Instructor perspective: Marketing/HR professional focused on customer clarity, demand evidence, differentiation, positioning, and practical customer acquisition.

Essential terminology: target market; customer segment; customer persona; customer need; market demand; direct competitor; indirect competitor; differentiation; positioning; marketing channel; lead; conversion; sales funnel; referral source; customer acquisition cost; value proposition.

Detailed timed agenda totaling 120 minutes:
0–10 min — Welcome and continuity check: instructor explains how Week 2 builds on the Week 1 business concept and asks learners to identify one assumption from their business overview that needs market evidence.
10–25 min — Week 1 draft review through a marketing lens: learners pair up and review problem, solution, value proposition, products/services, and initial goals. Instructor identifies common gaps such as vague customers, broad markets, unsupported demand, or unclear differentiation.
25–45 min — Mini-lesson: defining target customers and demand signals. Instructor models how to move from “everyone can use this” to a focused customer segment using demographics, behaviors, needs, buying situation, urgency, and willingness to pay.
45–60 min — Collaborative activity: customer persona sprint. Small groups develop one primary customer profile for a sample local business, then apply the same structure to their own business idea.
60–75 min — Professional example and case discussion: compare a neighborhood meal-prep service, mobile detailing business, and bookkeeping service. Learners examine how each business chooses competitors, positioning, channels, and sales steps differently.
75–90 min — Competitor mapping workshop: learners list at least three direct or indirect competitors and compare them on customer need served, price/value, convenience, credibility, customer experience, and weaknesses or gaps.
90–105 min — Role-playing activity: first sales conversation. In pairs, one learner acts as a potential customer and the other practices a short discovery conversation that tests need, urgency, objections, and fit. Partners switch roles and record one revision to positioning or offer.
105–115 min — Guided business-plan development: learners draft or revise a target-customer profile, positioning statement, two to three marketing channel priorities, and a basic awareness-to-sale pathway.
115–120 min — Formative market-fit check and handoff notes: learners submit a brief exit ticket identifying their primary customer, strongest competitor, main differentiator, best channel, and one question for the HR-focused Meeting 4 instructor.

Professional examples and case studies: local service business choosing between social media ads and referral partnerships; early-stage retail food concept distinguishing direct competitors from substitute products; professional services startup using networking, credibility, and consultative selling instead of mass advertising.

Guided business-plan development: learners update the target market/customer profile, market demand notes, competitor comparison, differentiation, positioning, marketing channels, and sales strategy sections that feed the Week 2 Assignment Workspace: Market and Competitor Draft Checkpoint.

Instructor notes based on professional expertise: Press learners to support customer assumptions with observable evidence such as conversations, search behavior, foot traffic, existing competitors, industry data, waitlists, reviews, community groups, or prior sales. Do not re-teach Week 1 feasibility; instead, connect the Week 1 value proposition to customer demand and buying behavior. Flag staffing implications for Meeting 4, including expected service volume, response time, sales labor, customer support needs, and brand experience. Document feedback that may affect the CPA’s Week 3 work, including pricing sensitivity, sales-cycle length, seasonality, likely conversion rates, and marketing cost assumptions.

Formative assessment: exit ticket plus instructor review of each learner’s draft customer profile, competitor list, positioning statement, and channel rationale. Learners receive quick feedback using a market-readiness check: specific customer, clear need, credible demand evidence, realistic competitor awareness, differentiated promise, and plausible sales pathway.

Preparation for linked assignment: learners should leave with enough draft content to complete the market and competitor portions of the Week 2 practical assignment. They will refine these materials after Meeting 4 by adding organizational chart and staffing plan elements.

Beginner support: provide fill-in-the-blank persona, competitor comparison, and positioning templates; allow learners to use interviews, observation, and public competitor websites instead of paid market research. Advanced extension: add segment prioritization, simple channel metrics, referral assumptions, estimated lead volume, likely conversion rate, and notes on customer acquisition cost for Week 3 financial forecasting.

Essential terminology: role clarity, job function, organizational chart, responsibility matrix, independent contractor, employee, workplace culture, onboarding, training plan, compensation, employer brand, compliance risk, span of control.

