Business Plan Phase 1

SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Business Plan Phase 2 Washington Financial Development Service NPO

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx Executive Summary

Our mission is to build strong communities across America by providing financial education and investment/banking services to the general public at a reasonable cost. We plan to offer three different products/services to our clients. The first is a variety of finance/real estate classes to be taught at our facilities. There, clients can learn the basics of personal finance and real estate in a formal classroom setting. The second is a high school outreach program that teaches high school juniors and seniors basic knowledge financial topics such as maintaining a good credit score, using credit cards responsibly, and applying for student loans. The third service we offer is a referral program where we refer our clients to local financial institution and real estate agencies to receive services at a discounted rate. After completing our courses, our clients will be able to apply the knowledge they’ve gained to the real world and begin to make financial decisions that help to improve their lives.

Very few people have a solid foundation in finance. Our goal is to eliminate ignorance in this country as it pertains to the subject. The recent housing market crisis showed us how detrimental ignorance can be to our economy. With that in mind, we hope to reach the widest target market possible. Any person over the age of 17 in the New Orleans are with disposable income is a potential client. Our first office will be in the city of New Orleans but we plan to branch out further into the metro area.

Barriers to entry in this industry manifest themselves in the form of opportunity costs for any potential new entrants. The services we offer are not very profitable and are mostly subsidized by government grants. Since our mission is not one of high profitability, we have an advantage over any new entrant. Most potential entrants would find opportunities to be more profitable in other areas of finance.

There are a few technologies that we feel will be vital to the success of this company.

Those technologies include open source software, mobile applications, virtual classrooms and our company website. Open source software packages are important to our business because they give us the tools we need to manage our internal business needs and facilitate our learning programs at very little monetary cost. Mobile applications will allow our employees to access important company information directly from their smartphones from anywhere in the country.

Virtual classrooms may also help us to expand our services nationwide while still operating in our local community. While we are not yet committed to adopting virtual classrooms into our business model, we are closely monitoring the progress of this technology for consideration into our future business expansion. Our company website will also be an important technology for us because it is an important promotion tool for our company to potential clients and also allows us to interact directly with our current clients through our “Ask a financial expert” forum.

The metro New Orleans area is still struggling to recover from hurricanes Katrina and

Rita. The recovery effort can greatly benefit from a population that is well-educated in real estate and finance. By training clients in real estate and finance, we hope to help increase home ownership rates and promote stable communities. Our clients will learn how to improve their credit scores so that home loans and car financing will become more affordable. Teaching our clients how to their lower interest expense will allow residents greater financial freedom to pump money into our local economy. These benefits will help New Orleans recover faster and rebuild stronger than before. Our services will be reasonably priced in comparison to our competitors but our true strength lies in our local ownership and community ties. We plan to position our company in a manner that places our brand among other easily recognized New Orleans favorites such as

Copeland’s (restaurant), McKenzie’s (bakery) or Danny & Clyde’s (gas, grocery, and food). Our operation is locally owned and our ownership and staff are all residents of the New Orleans area.

This gives us a large amount of flexibility to adapt to changing business conditions.

Our first year budget consists of an office lease, office supplies and appliances, salaries, advertising/marketing, website development, computers, and smartphones. These costs will be analyzed in detail later in this presentation. We are asking for a loan in the amount of $36,000 to help us cover the shortfall from funding we have received from grants and donations. Table of Contents Venture Overview 1-3

Product/Service 4- 8

Industry Analysis 9-11

Technology Adoption/Trend Analysis 12-15

Market Analysis/Market Strategy 16-18

Financials 19-21

Social Impact Analysis, Organization, Risk Assessment 22-24

Conclusion 25 Appendices 26 Venture Overview Company Description

Washington Financial NPO is a not-for-profit financial education company that focuses on community development through education and outreach initiatives by providing real estate/financial courses and referring clients to real estate/financial institutions. We plan to hire experienced individuals in the banking and finance field to teach classes at one of our facilities for a fee. We also plan to travel to various high schools to teach students how to manage their money and keep a healthy credit score before they go to college. Clients who finish coursework with our company will be referred to our local business affiliates for discounts on their financial and real estate services.

