Food Finance Boot Camp in Fairfield
April 9 and 10, then May 7 and 8
Why Should I Go To Boot Camp?
Unprecedented change in the food industry is rapidly raising the bar for all food and value-added farm enterprises. Old or young, big or small, these businesses are scrambling to become more financially resilient and capable of adapting quickly.
Financial Management Boot Camp combines training, one-on-one consulting, and networking, taking entrepreneurs like you out of your day-to-day environment and giving you the tools you need to build a more resilient food business.
Boot Camp is right for you if:
• Your business is profitable and you want to take its performance to the next level.
• Your business’s market position and profitability are eroding and you know you need to adapt.
• You’re a young company that has never reached profitability and you know things need to change.
• You need to raise money and know you need to get prepared to be successful.
Supercharge Your Food Business’ Path To Financial Success
Boot Camp arms you with everything you need to profitably grow your food business and raise money, including:
• A realistic and clear business model path that you can articulate to anyone who asks
• Financial systems and reports that will stand up to scrutiny by banks and investors
• A credible business plan with realistic assumptions about future growth
• A digital financial package to share with your stakeholders and support your fundraising
Time is money, which is why Boot Camp is quick and intense
You have so many things going on in your business. Distractions are everywhere. You know you need to focus on the more strategic and detailed financial sides of your business, but it is difficult to carve out the time. We help you focus on only the most important things in your business, identify the most pressing issues you need to address and help you work through them with individual consulting and coaching. And the best part: you show up with your financial statements and we take it from there. No other pre-prep needed.
What Can I Expect From Boot Camp?
Four intense, focused days to learn and work on your business

Day 1 – Optimizing Your Business Model
It’s a business model not a product that determines whether your company makes money. We help you clarify your business model and set you on a realistic path to meet your goals.

Day 2 – Fixing Your Financial Infrastructure
Your financial statements help you and your stakeholders fully understand your business. We help you understand your statements and fix financial systems problems.
Day 3 – Developing Your Financial Plan
You are moving forward, so you need to look forward. We help you develop realistic assumptions for forecasts of sales, marketing and operations and the capital structure you need to get there.

Day 4 – Getting Ready to Raise Money
You will need to raise money to grow your food business. We help you learn how to do a great pitch and properly document your business so you can successfully raise money.
Dates:
• April 9, 9am to 5pm – Optimizing Your Business Model
• April 10, 7:30am to 3pm – Fixing Your Financial Infrastructure
• May 7, 9:30am to 5pm – Developing Your Financial Plan
• May 8, 8am to 4pm – Getting Ready to Raise Money
Location: Fairfield CoLab, Fairfield, Iowa 52556
Cost: $500 to attend all 4 days.
Registration: Closes Friday March 23rd, 2018. Boot Camp is limited to 10 participants.
Registration has now been extended to Wednesday, March 28th, 2018
Appy and register below and send a check for the full cost made out to the Fairfield Economic Development Association at P.O. Box 1388, Fairfield, Iowa 52556, along with the following contact information:
• Name
• Email
• Phone Number
• Company
Registration will be confirmed upon receipt of payment. For questions about registration and payment, contact Joshua Laraby at Joshua.Laraby@growfairfield.com or 641-472-3436.
Training and financial consulting from the best
Tera Johnson, Director of the Food Finance Institute, will lead morning training sessions that dive deep into the topics above. Then, in the afternoons, she and other consultants will work individually with you so you can arm yourself with everything you need to profitably grow your food business and raise money.
About the Food Finance Institute
Directed by Tera Johnson, FFI leverages and supports a collaborative network of professionals focused on the food, beverage and value-added agriculture sector. Through supporting this collaborative network with training, resources, tools and mentorship, FFI fulfills its mission of making sophisticated financial technical assistance available to every growing food, beverage and value-added agriculture enterprise.
About Tera: Tera Johnson is a serial entrepreneur whose mission is to create the next generation of environmentally and economically regenerative food and farming businesses. The founder of teraswhey® and host of the Edible-Alpha™ podcast, Tera participated in the full arc of creating a successful investor-financed company. Now the founder of the Food Finance Institute at UW-Extension and winner of the Chancellor’s 2017 Wisconsin Idea Award, Tera is a frequent speaker, teacher and financial consultant to sustainable food and farming businesses, social venture funds and investors.
To learn more about FFI or if you have any questions about program content, contact FFI by calling 608-890-0780, by emailing FFI Program Manager Zacary Smucker-Bryan at zacary.smuckerbryan@uwex.edu or by visiting our website at http://foodfinanceinstitute.org/.