Required materials: current business-plan draft; Week 1 business overview and goals; Meeting 3 customer profile, competitor comparison, marketing channels, and sales approach; staffing-plan worksheet; role/responsibility matrix; sample startup org charts; video-conference access; shared document or paper worksheet.

Timed agenda totaling 120 minutes:
0-10 min — Welcome, continuity check, and HR lens. Instructor reviews the purpose of this meeting, confirms how Week 1 concept work and Meeting 3 market decisions affect staffing, and explains how HR assumptions will affect Week 3 financial projections.
10-25 min — Mini-lesson: From customer promise to work requirements. Learners translate the intended customer experience, product/service delivery, sales process, and operations needs into tasks the business must perform consistently.
25-40 min — Professional example and discussion. Case study: a local service startup that overestimated owner capacity and underestimated scheduling, onboarding, and customer-service duties. Learners identify staffing risks and prevention strategies.
40-55 min — Guided business-plan development: role inventory. Learners list all recurring business functions, including sales, service delivery, operations, bookkeeping coordination, customer support, marketing content, purchasing, scheduling, supervision, and quality control.
55-70 min — Collaborative activity: responsibility-mapping clinic. In pairs or breakout groups, learners classify each function as owner-led, employee-led, contractor-supported, outsourced, automated, delayed, or advisory. Partners challenge unrealistic assumptions and note missing responsibilities.
70-80 min — Break and individual reflection. Learners mark the top three staffing or capability gaps that could affect launch feasibility.
80-95 min — Mini-lesson: Culture, hiring, training, compensation, and employer brand. Instructor explains how small businesses communicate expectations, document duties, create simple onboarding practices, estimate compensation, and present themselves to prospective workers.
95-108 min — Role-play: first hiring or contractor conversation. One learner plays the business owner and another plays a candidate, contractor, or advisor. The owner practices explaining the business mission, role expectations, work schedule, required skills, compensation assumptions, and culture expectations.
108-115 min — Formative assessment: organizational readiness review. Learners submit or share a quick draft containing one org chart or responsibility map, three priority roles, one training need, one culture principle, and one compensation question. Instructor gives brief HR-focused feedback.
115-120 min — Assignment preparation and handoff to CPA instructor. Instructor explains the Week 2 assignment sections, identifies what must be ready for Week 3 financial costing, and reminds learners to document open staffing-cost, payroll-tax, contractor, benefits, and scheduling assumptions.

Professional examples and case studies: owner-operated retail shop balancing sales floor coverage and inventory duties; food business deciding between employee, contractor, and outsourced bookkeeping support; consulting startup using contractors while protecting service quality; home-services company using a simple onboarding checklist to reduce rework.

Guided business-plan development: learners draft an initial organizational chart, responsibility matrix, staffing timeline, hiring priorities, onboarding/training notes, culture statement, compensation assumptions, and HR questions for financial review.

Instructor notes based on HR professional expertise: Emphasize role clarity before hiring. Warn learners not to use independent contractors as a substitute for proper employment classification without professional advice. Encourage plain-language job expectations, documented training steps, realistic owner workload estimates, and compensation assumptions that can be tested during Week 3 financial planning. Avoid giving legal advice; refer learners to qualified HR, payroll, legal, or tax professionals for jurisdiction-specific requirements.

Formative assessment: review each learner’s draft staffing plan for alignment with customer promise, business model, marketing/sales plan, owner capacity, and likely startup budget. Provide one strength, one risk, and one revision priority.

Preparation for linked assignment: learners leave with enough content to complete the Week 2 Practical Assignment: target-customer profile, competitor comparison, marketing and sales plan, initial organizational chart, staffing plan, hiring priorities, training notes, and culture statement.

Beginner support: provide sample org charts, role lists, sentence starters for culture statements, and a simplified owner/employee/contractor/advisor responsibility table.

Advanced extension: learners may add a 6- to 12-month staffing timeline, draft job posting, onboarding checklist, contractor scope-of-work outline, compensation benchmark notes, and staffing-related risk controls.