Business Model

Our business model is to use a small number of well trained professionals to provide a high quality teaching service to large classes. This way, we are able to spread our operating costs out over many clients so that each individual contribution is not great. We will develop close relationships with other local financial/real estate companies so that we can refer our customers to them for services and they can refer clients to us for education and training. Our high school education program will contribute to our success by generating profits and also by introducing future potential clients to our company at an early age.

Value Proposition- We offer the tools and training necessary for our clients take control of their finances and solidify their financial future.

Revenue model

Since Washington Financial NPO is a non-profit organization, we will receive a large portion of our funding through grants and donations. Despite our structure as a non-profit organization, our ability to recruit new employees, lease better facilities, offer a better variety of services, and expand our market depends on our ability to generate profits from our services.

Our Revenue model is based upon the three profit-generating functional areas of our company. The first and largest is our general financial education program. Clients will pay a fee to take classes at our facility in a variety of subjects related to real-estate and finance. Our homebuyer training program will provide much of the revenue for our first year of operations.

With the metro New Orleans area still in recovery, we expect a steady stream of clients for our services.

The second functional area is our high school financial development program. For this program, we will send company representatives to participating high schools to give juniors and seniors a crash-course introduction into managing their finances. This portion of our business will be funded through a contract with the local school-board but is not expected to be particularly profitable.

The third profit generating area of our company is our referral service. Companies that align themselves with our company will pay us a small referral fee for any business they receive as a result of our recommendations. We only plan to align our company with the largest, most trustworthy businesses so that we can maximize the number of referrals we make. There are many instances when customers contact local business for financial/real estate services only to find that they are required to complete a training course first. Businesses that refer these customers to our company for training will have an equal portion of their future referral fees waived.

Current funding and funding sources

Washington Financial is structured as a not-for-profit entity so that we can benefit from government grants and donations. We plan to use government grant money, donations and gifts for most of the initial funding but we also plan to procure a $36,000 bank loan to help cover our budget shortfall. PRODUCT/SERVICES Customer need

Understanding personal finance is extremely important to the financial stability of most

American families, yet there few formal avenues available to the public to achieve this understanding. Those interested in learning personal finance are forced to take courses in college or learn over the internet. This company is designed to fill the void between online learning and college. Our staff of experienced professionals will ensure that our clients have access to the most current financial information and strategies.

The recent housing crisis has taught us that the price of ignorance can be very high.

Predatory lenders profited at the expense of those who did not fully understand the terms of their adjustable rate mortgages. Predatory lending practices have since resulted in the foreclosure of thousands of homes across the country. By obtaining a solid foundation in real-estate provided by our new homebuyer training course, our clients can purchase homes with the confidence that they are making well informed decisions. A house is the largest purchase most people will make in their entire life. One week of class at a small fee is a very small price to pay to ensure an affordable home for the next 15 to 30 years.

The recovery process from hurricanes Katrina and Rita has forced many local residents to reevaluate their financial positions. Most New Orleans residents have been forced to rebuild their homes, their communities and their lives. We are committed to helping these families and individuals rebuild their financial positions better than Pre-Katrina levels. Our personal finance classes are designed to increase our clients’ knowledge so that they can manage their money more efficiently and make better purchasing decisions.

Major feature/benefits/limitations

Each of our three services has its own set of unique features and benefits. Our general courses span a variety of topics such as personal and household budgeting, debt management, credit repair, interest rates, and many others. We will also offer homebuyer training workshops designed to fit the requirements of various government housing assistance programs. These classes cover the entire home buying process and are required by the government for individuals to receive government housing grant money.

Our high school program also teaches the basic principles of personal finance but with more focus on topics that affect young adults. These classes will teach students the importance of avoiding credit card debt, the magic of compounding interest, maintaining a good credit score, and selecting student loans. Our representatives will visit each participating school once per month during the school year and give a 30-50 minute presentation on a finance-related topic.

We offer this service with the hopes that our young adults have the knowledge to make good financial decisions that enhance their ability to become economically productive members of the community.

Our referral program makes it possible for our clients to get the best services available in the area while also promoting business for local real-estate/finance-related companies. We are currently building relationships with local realtors, contractors, banks, investment companies, insurance companies and mortgage companies to find the best resources for our clients. We will encourage these companies to offer small discounts or coupons for services based on referrals from our company. This will ensure that our clients are able to make the best possible use of their financial/real-estate training.

