Objective:
- Learners will understand the fundamentals of budgeting and cost management in a start-up environment.
- Learners will be able to create a realistic and comprehensive start-up budget, including revenue projections, operating expenses, and capital expenditures, considering the needs of their business.
- Learners will begin to understand the importance of financial forecasting, to anticipate and mitigate potential financial challenges and ensure the long-term sustainability of their start-up.
Overview:
This session entitled ‘Managing Your Budget’, can be delivered as a one-off workshop or as part of a wider programme. At the University of Warwick, we deliver it as the fourth session of a six-session course (Enterprise Pathway Programme) to help students to shape, develop, and pitch an idea for funding.
The other suggested sessions are:
- Generating your ideas
- Building your concept
- Understanding your market
- Managing your budget
- Telling your story
- Presenting your pitch
The programme is suitable for any student, at any level of study. Attendees need no prior knowledge or experience.
Activity:
The activity follows the structure outlined in the ‘Pathway Session - Managing Your Budget’ PowerPoint presentation.
The 1-hour session would be delivered by a member of the enterprise team and covers the following:
- What is a business budget?
- How to build a start-up budget
o Estimating your expenses
o Predicting your income
o Projecting your profit (or loss)
o Reviewing your budget
o Creating a contingency fund
- Why do I need a budget?
- Top tips for managing start-up finances.
The session uses an example of an online retail business to provide the learners with context for the budgetary decisions that they need to consider.
At the end of the session there should be time set aside for questions, discussion and clarification.
This classroom-based session is followed by a workshop (45 minutes) where students can explore the themes and topics in more detail and work on their ideas using the tools and techniques outlined in the session, applying them to their own business idea or concept. This session can be facilitated by enterprise team members and/or student ambassadors.
Skill Development:
Students will leave the sessions with:
o more confidence in their analytical and financial forecasting skills
o a better understanding of their budgeting skills and how these skills will support the development of their current or future business ideas.
o a greater awareness of financial planning and management for start-ups
Resources:
- Pens and paper
References:
- QAA Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education: Guidance for UK Higher Education Providers (2018)
- AdvanceHE Framework for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education (2019)