will take a look at how planning needs to adapt during founding and growth phases and how to prepare if you intend to bring investors on board.

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Module C: INCORPORATING

Too legit to quit! In this module we’ll check out how to make your small biz street legal.

Part One will explore available legal entities to choose from, the pros and cons of the main legal forms and what it takes to incorporate them (incl. costs).  We’ll also check out when it is mandatory to register the company with the commercial registry,  how that is done and what online tools and services are available to facilitate the registration.

Part Two will check out which insurances are mandatory and which ones optional, take a quick look at the Swiss three pillar social insurance system and what supplemental insurances make sense for a small business.

Module D: FINANCE

Nothing is certain except death and taxes. In this module you’ll learn how to get your financial ducks in a row.

In Part One you’ll learn who is obligated to keep books under the Swiss company law, what type of accounting is required, how to do it yourself if you are up to the task and how to outsource it (and at what cost), if the numbers game is not your thing.

In Part Two we’ll wrestle the tax demons in submission, getting to know the VAT system and its schedule and meet the corporate tax framework. All in a day’s work.

The Webwork

Module E: WEB PRESENCE BUILDING

It’s the World Wide Web after all. In this module we’ll look at how you build a presence on the Internet.

In Part One you’ll find out how to look for and register a domain, (ie www.yourcompanyname.com), how to look for a host for your website, set up your own email addresses and get an overview over the most popular content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Wix and Squarespace.

Part Two will be all about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) magic and why it’s so important. We’ll take a peek behind the scenes of websites and learn how to create powerful meta data to help your pages show up in the search engines.

Module F: WORDPRESS

Word up! This module examines the planet’s possibly most widely used content Management system.

Part One will explain the difference between hosting a WordPress site yourself or with WordPress.com / Wordpress.org. We’ll dash through a one click installation and then take a look at the different components of the site such as free and premium templates and where to find them, how to install plugins, create pages, posts and menus and add media content.

Part Two will focus on customising, updating and maintaining your WordPress site. We’ll also find out how to easily back up your precious data and install some safety features to prevent the site from being hacked.

Module G: SOCIAL MEDIA

Gonna get yourself connected! How to leverage the power of Social Media is the name of this module’s game.

Part One we will visit investigate the largest social media platforms (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn) and learn about their typical user group, platform characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.

Part Two will highlight services specific to different social media platforms such as Facebook and Google Ads, Google Analytics. We’ll also look into using cross-platform automation tools to streamline time spent on SoMe.

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Module H: DIGITAL MARKETING

Getting down to business with your DM. This module will convey the basics of online marketing.

Part One will convey the marketing basics for any brand. We’ll look into tools to research your key audience, how to create a customer profile and how to best address them. Some extra time is spent on email marketing as one of the major online instruments for reaching your audience.

Part Two we’ll look into different content marketing options such as blogging, vlogging, podcasting, etc. as well as how to effectively use search engines as marketing tools.