The major limitation of our service is that it does not guarantee success. Our job is to give our clients the tools to make the best decisions, not to make decisions for them. Financial success is largely determined by individual persistence and determination. Our clients will have to practice diligence with regard to maintaining their coursework and monitoring their finances.

Market/economic conditions will also impact our clients’ success. Even with the best information available, we can never make predictions on the financial markets with 100% accuracy. Some of our clients will lose money as a result of the advice they receive from us. It is our job to make sure that our clients understand this before they start any classes with us.

Supporting Information

(Competitor site) New Orleans Development Foundation http://www.ndf-neworleans.com/ (Competitor site) Consumer Credit Counseling of New Orleans http://www.cccsno.org/

National Endowment for Financial Education http://www.nefe.org/

This company has a very similar profile and offers many of the same services as Washington

Financial.

Research and Development

Costs for our first year of operations will include employee salaries, office supplies and equipment, computers, leased office space, classroom rental, advertising/marketing, website development/maintenance.

Our timeline for the start of business is bases on a few major considerations. Our first task will be hiring and training three qualified employees to operate the business. Two of those employees will facilitate classes while the third employee will be responsible for coordinating our office and managing or class enrollment. The second major consideration is our marketing/advertising campaign. Since most of our advertising based on word-of-mouth and referrals, it will take up some time to market the company.

Once we have obtained all of the proper funding for the company, we sincerely believe we can have the company operational in a matter of six months.

Future enhancement/expansion

In the future, we plan to open facilities for our classes in other southern Louisiana cities such as Baton Rouge and Lafayette. In addition, we would like potentially expand our service nationwide by using virtual classrooms. We feel that we offer a service that the majority of people in this country can use. We would like to further explore the potential for virtual classrooms to help us reach people across the country.

Industry Analysis Forces that affect the industry as a whole The strength of the financial education/services industry is based upon three major factors: the overall state of the economy, changes in government funding/spending, and changes in federal and state laws. These factors will determine whether people purchase new homes, invest in the financial markets, and spend or save money.

The overall state of the economy is critical to the success of this industry because it affects the public’s attitude toward investing, spending, or saving. Although New Orleans is somewhat isolated from the current economic crisis, we could still suffer from the next one. If the local housing market were to crash, we would lose a large portion of clients for our homebuyer training program.

Government spending is also important to the industry because the government is currently offering incentives to people who purchase homes. For many of these government assistance programs, eligibility requires that applicants take classes in real-estate at facilities such as ours. This type of government influence on our industry is great because changes in government spending on such programs could greatly reduce the number of new clients we recruit for our classes.

Changes in federal and state laws/policies affect the industry because it has the potential to completely change the way we operate. If the federal government were to remove the financial training requirements for government assistance programs, we would have to find other ways to remain profitable. In addition, major changes in trade laws could have the potential to change our course offerings or jeopardize or relationships with referral companies. For instance, a major change in insurance legislature could bankrupt an insurance company that we rely on for a large portion of our referral fees.

Strategic position

Our goal is to become a permanent part of the local community. Our two major competitors, which are mentioned above, are based in Texas. Our local ownership will give us an advantage over our competitors because we will be better able to adapt to the business conditions in our community. We do not want to give off the impression that we are a large corporation that only seeks profits. Our mission is to serve the community and we feel that our connection with the community will help us to do so.

Porter’s 5 forces model

Rivalry is an important consideration in our environment due to the fact that there are other companies in the New Orleans area that offer similar services. Since there are fewer than five companies in New Orleans that offer these services, we expect our prices to mirror those of our competitors. Those companies are also non-profit organizations and they will operate under many of the same funding constraints we will. This is why our competitive advantage is so important to our success. Our ability to relate and interact effectively with the local community gives us the ability to gain a larger market share.

The threat of substitutes can arise when our product's demand is affected by the price change of a substitute product from outside of the industry. This threat is moderate due the rising popularity of online financial sites such as Charles Schwabb. This, coupled with the popularity of online universities such as University of Phoenix, poses a potential substitute threat to our service. Although these issues are not of particular importance to us right now, the threat of substitution could potentially occur once these online resources become cheaper, better in quality, and more desirable to potential clients.

