Leader guide: 8 entrepreneurship sessions

Before you start

• You need: paper, pencils, and a printout of each session's worksheet below. A screen is optional; the full course is free to read on Business 101.
• Shape of every session (60 minutes): Open, 10 minutes: what did you go and do since last week? Teach, 15 minutes: the idea, short and concrete. Do, 25 minutes: the worksheet, then compare in pairs. Close, 10 minutes: one thing each student will do before next week, written down.
• Your job is to ask: ask what they think before you tell them, and ask "how could you find out?" more than you say "you should".
• Keep it safe: students talk to customers who are family, neighbors or classmates, not strangers online, and never take money or share personal details. Your program's own safeguarding rules come first.
• What it is not: an approved curriculum or a credit, and not aligned to any Ohio standard. It is practical enrichment you run beside what you already do.

Session 1 of 8

Find Something Worth Solving

A real problem, confirmed by real people, before you build anything.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Problem discovery
• How painful and how frequent
• What people do about it today
• Customer interviews
• Validating before building

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Who did you talk to, and what did they tell you?At least five people. For each one: who they are (first names or "a farmer near Dresden" is fine), the last time the problem happened to them, and what they did about it.______________________________________________
2. Your problem statementOne sentence. Describe the problem without mentioning your solution.______________________________________________
3. Why do you believe this problem is real and worth solving?Point to what you actually heard. What surprised you? What would you need to hear to change your mind?______________________________________________

Before next week

Talk to at least five people who might have the problem. Ask each one about the last time it happened and what they did about it. Then write one clear problem statement.

Students leave with: A problem statement

Session 2 of 8

Know Who You're Building For

One specific customer, and why they'd choose you over what they do today.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Defining one primary customer
• What that customer actually cares about
• Alternatives and competition
• Positioning
• Why they would switch to you

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your primary customerDescribe one specific customer precisely enough that you could go and find them.______________________________________________
2. What do they do today instead of using you?Other businesses, a workaround, or doing nothing. Name the real alternatives.______________________________________________
3. Why would they choose you, and why start with this customer?What does this customer care about most, and how are you better at that than the alternative?______________________________________________

Before next week

Define one primary customer in a short paragraph. List what they do today instead of using you, and write two sentences on why they would choose you instead.

Students leave with: A customer definition

Session 3 of 8

Build an Offer People Want to Buy

Not just a product — what they get, what it costs, and why it's worth it.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Solution and value
• Pricing and packaging
• Speed, convenience and perceived risk
• One-time vs recurring revenue
• Why an offer is more than a product

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your one-page offerWho it's for · what they get · the problem it solves · the price · why it's worth the price · what happens after they say yes.______________________________________________
2. Why this price and this package?What does the customer pay for the alternative today? What did you do to lower their risk or make it easier to say yes? Is any of it recurring?______________________________________________

Before next week

Write a one-page offer: who it is for, what they get, what problem it solves, the price, why it is worth the price, and what happens after they say yes.

Students leave with: An offer

Session 4 of 8

Get Attention & Find Your First Customers

How the right people will actually find out you exist.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Attention and distribution
• Direct outreach, partnerships and referrals
• Useful content and answering customer questions
• Social platforms and search
• Building trust and earning reviews

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your two acquisition/marketing channelsName the two ways your customer will find out you exist, and what you'll do in each.______________________________________________
2. The real action you took, and what happenedWhat did you send, post or ask, to whom, and what came back? No response is a result too.______________________________________________
3. Why these two channels for this customer?Where does this customer already spend attention? Why not the channels you didn't pick?______________________________________________

Before next week

Choose two acquisition/marketing channels and explain why your customer is reachable there. Then take one real action in one of them: send the messages, make the post, ask the partner.

Students leave with: A customer-acquisition plan

Session 5 of 8

Sell, Deliver & Earn Trust

The path from a stranger's attention to a customer who tells a friend.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Understanding the customer's problem before pitching
• Communicating value
• Asking for the business
• Setting expectations and delivering
• Reviews, referrals and repeat business

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your customer journey mapFor each step (attention, lead, conversation, sale, delivery, review, referral or repeat): what happens and what you do.______________________________________________
2. Where will people drop off, and what will you do about it?Pick the weakest step. Why is it weak, and what's your first fix?______________________________________________

Before next week

Map your customer's journey through each step, from attention to referral. For each step, write what happens, what you do, and where people are most likely to drop off.

Students leave with: A customer journey

Session 6 of 8

Know Your Numbers

The economics of one sale, and whether the business actually works.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Revenue, variable costs and gross profit
• Gross margin and overhead
• Net profit and cash
• Break-even
• Customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and recurring revenue

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. The economics of one sale or customerPrice · variable costs · gross profit · gross margin · monthly overhead · sales needed to break even · what it costs to win one customer.______________________________________________
2. Where did each number come from, and which one are you least sure about?Quotes, prices you looked up, conversations, or estimates. How would you check the shakiest one?______________________________________________

Before next week

Calculate the economics of one sale or one customer: price, variable costs, gross profit, gross margin, and how many sales a month you need to break even. Estimate what it costs to win one customer.

Students leave with: Unit economics

Session 7 of 8

Build a Business That Can Grow

Priorities, a few numbers worth watching, and processes that aren't only in your head.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Ownership and responsibility
• Setting priorities
• Repeatable processes
• Simple scorecards and 90-day priorities
• Delegation and leadership

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your one 90-day priorityThe single thing that would make the biggest difference in the next 90 days.______________________________________________
2. Three numbers you'll track every weekAnd what a good week looks like for each.______________________________________________
3. One process, written downSomething you do more than twice, written as steps someone else could follow.______________________________________________
4. Why is that the priority that matters most?What did you decide not to do, and why?______________________________________________

Before next week

Write down one 90-day priority, three numbers worth tracking every week, and one process in your business that should be written down, then write it.

Students leave with: 90-day operating priorities

Session 8 of 8

Tell the Story & Pitch It

A clear story with the customer at the center, at 30 seconds, 60 seconds and five minutes.

Teach (15 minutes): cover these points

• Customer-first communication
• Problem and solution
• Credibility and evidence
• How it works and the economics
• The successful outcome and the ask

Do (25 minutes): the worksheet

1. Your 30-second pitchWritten out as you'd say it.______________________________________________
2. Your 60-second elevator pitchProblem, solution, evidence, and the ask.______________________________________________
3. Your five-minute briefingAn outline of each part, or a link to your recording.______________________________________________
4. What did your listener find unclear, and what did you change?Play it for someone first. What did they get wrong or ask about?______________________________________________

Before next week

Write and record three versions of your pitch: 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and a five-minute briefing. Play them for someone and ask which part was unclear.

Students leave with: An elevator pitch

Finishing well

• Pitch day: each student gives a two-minute pitch. Invite parents, or a few local business owners if your program already knows some. Give every student one thing that was strong and one thing to try next.
• Pass it forward: a student who finished can teach a session to a younger group with an adult in the room.
• Tell us how it went (optional): an adult can write to Launch League. Please do not send student names or work.