Elevate Entrepreneurs wraps inaugural cohort in Branson

Elizabeth Hughes seeks to add lunch-and-learn sessions to program offerings.

The Elevate Entrepreneurs “startup bootcamp” program in Branson wrapped its first cohort last month, and organizers say it’s set to graduate 15 participants Dec. 13.

The initiative teaches business fundamentals to those who want to own or already operate a venture. Elevate Entrepreneurs Director Elizabeth Hughes said some of the concepts covered in the 12-week program, which began in September, included competitive market analysis, pricing, cash-flow management, bookkeeping, marketing and finance. The spring cohort is scheduled to start next month.

“It’s everything that you would need to know to get a good understanding of what it takes to run a business,” she said, noting student retention was “tremendous” for the inaugural cohort as only one participant dropped out. “I saw a lot of growth not just in knowledge but actual planning.”

Nonprofit Elevate Branson made an undisclosed investment in the program, which included a one-time licensing purchase and annual renewal fee for curriculum purchased from New Jersey-based Rising Tide Capital, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Two cohorts are planned per year, and students are required to pay a $150 registration fee. However, officials have said $100 of the fee is refunded to participants upon graduation. At the final class on Nov. 22, which covered intellectual property and insurance, a total of $1,500 was returned to the students, Hughes said.

Of the participants, several had active businesses.

“I counted six out of the 15 entrepreneurs has made their first sale,” she said. “While it’s not a footrace – and I want to be clear about that with the students and everyone – it’s exciting to see new businesses open up and people make that first sale and see the potential and hope for the future.”

Beyond a hobby
Walnut Shade resident MaryBeth Hood decided to register for the program after hearing about it at Grace Family Church in Branson, where her family attends. Her husband, Paul, also attended a few classes but wasn’t part of the cohort.

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Hood said. “This was amazing in terms of practicality, in terms of the how-tos – on how to run a business, the people you need to be in contact with, forms you need to fill out, licenses and permits.”

Hood, who raises a small herd of dairy goats via the family’s Canyon Edge Farm, said she makes soap out of goat milk. It’s been more of a hobby than business for about seven years, as she mostly gave the bars of soap as gifts to people she knew had skin sensitivities. However, she also has sold at farmers markets and Christmas bazaars over the years.

“I’d break even or come out a little bit ahead,” she said, declining to disclose sales.

But turning the hobby into something more seemed to be overwhelming when it came to researching the idea on her own, Hood said.

“For me, it was just kind of intimidating to look at all of how I would go about doing this. But they took the guesswork out of all of it,” she said of Elevate Entrepreneurs. “A big part of it was the support. It covers so many of the details that I would never know who to reach out to.”

Making connections
Hughes said the first 10-15 minutes of the classes include a local spotlight segment in which a business representative comes in to speak about certain topics, such as commercial lending, insurance and merchant services. Speakers were represented from Arvest Bank, First Community Bank and Regions Bank, as well as local business owners, such as Matt and Jessica Farmer, who own Hollister coffee shop Vintage Paris.

“They could be that warm face in the room to understand that I’ve known where you’ve been, I know how scary it is,” Hughes said of the guest speakers. “It makes personal connections so that if someone wanted to go in and seek a commercial loan, they know someone from the local bank.

“For someone who wouldn’t know any of this, it’s tremendously helpful in terms of how they can get their footing in the world of entrepreneurship.”

The course also includes an elevator pitch competition in which students make 60- to 90-second presentations about their businesses. Hughes said Casey Parton, who plans to open a farm and garden supply store in Blue Eye next year, was voted by her peers as the winner in the first cohort.

The program’s final involves writing an executive summary of projections for working capital and three months of cash flow. Hughes said the summary is something participants can use moving forward but noted business plans can quickly become outdated.

“If you’re not ready to open your business tomorrow, this is a working and living document right now that you have in your hands,” she said. “You need to keep updating it.”

Hughes said the local spotlights added a level of enrichment for the program, but she wants to see them expanded next year. To do so, she’s hoping to add lunch-and-learn sessions to provide expanded presentations from topic experts to both graduates and new students.

“I do believe the secret to the sauce is community and networking,” she said. “If you don’t know where to go and who to ask, then you’re just kind of stuck.”

As the youngest of her four children is now a junior in high school, Hood said the timing for her to get involved in Elevate Entrepreneurs “was just perfect.”

“I personally feel that God puts things in your path at the right time,” she said.

Plans include forming a limited liability company for Canyon Edge Farm, getting involved next summer in the Ozark Farmers Market at Finley Farms and approaching boutiques and other shops in Branson, Hollister and Springfield.

“We’re definitely going to move forward,” she said. “I hope to have products in stores, and I’d like to have an online presence.”