OC Entrepreneur Launches Programs That Instruct New Business Owners How to Plan for Success During Economic Crunch - We Love Startups! Offers Free Introductory Seminars Designed to Jump Start Ideas and New Businesses

Laguna Hills, CA (PRWEB) March 18, 2008

As a slowing economy and credit crisis threaten a recession, one OC entrepreneur is in the pursuit of helping like-minded people become self-sufficient and successful. We Love Startups! is a seminar company and Web site (http://www.welovestartups.com) designed to empower entrepreneurs, founded by 27-year business veteran, Erin Baldwin.

"Owning a business is a great feeling! With large companies not as strong as they once were, and the economy the way it is, it's understandable why so many people have recently entered the market to start their own businesses," said Baldwin, founder of The Baldwin Companies and We Love Startups!

The company offers three five-day intensive seminars limited to 12 businesses to accommodate their high degree of individualization. For instance, at the end of the "Business Plan Creation Seminar," each of the 12 participating companies will leave with a completed business plan. The second seminar will introduce companies to actual prospective financiers who will educate them on different forms of financing, as well as in the preparation of presentations to fund their ventures. The third seminar will help businesses avoid common pitfalls in operations and marketing to survive the hazardous first few years. In July 2008, a 90-day online program will be introduced for people who can't get away for five consecutive days, and would prefer a more relaxed setting.

The programs will be introduced by free seminars each Saturday for new business owners, spanning four counties in Southern California. The first will be held on Mar. 29, 2008 at the Holiday Inn in Laguna Hills, Calif. "These free introductory seminars will give people an idea of what it will take to make their dreams of successfully owning a business a reality," added Baldwin.

She has spent her career in various corporate roles relating to IPOs, mergers, acquisitions, investor relations and risk management. Based on her own knowledge, and the insights she's gained in business, she founded Baldwin Business Consulting in 2003 to counsel companies on business and marketing plans, corporate relocations, office organizational systems and corporate event planning. The Baldwin Companies was launched in 2006, with the creation of a unique method to write business plans through a series of client interviews. In 2008, Baldwin's special affinity for new business owners prompted the formation of We Love Startups!, focusing exclusively on providing the basic, step-by-step instruction required to effectively plan and execute a strategy for a successful business.

About 50 percent of We Love Startups! clients' are actual startups, and the others are existing business owners that need help or are launching new products or services.

"You need help with areas of your business you don't know how to do," said Chuck Nix, founder of Mission Viejo, Calif.-based Silky Smooth Inc. "But there are a lot of unscrupulous people and consultants who say they will help you start and grow your business, but they don't deliver. Erin would identify our mistakes right away, and has worked with us for almost a year, not only writing a business and marketing plan, but helping us execute the strategies from financial statements to staffing, to Web design. We're thrilled with her contribution to our team."

The free introductory seminar on March 29 will feature a panel of 15 business and startup experts in areas such as business planning, administration, funding, legal issues, marketing, operations, technology, commercial real estate and insurance. "The experts speaking at the seminar have worked extensively in startup situations, and know what works and what doesn't," said Baldwin.

The free one-day seminar will be held at the Holiday Inn at 25205 La Paz Road, Laguna Hills. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.welovestartups.com and click on the RSVP icon, or call (866) 755-3181 or send an e-mail to erin @ thebaldwincompanies.com.

We Love Startups! method of launching a business is based on three five-day seminar programs:

Seminar 1: Business Plan Creation
Day 1: Executive Summary and Company Summary
Day 2: The Product(s) and/or Service(s) Statement and Market Analysis Statement
Day 3: Strategy and Implementation Plan and The Management Summary
Day 4: The Financial Plan - Part I
Day 5: The Financial Plan - Part II, Peer Review Presentations and Consultant Review Presentations

Seminar 2: Startup Funding
Day 1: Personal Resources/Banks and Credit Unions
Day 2: The Small Business Administration/Private Equity
Day 3: Angel Investment Groups/Venture Capital
Day 4: Peer Review Presentations and Consultant Review Presentations
Day 5: Presentations to Financial Institutions and Investment Groups

Seminar 3: Startup Implementation Seminar
Day 1: Operations: Systems and Technology, Human Resources, Legal Issues
Day 2: Operations: Accounting, Taxes and Financial Reporting; Commercial Real Estate, Facilities and Space Planning; and Workflow, Productivity and Procedures Documentation
Day 3: Marketing: Marketing Planning, Company Identity, Web sites and E-Marketing
Day 4: Marketing: Sales Techniques, Public Relations, Community Relations and Promotions
Day 5: Consultations with Experts

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