Fresh Start Entrepreneurship & Financial Capabilities is a collaboration among several organizations with a shared goal of promoting economic empowerment for justice-involved individuals. First Step Alliance created this program in partnership with the Transactional Law Clinics of Harvard Law School, the Mayor's Office of Returning Citizens in Boston, and SCORE, an SBA-funded non-profit organization and the largest volunteer small business mentoring network in the U.S.
Introduction to the Course
Are you ready to take control of your financial future and kickstart your entrepreneurial journey?
Fresh Start Entrepreneurship & Financial Capabilities is your launchpad to gaining essential knowledge and financial education to help turn your business idea into reality. Through a combination of self-paced learning and online mentoring, the course covers the essential steps to successful entrepreneurship and guides you in creating a comprehensive business plan.
At the completion of the course, you'll be more prepared to take your idea to the next level. Whether you decide to pursue business ownership or other opportunities, you'll acquire valuable knowledge that can help you achieve financial independence.
What you will learn
Fresh Start Entrepreneurship & Financial Capabilities equips you with essential business and personal finance knowledge, offering practical tools to help aspiring entrepreneurs launch their ventures. Each session provides clear, actionable steps, supported by guidance from certified financial educators, business mentors, and credit counselors.
The course explores important aspects of business ownership, including:
- Factors that drive entrepreneurial success
- How to define and validate your idea
- Why you need a business plan and how to write one
- Legal considerations for startups
- Marketing to your target customers
- Financial health, budgeting, and credit building
Course curriculum
Fresh Start Entrepreneurship & Financial Capabilities is a comprehensive course that teaches students important business and personal finance concepts and how to write a business plan. It includes 8 modules and 40 lessons:
Module 1: Understanding Entrepreneurship
Module 2: Money Management
Module 3: Legal Considerations & Business Structure
Module 4: Startup Funding & Financial Projections
Module 5: Essential Components of a Business Plan
Module 6: Writing Your Business Plan
Module 7: Business Mentoring & Financial Coaching
Module 8: Certificate of Completion & Next Steps
Course Completion
The Fresh Start course is self-paced, however, students are encouraged to complete the curriculum within two months.
Upon successful completion, participants will have an initial business plan and receive a Certificate of Completion from First Step Alliance and the Transactional Law Clinics of Harvard Law School. This certificate recognizes the student's commitment to entrepreneurship and their efforts to build a path toward economic empowerment.
About the Course Creator
First Step Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to advance successful reentry and sustainable financial independence for justice-involved individuals and their families.
The organization was started by financial services professionals and formerly incarcerated community leaders dedicated to improving economic outcomes for justice-involved people and reducing recidivism. The founder of First Step Alliance is a seasoned financial services professional and graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She has decades of experience in the banking industry and is a certified SCORE mentor, helping aspiring entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership.
What People are Saying
"Dreaming after incarceration can be difficult. The Fresh Start program helped me out in way you couldn't imagine. My vision widened, and I decided I wanted to open a CDL driving school. Fresh Start helped me put that business plan into action.”
--Wayne Lane, Owner at Switching Lanes (Program graduate)
"This kind of training program helps people who are at the very beginning of dreaming about their business. They’re just starting to figure out, how do I do this on a larger scale? How do I make this a sustainable income source for myself?"
--Carmen Halford, Clinical Instructor at Transactional Law Clinics, Harvard Law School (Program partner)