Buyer power is defined as the impact that customers have on pricing. Since there are alternative methods of receiving financial education, we have to make sure that the total cost of services from our company is attractive. This could potentially be an area of constraint for our company since most of the funding for our program is through federal grants and donations. We may not be able to meet expectations if customers demand lower prices for our services in the future.

Supplier power can be characterized as the influence our suppliers have over the price we charge for our services. This may be important to our company due to the nature of our referral program. The initial negotiations we make with these companies will ultimately determine how much money we can make. Even after these relationships are developed, these companies may approach us with a request to renegotiate their fees. If we cannot reach an agreement, it will take us time to negotiate new terms with a different company. Barriers to entry in this industry are particularly high because of the level of expertise needed to offer this service, the amount of government funding necessary to operate the business, and a low to moderate level of profitability associated with this business. For most professionals in the finance and real estate fields, there would be a high opportunity cost associated with starting such a company because real-estate and finance jobs are considerably easy to find and usually offer very high levels of compensation. Because this is a non-profit organization, we do not expect high levels of long-term profitability and majority of the profits that we do receive will be reinvested into the business. Most of the money that we use to operate will come from federal grants as well as state and local contracts. This is a deterrent to many new businesses because most companies are driven primarily by profits.

Technology Adoption/Trend Analysis There are a few existing technologies that we feel would benefit our company. Open source software has become very popular and there are a variety of open source software packages that our company can use to help facilitate our business. Our website will also be a critical part of our business as it will allow us to promote our company to potential clients and interact with existing clients.

One of the open source software packages we will use for our classes is called

Kmymoney. Kmymoney is a financial management software package that is comparable to quicken but is free to download and distribute. This program is feature rich and allows users to connect to online bank accounts, manage stock portfolios, create budgets, and conduct a variety of other financial tasks. Clients can even create practice stock portfolios in order to practice their investment strategies without risking any of their own money. Our website will contain a link to download this software from the developer’s site. Kmymoney will give our clients a free tool they will need to manage their finances and practice the principles from our classes.

The other open source software package we will use is OpenPro. OpenPro is an inexpensive ERP package will allow us to conduct internal business tasks such as e-commerce and financials. Comparable small business software packages can be quite expensive, which can pose serious problems for our company given our budget constraints. Since we will have a small staff, every member of our staff will be trained to use program so that our business can continue to operate if our office assistant cannot work. It is important that we use these inexpensive software programs because they help us to lower costs associated with operating our business and allow us to focus on our core competencies.

We have also decided to integrate another open source software package into our business is called Kata. Kata is an open source database software package for small business.

We plan to deal with a large number of clients and Kata will help us document our clients and our transactions. The software features customized input fields so we can enter important client information such as contact info, course records, and payment history. We can also create, store, and print invoices directly from the program in order to help us keep track of our financials.

Kata if fully integrated with our email system so that we can easily send important information to our clients such as partner promotions, invoices, and changes in class-times/schedules. The basic version of Kata is free to use but we plan to purchase additional features as our business needs grow. Another service that we have given strong consideration into our business is called “ask a

Financial Expert.” This service is based on the success of the WebMD service. This service will allow our clients to ask general finance-related questions or ask for general finance advice. This service will be set up in a forum style layout on our website. Our staff will try to answer most of these questions but we will also rely on input from professionals at our local partner companies.

We will refrain from offering information such as stock tips or market forecasts. This service is designed to enhance our interaction with our clients and reinforce the principles they learn in class.

One technology that we will be monitoring closely is the use of virtual classrooms. If virtual classrooms become ubiquitous, the result could potentially be disruptive for our business.

Virtual classrooms allow students to interact with their instructors via internet and webcam from anywhere in the country. If students are able to attend class from the comfort of their home, we would not only have to compete with companies in the local area, but companies across the entire country. We will monitor the progress of this trend as we may even be able to incorporate it into our business own business model.

