GLC Meeting Dec 18th – Strategic Business Action Plan

1. Business Summary

GLC Meeting Dec 18th reflects an active, volunteer-led entrepreneurship board with momentum around Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC), sponsor coverage, and a clear desire to broaden the pipeline of small-business creators across Leavenworth County.

Key focus areas surfaced in the meeting: (1) execution that happens between meetings, (2) measurable participation growth for YEC, (3) an upgraded identity (logo + tagline) that instantly communicates purpose, and (4) a new, county-wide entrepreneurship event series that meets people before they “flip the switch” into business ownership.

YEC scheduled for February 4 (9:00–1:00) at Lansing Community Center; backup date reserved due to weather risk.
Sponsorship coverage is strong; event costs are covered and additional sponsors can fund prizes and future programming.
A draft “Entrepreneurship Expo / happy-hour style” event series is forming, with a tentative first date of April 9 (5:00–7:00).

2. Needs & Pain Points

The meeting surfaced several operational friction points that can be solved with simple systems and ownership assignment.

Low early registrations for YEC; sign-ups tend to surge late, increasing risk and last-minute strain.
Follow-up items that depend on individual memory (e.g., resending invites, pulling last year’s entrants, submitting post-event summaries).
Logo and messaging currently reads as “landscaping/nursery” and does not clearly signal small-business funding and entrepreneurship support.
Public understanding gap: many community members don’t know what Grow Leavenworth County is or what the board actually does.
Entrepreneurs often approach lenders with concepts but no basics (registration, P&L, projections, market research, CPA/legal steps).
Board capacity is volunteer-based; programming must be realistic and repeatable without burning people out.

3. Improvement Blueprint

Convert the meeting’s ideas into a simple operating rhythm: a repeatable outreach pipeline, a measurable event cycle, and a clearer public-facing identity.

Build a YEC recruitment pipeline (schools, prior entrants, teacher/mentor network, and partner organizations) with scheduled touchpoints.
Create a lightweight “Entrepreneur Pathway” rubric (intake → resources → readiness → next-step programs) aligned with Main Street and SBDC.
Finalize a logo + tagline that communicates: entrepreneurship support + gap financing + county-wide ecosystem.
Launch a 3-event entrepreneurship series: first session informal + discovery; sessions 2 and 3 structured “do it with us” workshops.
Assign a single owner per deliverable (invite list, venue, sponsor tracking, submission deadlines, post-event reporting).

4. Actionable Roadmap

This roadmap converts the discussion into timeboxed execution.

Immediate Fixes (0–7 Days)

Create a single shared YEC checklist with owners and dates (setup time, judge/mentor needs, materials, awards, sponsor invoices, reporting).
Pull last year’s entrant list (or request it) and create a “prior entrants” outreach list for this year.
Resend VentureDash/registration invites to all board members and confirm access (so everyone can support recruitment).
Draft a one-paragraph YEC recruitment message that any partner can forward to schools and parents.
Log the April 1 post-event summary deadline as a non-negotiable compliance task (teacher prize depends on it).

Short-Term (1–4 Weeks)

Implement a two-touch outreach cadence to schools: (1) immediately after winter break, (2) one week later, with a clear registration deadline.
Coordinate with school contacts (e.g., entrepreneurship/JK program leads) and create a single point of contact per district.
Confirm February 4 event run-of-show (8:00 setup; 8:30 student arrival; 9:00–1:00 program) and assign volunteer roles.
Prepare sponsor invoices and a sponsor tracking sheet; schedule reimbursements based on incoming sponsor payments.
Finalize a logo decision workflow: shortlist + tagline options + final selection timeline (next meeting decision).

Medium-Term (1–3 Months)

Host YEC (Feb 4) and immediately capture: winners, grade levels, teacher/mentor, photos, and a concise event recap for reporting.
Submit the required post-event summary well before April 1 to protect the teacher prize.
Build an “Entrepreneurship Expo” event brief: purpose, audience, format (mingle + tables), staffing, and a simple budget for approval.
Confirm venue for April 9 (5–7 pm) and negotiate nonprofit/partner pricing; ensure the space supports informal movement and conversations.
Create the ‘Top 10 Things New Businesses Don’t Know’ one-pager (lender, CPA, legal, marketing, tech, SBDC) as a handout for event #1.

Long-Term (3–12 Months)

Run the 3-event entrepreneurship series across the county (rotate locations: Leavenworth, south county, etc.) to meet people where they are.
Pilot a transition pathway aligned with Main Street’s rubric and pop-up/short-term lease concepts (home-based → short-term → long-term).
Standardize an annual calendar: YEC + 3-event series + one additional board-defined initiative.
Create a repeatable measurement dashboard: YEC registrations, attendance, follow-up inquiries, referrals to SBDC, loan pipeline touchpoints.

Operational Enhancements

Centralize contacts (schools, mentors, lenders, partners) into one maintained list with owners and update cadence.
Use templated emails/invites for: YEC recruitment, sponsor asks, judge/mentor recruiting, and post-event reporting.
Create a simple agenda-to-action tracker: every meeting outputs 5–10 assigned tasks with dates and a follow-up owner.

