Entrepreneur Education
Guiding small businesses and diverse vendors to their success destinations


GUIDED BUSINESS PLAN
Supplier Inclusion Teams’ Partner to Train Project-Ready Diverse Vendors
We partner with Supplier diversity and Inclusion teams to elevate their diverse vendor training.
Cohort training
Business continuity
Proposal toolkit development
For Supplier Inclusion teams who need to introduce project-ready diverse vendors to their buyers, Guided Business Plan designs and facilitates virtual training programs that leads to closed deals because we believe that economic equality emanates from job creation.
"Absolutely fabulous working with Melanie!"
Holley Joy, Supplier Diversity Manager, Golden State Water and California Water Association USDP team
GUIDED Business Plan™ Training Platform includes:
Books | E-Books | Digital Downloads | Video Tutorials
Facilitator Training Packages | Online Facilitator


GUIDED BUSINESS PLAN
A community for diverse women-owned businesses pursuing partnerships with corporate clients
GUIDED Plan with Peers is our peer group to guide women-led businesses to opportunities and equip them with a Proposal Toolkit that makes it easier for buyers to say “yes”.
Structured membership
Live and on-demand classes
Instant feedback and group accountability
We help small women business owners with small teams gain the trust of corporate buyers to grow past their current 6-figures by building their sales confidence to pursue corporate contracts using the blueprint corporations hire us to teach.
Sign-up to stay connected to an influential community!
It’s not about what we’re up to…it’s about what information we can share with you to continue moving forward.

Melanie Rae, Founder + Author
“For more than a decade, I have been writing GUIDED Business Plan™ books – our ten editions could take an unemployed person to start-up to scale to supplier.”
Our Mission
ENTREPRENEUR EDUCATION
“To inspire economic EQUALITY through entrepreneurship”


GUIDED BUSINESS PLAN
Entrepreneur Educators
Off-the-Shelf Books and Facilitator Training for Entrepreneur Educators
Licensed training content
Digital books and tools
Facilitator training package
Entrepreneur education training materials to differentiate your business development programs to engage microenterprises and small businesses – the results attract funders!
Success destinations looks different for all. Our national GUIDED Business Plan training platform could take someone from start-up to scaling to supplier to reach their goals faster.

Entrepreneur Educators

Entrepreneur education training materials
to differentiate your business development programs to engage microenterprises and small businesses – the results attract funders!

Supplier
Inclusion

Our vendor development training content
accelerates compatibility matches between buyers and diverse vendors with WBE/DBE/VBE certified and other certifications.

Industry
Specific

We have retail industry and water industry
specific training materials that empower businesses to pursue bigger ASKs — training content for supplier inclusion and entrepreneur educators.
Guided Business Plan | Los Angeles, CA | 888.523.5244 | guidedplans.com
For Start-Ups
McDonald’s sponsored a YWCA program – 350 women attend a 6-week GUIDED Business Plan™ course
McDonald’s sponsored the YWCA USA to launch a nationwide entrepreneur education program to train more than 350 women with our materials. It was part of their Black & Positively Golden campaign for economic empowerment.
For Diverse Vendors
California Water Association invests in diverse businesses
In 2019, the California Water Association Utility Supplier Diversity Program team retained us to design their new year-long CWA W.A.T.E.R. diverse vendor cohort. “You elevated our program and made it more than what I could imagine.” Our partnership has grown to provide instructional design for their CWA Meet the Primes and CWA R.I.S.E. vendor development programs.
For Diverse Vendors
EMBA: An Introduction to Government and Corporate Contracting
With support from The Fund for Equitable Business Growth, the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) and Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council commissioned us to create a city-wide program to introduce corporate and government contracting opportunities to underrepresented communities.
For Retail Industry
Walgreens sponsors more than 3 cohorts to support growing job creators
Love the fact that this was a hands-on session versus just walking away with notes. These notes are our deliverables to help us move forward with getting our company in the door. Thank you Melanie!
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GUIDED Business Plan™ |
First Time CEO
We know that starting a business is an exciting but can be daunting task. Our GUIDED Business Plan™ | First Time CEO gives you a proven way to brainstorm your way into a persuasive business plan to impress your first investor – YOU!


GUIDED Business Plan™ | Contracting Confidence
You’re not alone in your confusion about government contracting. Our GUIDED Business Plan™ | Contracting Confidence book explains how to become eligible for government contracts as well as how to stay organized by creating a Proposal Toolkit from scratch with easy-to follow instructions.


GUIDED Business Plan™ | Corporate Toolkit
The GUIDED Business Plan™ | Starter helps both NEW and ESTABLISHED small businesses quickly create a trusted plan so they may share with lenders in days! It’s like interviewing yourself — just write down your ideas and convert those notes into sentences.

Shop GUIDED for Small Business Growth
GUIDED Business Plan™ book titles
Books
Downloads
Templates
Live “Work Sessions”
On-Demand Classes
Here's what's going on in our GUIDED community
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Is Your Business Coach Delivering on What You Need Them To Do?
Do you have a business coach? If not, you should consider getting one. They can be an invaluable asset in helping your business grow. But before you hire one, make sure that they are able to deliver on what you
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How to Get Your Work Groove Back After Summer Vacation
Are you feeling a little out of sorts since returning from summer vacation? It can be tough to get back into the swing of things after spending weeks or months away from the office. But don't worry, we're here to
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Create a Plan to Avoid Entrepreneur Burnout
Around March I’m feeling burnout. January starts with classes and I’m going hard teaching, design, creating, coaching, and just being for 3 months. Come April I need those 10 days of silence. Come the summertime, I’m ready for a real