An emerging trend in the financial services industry is the rise of internet based financial services and education. Online universities are emerging rapidly by using the convenience of the internet and internet technologies. These online classes are often expensive in comparison to the services we offer but may become cheaper as the technologies behind those services advance.

Virtual classrooms may also play a bigger role for online universities. Additionally, online investment services such as Charles Schwabb offer investment services with minimal fees to customers. As these services continue to grow, we will have to be as flexible as possible so that we can potentially match offerings by our online competition.

Another emerging trend that may have an impact on our business is the popularity of the smartphone. The status of the financial markets changes based on current information and smartphones allow us to obtain current information at a moment’s notice, from anywhere in the country, at any time of day. Smartphones also feature organizational tools such as calendars, memo pads, email, and contact logs to help busy professionals manage their workloads. The combination of instant access to information and 24 hour communications makes the smartphone a powerful tool for work and personal life.

This is very important to my company because smartphones can be a powerful tool for our staff and our clients. By using smartphones, our staff will be able to instantly access company emails, organize class schedules, and access client data. The database software system we plan to use also features a mobile application which would give our employees direct access to our database from their phones. This would help us improve our ability meet to business and customer demands effectively.

Our clients would also benefit from the using smartphones because they would be able to access banking and financial information at all times. Most large banks even offer banking applications so that users view their bank accounts more conveniently. Our clients can also use their smartphones to access our website and ask questions with our “ask a Financial Expert” service. Financial success requires diligence and smartphones have the ability to help our clients reach their financial goals by providing instant access to information from the web. Market Analysis/Market Strategy

Washington Financial will serve the Metro New Orleans area with locations in New

Orleans and Metairie. We feel that we offer a service that everyone can use, which gives us a wide market. Any person over the age of 17 in the New Orleans area with disposable income can benefit from taking one of our courses. Based on 2009 census numbers for New Orleans and

Jefferson parish, there are currently about 646,535 residents who fit these criteria. We understand that not everyone will be interesting in using our service, but we feel that it is important to introduce every resident in the area to our brand.

Each of our services will target specific demographics. Our high school program is designed to target students between 17-18 years of age. These classes will teach skills that are relevant to all students regardless of background or college aspirations. This is extremely important to us because these classes will be the first interaction between these students and our company. We would like to make a lasting impression on this group because they are potential future clients for our other services.

Our Finance/Real-Estate classes will target different demographic depending upon the topic of the course. This gives us lots of flexibility in our advertising because we can offer our services to everyone in the area. For most of our first year’s revenue, we will target candidates for our home-buyer’s training course. This course will cater to candidates of government homeownership assistance programs such as the Pathway to Ownership Soft-Second Mortgage Loan

Program. The candidates for this particular program will be low to moderate income residents in the New Orleans area. Detailed income requirements for this program are listed below: Market Plan

Our market plan is very simple, yet extremely important to our success. Our goal is to position our company so that area residents view us as “Naturally N’awlins.” This means that our company represents the local culture and flavor of New Orleans. The rebuilding process after hurricane Katrina has helped to bring the New Orleans community closer than ever. We will reassure our potential clients that we are a permanent part of the local community and we are committed to rebuilding our great city. Our company does not grow unless the people of our community do.

Our advertising plan consists of a combination of word-of-mouth advertising, radio ads, company website and referrals. Since our focus is going to be on the local community, we feel that these outlets are the best way to advertise. These methods are also the least costly to implement. Television ads and billboards may be a possibility in the future, but for now, we cannot commit the financial resources.

One marketing asset that we do plan to take full advantage of in our first year is free online promotion through the Pathway to Homeownership Mortgage program at www.financeauthority.org. This site contains a link to all of the first-time homebuyer training courses in the city of New Orleans. Our first major marketing task is to get a link to our website listed there. Since this training course is required for eligibility in the program, we anticipate a large number of clients for our classes. Once we are able to bring clients in for homebuyer program, we will then be able to advertise the rest of our class offerings.

We plan to increase our marketing budgets in years two and three to make allotments for additional radio and newspaper ads. These ads will be important since we will no longer be able to rely on advertising through financeauthority.org. These ads will focus primarily on our ability to help our customers rebuild their lives and contribute to the successful recovery of the city.

