ResC-EWE: Cecot, Spanish partner of the project, has organized its final workshop
22 February 2022
In January Cecot held the final workshop in Spain. All participants were very positive about the workshop and the ResC-EWE tools, which they found both valuable and useful for the operation of their companies in the future.
Cecot, Spanish partner of ResC-EWE, held this January the final workshop of the project with entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The workshop has given tools to SMEs to manage and prevent the risk of business failure. During 5 sessions we worked with the entrepreneurial skills of the participants, the CANVAS model, and concepts such as Cash Flow and Risk Analysis. The aim of the workshop was to help increase the capacity of the participants to manage, prevent and mitigate the business risks.
All the entrepreneurs and businesspeople who attended the workshop gave a positive assessment of the material sent to them. Depending on the current situation of their company, they believe each of the tools used in the workshop have been both valuable and useful.
About the entrepreneurial skills and SWOT analysis, they all agreed that it is necessary to reflect and recognize which skills they need to train to improve the management of their company. They have all expressed a fear of failure and a fear of making a mistake, even though they are part of the company's life cycle. They all need to work on resilience, both on a personal and business level. And they have confirmed that they can achieve this by making the most of their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses so they can develop them.
All participants rated the Canvas business model very positively. Most particpants had never used the model, and only a few had heard of Canvas before the workshop. They all agreed that we need to stop and think about what our business model looks like. They have all detected different areas of their business in which changes and/or improvements need to be made. And Canvas has been very useful to them by helping to visualize and understand the general operation of their companies. By working on the nine blocks, all departments of the participants’ companies have been reviewed.
The Cash Flow tool has been valued the least by the participants, although they consider it as a useful tool. Most of them have a fairly stable situation in terms of cash flow and liquidity in their company. And all of them, in some way, make use of an excel to be able to make predictions and keep track of their numbers month by month.
All participants rated the Risk Analysis very positively. No participant had made a risk plan prior in the company, but they have acknowledged that it is very necessary to do so. Therefore, all participants have been much engaged in the practice of making an individual Risk Map during the workshop.
It is very important for all the participants to take the time to acknowledge the current situation to be able to detect what is not working in their company and what can be improved. Without a doubt, the tools ResC-EWE has given them will be very useful in the future.