Objective
The objective of Business Management Consulting Services is to help build management capacity within firms thereby mitigating risk to the firm, its clients, and its lenders. This service gives business owners the opportunity to participate in an interactive management tool, allowing firms to benefit by consulting with qualified advisors and interfacing with their peers.
Approach
The Business Roundtable is a management development tool, which uses the results of the gap assessment and recommendations from the Near Term Plan to develop the management capacity of business owners and the growth capacity of their businesses. Firm participation in the Business Roundtable helps to mitigate risk levels to lenders and clients by taking a proactive approach to business management. This approach eliminates costly mistakes in a firm’s business operations.
In the Business Roundtable, business owners are resources to one another and are able to develop creative solutions by collaborating on common obstacles. Participants benefit from:
• Knowledge and experiences of fellow business owners and advisor consultants
• Resources of the combined group
• Discipline enforced through group work dynamic
• Moral support and inspiration from interacting with individuals that have similar responsibilities and stresses
Financial ratios are used as baseline measures of business performance. Firms are graduated from the Business Roundtable when their ratio performance has met pre-determined standards and the firms have become mainstream bankable.
Features and Special Benefits
The Business Roundtable is an interactive management development tool, not a training course. Instead of utilizing a strictly academic approach to business management technical assistance, the Business Roundtable approach implements an applied learning approach. In Business Roundtable sessions principles present the real issues that they are dealing with in their businesses and work with consultant advisors and their peers to develop action plans to resolve those issues. Business issues are then monitored on a month-to-month basis by advisors. Through this monitoring, FBTI is able to identify problems in the early stages before they become too overwhelming and encompassing to manage.
Money Smart Program
FBTI will use the Money Smart for Small Business curricula as the base for the financial training. This financial literacy educational program focuses on providing basic financial literacy concepts to micro businesses in underserved census areas. In the past, FBTI’s financial literacy training to small businesses have been limited to the Central Florida are but through a required short ten-question quiz (after a completed financial literacy session) and technology, it will allow for a smooth, statewide expansion of this much needed financial literacy training medium.
Signature Events
FBTI, a charitable organization, hosts’ business development and networking events for our target market businesses of small, minority and underserved small firms including, but not limited to:
Business Networking Event (BBQ)
This networking, barbeque event will provide a casual and relaxed environment for developing relationships and securing business contracts. Invited attendees will include minority business owners and contracting agencies and companies that are looking to meet with minority businesses to partner and subcontract with for opportunities. Business owners and professionals will attend this annual event in hopes of identifying millions of dollars in contracting opportunities.
Business Opportunity Symposium Series (B.O.S.S. Events)
The Business Opportunity Symposium Series (B.O.S.S.) event is a quarterly forum designed to support and educate minority businesses by introducing them to Florida’s business leaders, executives and larger entrepreneurs in order to expand their business relationships and to inspire them for success.
Beacons Brunch
This event will focus on highlighting Florida’s trailblazing black businesses. Held during Black History Month, the event will celebrate and salute “Beacons: Our humble beginnings, our endless possibilities.” Minority and Black businesses will be chosen to be highlighted as trailblazing business organizations with a strong business foundation, superior services and products as well as community ties that encourage civic participation and social responsibility.
Central Florida Black Business Day
The Black Business Day event helps to foster an open and positive dialogue between black elected officials as well as top procurement officers in order to formulate strategic initiatives that would assist in “opening business” opportunities for black and minority businesses. The Central Florida Black Business Day event will include politicians, procurement professionals, executives, decision makers and professionals to lay a solid foundation to grow in future years.