Marketing & Visibility

Add a tagline that immediately explains the board’s role (entrepreneurship + small business growth + gap funding).
Create a one-page ‘What We Do’ explainer that boards, banks, and Main Street can share with entrepreneurs.
Target prospective entrepreneurs through digital interest signals (search + social) and retarget to drive attendance and registrations.

Financial & Partner Alignment

Confirm allowable spend rules for Network Kansas funds (food allowed; no alcohol) and apply them to event budgeting.
Use sponsor overages strategically: extra prizes, follow-on workshops, printed materials, and future event deposits.
Align with Main Street and SBDC so referrals are immediate, warm, and trackable (no dead ends for entrepreneurs).

5. ThriveKS Action Plan

After this meeting, Thrive Local Foundation assumes ownership of the between-meeting execution items that are currently ‘known’ but not yet systemized.

Thrive will not add meetings or bureaucracy. Thrive will convert the discussion into a shared task board, outreach assets, and ready-to-use templates so the board can stay strategic while execution continues.

Build and maintain the YEC execution checklist (owners, dates, and deliverables).
Create the prior-entrant outreach list and draft the recruitment messages for schools, parents, and teacher/mentor networks.
Package the April 1 reporting requirement into a simple form + reminder schedule so it is never missed.
Draft the Entrepreneurship Series one-page brief + a budget-ready outline for board approval.
Turn the logo/tagline discussion into a decision packet: 3 options max, each with a purpose statement and use-cases (banner, big check sticker, print, web).
Prepare a “follow-up recap” email the board can send to partners (Main Street, SBDC, lenders) with clear asks and next steps.

6. Grants & Programs

The meeting highlighted several existing and near-term program levers that should be operationalized and tracked.

Network Kansas YEC support (including the post-event reporting requirements and teacher prize dependency).
Gap financing education: clarify and publish the basics (primary lender requirement, timelines, eligible use, and where borrowers apply).
E-Community loans: define the board’s role as the loan award body and create a clean, public-facing explanation of the pathway.
Partner programs: SBDC projections and business plan support; Main Street transition rubric; potential downtown pop-up/short-lease pilots.
Sponsor support as flexible fuel: prizes, materials, and follow-on programming beyond a single event.

7. How ThriveKS Supports GLC Meeting Dec 18th

Thrive supports GLC Meeting Dec 18th by acting as the continuity layer between meetings: capturing decisions, converting them into structured tasks, and producing the assets that make follow-through easy.

This approach reduces workload on volunteers and staff, while making ideas tangible without requiring new bureaucracy.

Removes ambiguity by assigning owners, dates, and deliverables immediately after each meeting.
Provides ready-to-deploy materials (emails, one-pagers, checklists, budget briefs) instead of open-ended ‘to-dos.’
Creates a single source of truth (shared tracker + files) so progress is not dependent on one person’s inbox.
Ensures compliance tasks (like the April 1 summary deadline) are tracked and completed on time.
Strengthens partner alignment by packaging clear asks and simple handoffs to Main Street, SBDC, lenders, and schools.

8. Follow-Up Plan

This is the immediate follow-through sequence to keep momentum without adding noise.

Within 48 hours: publish meeting action tracker (YEC tasks, logo tasks, entrepreneurship series tasks) with owners and due dates.
Within 7 days: send YEC recruitment toolkit to school contacts and partner orgs; initiate prior-entrant outreach.
Within 14 days: confirm YEC judges/mentors coverage; confirm setup staffing; verify all sponsor invoices and reimbursements.
Within 30 days: deliver Entrepreneurship Series brief + budget outline; secure tentative venue hold for April 9 (5–7).
Post-YEC: collect recap data immediately and schedule the April 1 submission as a tracked deliverable.

9. Questions for Next Meeting

Use these questions to drive decisions and remove ambiguity fast.

YEC: What is the minimum target number of student teams, and what is the hard registration deadline we will communicate?
YEC: Who owns school outreach per district, and what are the exact contact names/titles?
Reporting: Who is the owner for the post-event summary submission, and what is the internal deadline (earlier than April 1)?
Logo: Which 3 logo options make the final shortlist, and what tagline best explains the board in one line?
Entrepreneurship Series: Do we confirm April 9 (5–7) as the first date, and what venue do we secure?
Series Format: What are the top 3 topics for events #2 and #3 (lending, legal setup, bookkeeping, marketing, tech, forecasting, etc.)?
Measurement: What metrics will we track monthly (registrations, attendance, referrals, loan inquiries)?

10. How We Can Help GLC Meeting Dec 18th

Thrive Local Foundation is positioned to keep execution moving between meetings—quietly, reliably, and with minimal lift required from board members.

Turn meeting minutes into a task tracker with owners and due dates within 24–48 hours of each meeting.
Build and maintain the YEC recruitment and operations system (lists, templates, reminders, checklists).
Create public-facing one-pagers that explain: what the board does, how funding pathways work, and where entrepreneurs start.
Package the Entrepreneurship Series into event-ready assets: venue brief, budget, outreach plan, and partner engagement scripts.
Standardize repeatable reporting and documentation so compliance and continuity are automatic.