FEMINIST BUSINESS SCHOOL
STRUCTURES & SUPPORT
NEXT COHORT: MARCH 2018
A business is a home—a place of pleasure and play, purpose and meaning, integration and embodiment. A place where needs are fulfilled and one can enjoy a sense of ease, efficacy and agency. Your business exists to support you. You, in turn, support it and it supports others. This cyclical nourishment is the foundation of a sustainable business and a healthy economy.
All too often, entrepreneurs forget this, unquestioningly adopting others' business structures, practices, and values as their own and then finding themselves depressed, depleted, and dispirited as their needs and purpose go unfulfilled.
There is no template for radical entrepreneurship. An out-of-the-box solution for feminist business doesn't exist. Only you can engineer a business the embodies your values, fulfills your unique needs, and enlivens your purpose. In Structures & Support, Part 1, you will begin prototyping your own Feminist Business Model. Building on the foundational work done in Concepts & Conception, we move into the first trimester, the Visioning stage of birthing a business. This is the phase of imagination and articulation. Here we begin to give form to our ideas and ideals.
Alchemy is the process of turning base elements into gold. In this course, you will gather the elements of your feminist business and compile these into a Vision Handbook. You will gain clear language around the what and the why of your business. You will cultivate a vision of growth for yourself and your business and bring your purpose and personality to the fore. You will undertake an inventory of needs and resources as you gain clarity around your products and business offerings. Your completed Handbook will serve as a foundational document for your business, housing the ideas and information that will be alchemized as you engineer your business systems and practices in Structures & Support, Part 2. You will also gain valuable language to use in your communications as your business comes to life.
THEMES
1. Introduction to Business Alchemy
2. The Elements of Your Business
3. You Are Your Greatest Resource
4. Cultivating a Radical Vision/Feminist Entrepreneurship
5. The Trifecta of Needs
6. Purpose & Products
Every week you will be provided materials around a theme, including templates for your Handbook, to guide you in gathering the elements of your business and articulating your vision. Through readings, audio recordings, worksheets, and guided visualizations, you will begin to prototype your own feminist business model.
Includes—
• 12-week online course.
• Vision Handbook templates.
• 4 90-minute live video classes. (Weeks 3, 6, 8, 11)
• Online group discussions with other students.
• Access to online materials for 9 months after the course.
• Business Birthing Handbook (PDF)
This course is designed for those who have a clear business idea or are already in business. Participants should expect to devote 2 to 3 hours to FBS each week. You will also meet regularly via phone or video with an accountability partner, to support your process. This class is the first in a 3-part series on birthing a business. This class also serves as preparation for writing a feminist business plan.
Prerequisite: Concepts & Conception