The reason these initial advertisements are so vague is because we do not want to scare off potential customers by bombarding them with financial jargon. Our goal is to communicate our name to the community so that people remember us. Once this is achieved, we will expand upon advertisements to include our full range of financial services.

Our largest competitor, Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), is a large company based out of Texas. What gives us a competitive advantage over this company is the fact that we are locally owned and operated, which gives us the flexibility to adapt to business conditions much faster and a better connection with the members of the community. If another government assistance program develops in the New Orleans area, we have the ability to change class offering and schedules on the fly to accommodate the program requirements. We can also change our offerings based upon interest in specific classes.

SWOT Analysis of major competitors Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater New Orleans

Weakness Strengths Large companies may struggle to adapt to 40+ years of experience changing business conditions Large Company Structure Lack of advertising

Opportunity Threats First-time home buyer programs Growing competition New Orleans Recovery

New Orleans Development Foundation

Weakness Strengths Only offer one service 25 years of experience Lack of advertising Alliances with local banks

Opportunity Threats First-time home buyer programs Growing competition Expand their services profile Uncooperative business allies

Internal SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness Locally owned and operated Lack of operating experience Differentiated service Initial funding

Opportunity Threats First-time home buyer programs Larger, well-established competitors Local advertising Uncooperative business allies Financials

Key Assumptions Our financial outlook is based upon the following assumptions:  Majority of funding consists of grant money  4 part-time employees including myself  First year cash flows are important to the company’s success  Steady enrollment for the first-time homebuyer program will produce bulk of year 1 revenue  Loan amount only necessary to cover budget shortfall

Based on analysis of the most recent homebuyer assistance program in New Orleans, we anticipate a steady flow of clients for our homebuyer training program throughout year 1. Other companies that offered the homebuyer training course in 2009 experienced such a large increase in business new customers that classes had to be book at least two months in advance. Based on this information, we predict that we will be able to conduct our homebuyer training courses at full capacity throughout the year at a fee of $75 per client. This will give us an opportunity to earn very high profits that can be reinvested into the company at the end of the year to promote our growth and expansion. Year 1 Budget

Salaries (dependent upon company success) $120,000 Computers and Equipment $5,000 Website (Development, hosting, domain) $4,000 Office and classroom space /utilities $25,000 Office supplies/appliances $5,000 Advertising Budget $7,000 Total Budget= $166,000

Grants/Other Financing Sources Year 1 FINRA Investor Education Foundation Grants Program $45,000 Foundation for Financial Planning (FFP) Grants Program $45,000 Donations $10,000 Additional Government Funding $30,000 Total Funds= $130,000 Total Loan Amount needed= $36,000 Loan repayment $36,000 over 3 years at 5.25% interest Monthly payment= $1,083 Yearly payment amount= $12,996

Year 2 & 3 Budget Projections Salaries (dependent upon company success) $120,000 Website (maintenance, hosting, domain) $1000 Office and classroom space /utilities $25,000 Office supplies/appliances $5,000 Advertising Budget $15,000 Total Estimated Budget= $161,000

Pricing Model

Homebuyer Training Workshop (per person) $75 Misc. Courses (depending on topic) $20- $50 Highs School sessions (per school per semester) $300 Referral fees (depending on referred services) $10- $100

Expected Cash Flows Year 1 Homebuyer training course $63,000 Misc. Courses $12,000 High school program $6,000 Referral Program $15,000 Estimated Revenue= $ 96,000

Expected Cash Flows Year 2 and beyond Homebuyer training course $25,000 Misc Courses $17,000 High school program $6,000 Referral Program $12,000 Estimated Revenue= $ 60,000 Simple Financials Year 1 total costs (start-up costs and loan repayment) ($179,000) Year 1 start-up funding $166,000 Year 1 estimated revenues $96,000 Year 1 earnings before Tax $83,000

Based on these financials, expect to break even within the second quarter of business.

We are requesting loan duration of three years in case our first year cash flows do not meet our expectations.

