Successfully Reading Business Plans

WHEN

Live webinar August 10, 2020 @ 12:00 PM EST
OR available available video recording

INSTRUCTOR

Phil Cohen

DURATION

1.5 hours

SUMMARY: Reviewing financial statements and immigration business plans can be daunting. Most immigration practitioners do not have a financial and business background and may be unsure about what to look for when reviewing business documents. Our instructor, an experienced business plan writer, will review each element of the immigration business plan, explain the logic behind them, and guide immigration practitioners on what they should focus on when reviewing these plans. The course will also explore how immigration practitioners should review corporate financial statements and projections and what may be areas of further discussion with clients and their business planers. 

  • Introduction
    • Outline of the session
    • Main objectives of the plan: What do we want to know?
    • Factors that permeate all parts of the plan
    • ​Supporting legal requirements
  • The first look: things to check before a full review
  • Business goals
  • Ownership
  • Operations review
  • Market Understanding
    • Target market
    • Market research
    • Feasibility
  • Marketing and sales
  • Establishing the business
  • Sanity check: can they deliver?
  • Team: what to look for?
    • Different types of team structures
    • Making up for inexperience
    • Hiring Timeline
  • Reviewing financial details
    • Funding and timing
    • Sources and use of funds
    • Projected Income Statements
    • Assumptions: how were projections built?
    • The ‘validation waterfall’ and independent perspective
  • Permits and licenses
  • Final thoughts and credibility considerations​

See Full Course Outline

CPD CREDITS 

For Lawyers and Paralegals

Law Society of Ontario
   • Substantive Hours: This program is eligible for up to 1.5 hours

Law Society of British Columbia
   • Approved for 1.5 CPD credits

Law Society of Saskatchewan
   • Approved for 1.5 CPD hours

Law Society of New Brunswick
   • Approved for 1.5 CPD hours

Law Societies of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
   • For members of these Law Societies, consider including this course as a CPD learning activity in your mandatory annual requirements

Further accreditation pending approval

Purchasing Options

Single Course

Includes
• Access to the course materials
• Possibility to download and watch the webinar

Please contact us at info@lpen.ca for more information

Your Instructor

Phil Cohen

Business Plan Writer

President and Founder, Strategic Element

Phil Cohen is the founder and president of Strategic Element. His company, founded in 2010, provides businesses and immigration practitioners with assistance in the development and writing of business plans, feasibility studies, business plan reviews and economic impact reports.

​Phil is a graduate of the Administrative and Commercial Studies program at the University of Western Ontario.

​Phil has a long history of developing businesses, business concepts and products, dating back to 1993. With a career that began in the manufacturing sector, and later grew to include new developments in technology and market research, Phil has progressively built up experience in the area of new business development with a focus on transforming ideas into viable business models for large public corporations, start-ups and everything in between.

​Beyond the development of business concepts, models and plans, Phil has taken a hands-on role in the launch of several businesses and business initiatives. In so doing, he has faced firsthand the realities and challenges encountered by new businesses. This experience has provided him with the insight and real-life exposure necessary to develop business concepts that work.

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