Great Stuff for entrepreneurs here on the SYOB Blog!

I have been writing this blog since 2009. My purpose is to provide information on setting up business, entrepreneurship, enterprise policy and, of course, stuff that I am doing. The following will give you a guide to find relevant content on the site. I will continue to add new material and I hope you get some benefit from the information shared.

Thanks, Ken Germaine PhD

Elements of a business plan (May 2009)

Sales and Marketing (May 2009)

Financial Projections (July 2009, December 2010)

Getting Paid (November 2009)

Strategic Networking (May 2010)

HPSU and Ecosystem (August/September 2010)

Enterprise Policy (long form articles) (November 2010, January – May 2016)

How to Commercialise your Business Idea (December 2016)

EU funding and Funding Master (January 2019)

Write Your Annual Budget

Ever needed to write an annual budget for a business or organisation. Not an accountant? Our Write Your Own Annual Budget programme could be your answer. We lead through all the steps necessary to write a budget including how to project figures, how to estimate turnover/revenue, assessing set-up, material, fixed and variable costs (overheads) and then how to build these up into your one year cash flow projection. From there we develop the year 1 income statement and then we look at years 2 and 3, as well as, breakeven sales. You can get more information on the programme from:

https://projectmaster.eu/courses/write-your-own-annual-budget/

This is usually a 1-day full programme but you can do it at your own pace and in your own time. All the templates and workbooks necessary are included. The programme costs €29.95. Our YouTube information video can also be seen:

Write Your Own Business Plan (New)

The first programme on our new website http://www.projectmaster.eu we wish to present is our ‘Write Your Own Business Plan’ programme suited to the needs of micro and small-to-medium sized businesses. It is also suitable for nascent entrepreneurs looking to assess a business idea.

The programme is online, self-directed and practical and aims to guide you through the process of writing your own business plan. In each module there is a video which brings you through the process. At different stages you are prompted to pause the video and complete the relevant course work. All the necessary Word and Excel templates plus supporting workbooks are included in the relevant modules. It is designed to be easy-to-follow and you should be able to write your first draft business plan through the course. More information on the course and how to enroll at:

https://projectmaster.eu/courses/write-your-own-business-plan-sme/

Project Master launched by Funding Master

Project Master (projectmaster.eu) was launched today as a spin-off by Funding Master.  Funding Master (fundingmaster.eu) provides grant-writing services for clients but in its previous incarnation as Germaine Business Planning (germaine.eu.com) offered bespoke ‘Write Your Own Business Plan’ programmes with associated ‘Write Your Own Budget’ programmes.  All these businesses were established by Dr. Kenneth Germaine, a management consultant with degrees in politics and economics and a PhD in economic geography.

Project Master will provide online, self-directed training courses in business planning and project management.  Its initial offering has 4 courses:

1. Write Your Own Business Plan programme, suitable for micro, small-to-medium sized enterprises and nascent entrepreneurs testing their business idea (24 hours estimated.  Cost of Programme is €49.95).
2. Write Your Own Business Plan programme, suitable for nonprofit organisations and social enterprises and social entrepreneurs testing a social-business idea (32 hours estimated.  Cost of Programme is €49.95).
3. Write Your Own Annual Budget programme, suitable for those who need to write a cash flow projection or budget (10 hours estimated.  Cost of Programme €29.95)
4. Write Your Own Project Budget programme, suitable for those who need to write a cash flow for a specific project or grant/funding application. (10 hours estimated.  Cost of Programme €29.95)

Other courses are expected to follow focusing on project management skills.  The courses are driven by video of Dr. Germaine presenting the course materials, as if in a real-life class environment.  All the supporting documents and workbooks are provided and as the videos run participants are asked to pause the video in specific places to allow them complete course work.  At the end of each programme, if the participant follows the materials as designed, they should have a first draft of the business plan or budget written, depending on the course they are undergoing.  Payments can be made through either PayPal or Stripe.

For more information see http://www.projectmaster.eu, email info@fundingmaster.eu or phone +353 (0)834051321.

Enterprise and Entrepreneurship video

Enterprise and Entrepreneurship video: In this video we explain the difference between entrepreneurship, and enterprise and the different forms of entrepreneur. It is an information video so please feel free to share and use in educational settings.

Funding Master works with clients to develop, write and submit funding applications.  The opinions set out here belong to the author(s), they constitute opinion and nothing is intended to constitute advice.  The blog is authored by Funding Master’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ken Germaine.  Please view his profile and please connect with him at his LInkedin profile here.  Please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.  Originally published on the Funding Master Blog.  For more information on Germaine Business Planning please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.

Our YouTube Channel: see all our videos in the one place.

Want to find all our videos in the one place? 

Visit Our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/KenGermaine

Did you know you can find all of our information videos in one place?  All of our information videos can be found on my YouTube Channel at any time that suits you.  Please visit my YouTube Channel and please Subscribe.  You will get notifications on all our new videos as they are published including new information videos on all the new EU programmes as the programme manuals are available.

You can access our videos on the different EU programmes, our social enterprise/social innovation video, our enterprise and entrepreneurship video and our tips on applying for and managing EU projects.

Funding Master works with clients to develop, write and submit funding applications.  The opinions set out here belong to the author(s), they constitute opinion and nothing is intended to constitute advice.  The blog is authored by Funding Master’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ken Germaine.  Please view his profile and please connect with him at his LInkedin profile here.  Please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.  Originally published on the Funding Master Blog.  For more information on Germaine Business Planning please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.