Social Impact Analysis, Organization, Risk Assessment

The idea for this company is based on community development and renewal. If our company is successful helping people reach their financial goals, it would greatly benefit the entire city of New Orleans. Some of the barometers that to measure improvement in New Orleans are be higher home ownership rates, decreased poverty rate, higher median net-worth, and a flourish- ing local economy. These indicators not only affect communities financially, they also affect the culture of the entire city. Families with higher net worth are able to send their children to better schools, which helps to improve literacy rates and decrease drop-out rates. People who own homes are more likely to keep their properties maintained and join neighborhood associations.

This helps to keep communities looking beautiful and deters criminal activity. A stronger local economy helps to produce jobs and reduce the number of unemployed residents. This is why we feel that our mission is so important to the community. Based on 2009 census numbers, 28% of New Orleans residents live in poverty. Decreasing the poverty rate in New Orleans is at the core of preserving the city’s future. Impoverished communities in New Orleans are plagued with violent crime and drug activity. Those who live in these communities have the difficult task of working to provide for their families while struggling to maintain their own safety. Our company seeks to change this by offering the tools to help people lift themselves out of poverty.

Organization Structure

I am the only member of the management team for Washington Financial but the company will consist of two other business professionals who will help me orchestrate my business plan. My name is Leonard Washington. I am a recent MBA graduate from Southeastern Louisi- ana University. I currently hold a B.S. in Finance from the University of New Orleans as well as a number of professional securities and insurance licenses. I have professional affiliations with organizations such as the Financial Management Association and Finance and Economics Asso- ciation. My duties with the company will include business relationship management, marketing, teaching, and company financials. These duties will be conducted with the aid of an office assistant who will manage the office and oversee our class enrollment. My yearly compensation is estimated at $50,000-$70,000 annually depending on the profitability of the company.

Our two professional employees are retirees from the Banking and Finance industry. These employees will help me operate the business on a part-time basis. Their duties will be limited to teaching and monitoring the website. Their annual compensation will be $25,000-$35,000 (based on 20hr-30hr work week) depending the profitability of the company. Although there is a potential risk of failure for this company, we are confident that we have a solid future. The biggest risks we face are the failure of the government assistance program to produce a steady client base and a general lack of interest from the public. If either of these scenarios happens, we may not be able to cover the shortfall in our budget. If this company does not succeed I will be faced with the task of repaying the loan amount from my personal funds.

Conclusion We feel that we have a very strong value proposition for our business as there is little competition in our local market and the barriers to entry are high. Although there has been a recent rise in online competition, there is currently no practical replacement for the services we offer. Our financial expertise and strong community orientation make us a very attractive option for our potential clients. Our success as a company depends on our ability to train and develop our local community members, which is a task that we are strongly committed to.

As long as money is in use, there will be a need for the finance discipline. As long as there is a need for financial information, our company will be able to conduct business. Financial savvy can determine whether an individual is financially stable or lose their house and assets.

This company is determined to change the lives of those we serve so that financial freedom can become the standard by which we live. We simply need the funds to make this vision a reality.

Appendices Resume for Leonard Washington

New Orleans Census Information http://www.gnocdc.org/census_pop_estimates.html

Home » Census Population Estimates

CENSUS POPULATION ESTIMATES 2000-2009 FOR NEW ORLEANS MSA

Total population estimates by parish (2000-2009)

Plaque- St. St. St. Year Jefferson Orleans mines Bernard Charles St. John Tammany Census 2000 455,466 484,674 26,757 67,229 48,072 43,044 191,268 July 1, 2001 452,088 477,932 26,852 66,554 48,412 43,575 195,718 July 1, 2002 451,453 472,744 27,119 66,286 48,960 43,955 200,873 July 1, 2003 451,533 467,761 27,644 65,727 49,039 44,452 205,883 July 1, 2004 452,678 461,915 28,602 65,427 49,524 45,046 211,529 July 1, 2005 451,652 455,188 28,549 64,951 50,116 45,597 217,407 July 1, 2006 420,683 208,548 21,293 14,493 51,759 47,697 223,062 July 1, 2007 440,339 288,113 21,353 33,439 51,946 47,910 226,315 July 1, 2008 444,655 336,644 21,138 37,669 51,619 47,438 229,384 July 1, 2009 443,342 354,850 20,942 40,655 51,611 47,086 231,495

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. County total population and estimated components of population change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009. From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center.

Finance Authority of New Orleans www.Financeauthority.org