A healthy, happy and prosperous 2021

1. Happy New Year
2. Grants calls still happening, lockdown or not.
3. We are looking to talk to experienced grant writers
4. We are open for new clients

A healthy, happy and prosperous 2021

2020 was a strange year so we all hope 2021 will become less strange as the year evolves.  I want to wish all our clients, partners and connections a very happy, healthy and successful 2021 both personally and professionally.

Since the start of restrictions last March, all the normal grant calls have happened.  Extra grant calls have happened in relation to CoVid-19.  It can take 4-6 months to develop a project and turn it into a grant submission.  If you are looking towards the end of these restriction and want to develop an innovative project for the next 2-3 years, then maybe you should be looking now at grant opportunities.

I am developing a panel of grant writers to allow us expand our offering.  If you are an experienced grant writer, especially with experience of EU grant writing, I would like to talk to you.  This would be a panel of grant writing associates that we would bring in to support specific applications.  Email, info@fundingmaster.eu.

Naturally, as we expand our offering, we are open to taking on new clients.  If you are interested you can find out more about our service at https://youtu.be/YR4TQMKTJfo.  If you would like to have a non-committal initial talk then contact me at info@fundingmaster.eu.

Have a great 20201 everybody!

Funding Master’s Christmas video message

Funding Master wishes all our clients, project partners, friends and connections a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2021.

4 new information videos on grants from Funding Master

Over the last few weeks, we have published a number of new information videos aimed at specific sectors: SME, municipalities and nonprofits.  We also have been running a video ad on YouTube and recently on Facebook.  Here are the links to these videos.  Please feel free to share these information videos to contacts who you think may benefit from them.

Grants and SME: https://youtu.be/TdG0gQOwSD8

Municipalities and EU Grants:  https://youtu.be/6ZR7YCOOFAw

Nonprofits and EU Grants:  https://youtu.be/bNHU_cL2kBQ

Maximising EU Grants [ad]:  https://youtu.be/u9L8mc6Hh7k

These augment our most popular videos on applying for and managing EU projects:

Tips on applying for EU funding: https://youtu.be/IYC5HmeNgKw

Tips on managing EU-funded projects:  https://youtu.be/aHqc73OeWoU

If I can be of assistance to you then please contact me on ken@fundingmaster.eu.   

Funding Master works with clients to develop, write and submit funding applications.  The opinions set out here belong to the author(s), they constitute opinion and nothing is intended to constitute advice.  The blog is authored by Funding Master’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ken Germaine.  Please view his profile and please connect with him at his LInkedin profile here.  Please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.  Originally published on the Funding Master Blog.  For more information on Germaine Business Planning please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.

Nonprofits and EU grants [video]

Nonprofits and Grants : Nonprofit organisations provide a wide range of services and programmes to vulnerable individuals and communities across the European Union on a daily basis. They are structured differently in different countries but are in principle non-governmental bodies, established for a mainly social purpose, many with charitable status and either owned by the community or in trust for them. They are called many things; associations, cooperatives, mutuals, community groups, voluntary bodies, charities, social enterprises etc. However, they all provide an unseen but essential range of services to their communities of interest.

In this video Funding Master will explain how and why, nonprofit organisations should be using EU funding strategically to develop new and innovative solutions to their communities of interests and social mission. We explain the range of grants available and how a nonprofit organisation can utilise these funding programmes across a range of activities.  Funding Master’s team have worked in the nonprofit sector for many years, serving at all levels including CEO, Board member, Chairperson and volunteer levels. Nonprofits and EU grants is subtitled and translated in to several European languages.

Funding Master works with clients to develop, write and submit funding applications.  The opinions set out here belong to the author(s), they constitute opinion and nothing is intended to constitute advice.  The blog is authored by Funding Master’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ken Germaine.  Please view his profile and please connect with him at his LInkedin profile here.  Please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.  Originally published on the Funding Master Blog.  For more information on Germaine Business Planning please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.

Municipalities and EU Funding [video]

NEW: Municipalities and EU Funding : In this video, Funding Master explains how a municipality can use EU funding as a strategic lever to co-fund innovation projects.  This can work across the entire range of municipal departments. Not only does EU funding bring co-funding to projects but the requirement to collaborate with other municipalities, third-level institutions, community and voluntary organisations, business and other experts.  This can result in the innovative local project being far more impactful rather than going it alone. If a municipality does not have a designated EU-funding unit then working with Funding Master could provide an effective, cost efficient way to strategically use EU funding applications to support your municipality’s work.

Municipalities and EU Funding

Municipalities, also known as local authorities or local councils, exist in every EU country.    The exact roles and powers of municipalities vary from country to country, but the key functions and structures are universal.  Every municipality is run by, or accountable to, a council made up of elected local councilors.  The chair of the council is normally the Mayor.   Some mayors are directly elected and some are elected by the Council members.  Mayors have different levels of power and authority in different countries, but, in continental European countries Mayors have significant powers and effectively lead the council during their term of office.

Municipalities are the most basic level of democratic representation.  They deliver key services including planning and development of their city, area or region. They also deliver utilities and oversee a large range of services, including education and health provision in many countries.  They also have a key role in the economic development of their area, culture, libraries, environment, social services, provision of drinking water and waste services.  The list goes on.

The EU places great emphasis on regional policy and development, and recognizes the key role of municipalities in that policy.  So, municipalities are important governmental structures, under locally controlled councilors, that provide a large range of services to the local citizenry.

Funding Master works with clients to develop, write and submit funding applications.  The opinions set out here belong to the author(s), they constitute opinion and nothing is intended to constitute advice.  The blog is authored by Funding Master’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ken Germaine.  Please view his profile and please connect with him at his LInkedin profile here.  Please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.  Originally published on the Funding Master Blog.  For more information on Germaine Business Planning please contact us directly here if you have any questions on our work or this article.  More information on our website here.