Digital entrepreneur: building a profitable offer and growing it

Questions about this course

What you will be able to do

• Designing and managing a business model built on services and digital products
• Analyzing unit economics: margin, acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, churn
• Building a multichannel B2B acquisition system and a referral partner program
• Responding to public, donor-funded and corporate tenders, including international ones
• Structuring an OHADA company legally and preparing a financing application
• Leading an organization by objectives and building a 24-month growth plan

About this course

Who it is for: Founders of digital agencies and studios, experienced consultants and freelancers, and digital entrepreneurs in Dakar, Thiès, Saint-Louis, Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou and the diaspora who already run a working business and want to turn it into a profitable company that depends less on their own time and is able to grow.

Curriculum

A module-by-module path: lessons, exercises, quizzes and projects to submit.

1. 1

   Module 1· 16 exercises

   Business model diagnosis and a three-year direction

   Read your business through its numbers, map your business model on one page and choose a three-year direction that states what you are really building.

   • Reading your business in numbers: sales by offer, margin, client concentration, recurring shareFree preview3 exercises20 min
   • The one-page business model: segments, value proposition, channels, revenue, costsFree preview3 exercises20 min
   • Three possible paths: founder-led business, agency, product company, and what each one requiresFree preview3 exercises18 min
   • Setting a quantified three-year direction and deriving the year's three prioritiesFree preview3 exercises18 min
   • Workshop: the one-page business diagnosis and the three-year direction, step by step (fictional worked case)Free preview4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)Free preview5 min
   • Quiz: diagnosis and directionModule quiz
   • Your business diagnosis and your three-year directionProject to submit
2. 2

   Module 2· 16 exercises

   Designing a profitable flagship offer

   Identify the costly problem of a segment that can pay and turn it into an offer with a fixed scope, price and timeline, placed at the center of a value ladder.

   • Finding the costly problem of a segment that pays: clinics, private schools, real estate, hospitality, NGOs, diaspora3 exercises20 min
   • Productizing a service: fixed scope, fixed price, fixed timeline, named method3 exercises20 min
   • The value ladder: entry offer, flagship, recurring, premium, and the client's path from one to the next3 exercises18 min
   • Positioning at the top of the market: proof, a well-framed guarantee, specialization, and the matching price3 exercises18 min
   • Workshop: the productized offer sheet and the value ladder, step by step (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: flagship offerModule quiz
   • Your productized flagship offer and your value ladderProject to submit
3. 3

   Module 3· 19 exercises

   Unit economics: margin, acquisition cost and customer value

   Calculate what a client costs you and what they bring in over their lifetime, and test your prices to know which offers deserve a push.

   • Gross margin by offer: direct costs, valued time, subcontracting, payment fees3 exercises18 min
   • Customer acquisition cost by channel: advertising, prospecting, referral partners, content3 exercises18 min
   • Customer lifetime value and the LTV to acquisition cost ratio: what a recurring client is really worth3 exercises18 min
   • Testing a price increase without losing clients: method, message, reading the results3 exercises15 min
   • The Google Sheets simulation model: three scenarios and their assumptions3 exercises18 min
   • Workshop: the three-scenario unit economics simulator, built step by step (fictional worked case)4 exercises40 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: unit economicsModule quiz
   • Your unit economics model in three scenariosProject to submit
4. 4

   Module 4· 16 exercises

   Building recurring revenue

   Turn one-off projects into subscriptions, maintenance contracts and framework agreements, and reduce the number of clients who leave.

   • Forms of recurring revenue in digital services: subscription, maintenance plan, framework agreement, hosting3 exercises18 min
   • Designing a subscription that renews: monthly content, report, quarterly review, commitment3 exercises18 min
   • Moving one-off clients to recurring: the right moment and the right proposal3 exercises15 min
   • Measuring and reducing churn: warning signs, renewal meeting, termination clause3 exercises18 min
   • Workshop: the subscription agreement, the monthly client report and the churn tracker (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: recurring revenueModule quiz
   • Your recurring offer and your churn reduction planProject to submit
5. 5

   Module 5· 16 exercises

   Digital products and revenue decoupled from your time

   Choose, validate through pre-orders, sell and collect payment for a digital product (course, templates, tool) that earns money without selling one more hour.

   • Which digital product to build from your expertise: course, templates, tool, license, and what each one earns3 exercises18 min
   • Validating before building: pre-order page, 20 buyers, launch price3 exercises18 min
   • Selling and collecting payment online: Wave, Orange Money, bank card, terms of sale and personal data (CDP, ARTCI)3 exercises20 min
   • Launching and keeping it alive: waiting list, 10-day launch, updates, bundles3 exercises15 min
   • Workshop: the pre-order page, the 10-day launch plan and its budget (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: digital productsModule quiz
   • Your digital product validated through pre-ordersProject to submit
6. 6

   Module 6· 16 exercises

   An acquisition system that runs without you

   Combine content and Google search, the founder's network and partners to receive inquiries every week, and measure each channel.

   • Content and Google SEO: getting found by clients searching for your service3 exercises20 min
   • The founder's LinkedIn: one editorial line, three posts a week, conversations that become meetings3 exercises18 min
   • Partners and referral agents: finding them, paying commissions, tracking, and the contract that frames them3 exercises18 min
   • Events, workshops and webinars: filling a room in Dakar or a video call with the diaspora, and converting3 exercises15 min
   • Workshop: the 90-day acquisition system, the referral partner agreement and the content calendar (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: acquisition systemModule quiz
   • Your multichannel acquisition systemProject to submit
7. 7

   Module 7· 18 exercises

   Key accounts, public tenders and international clients

   Sell to organizations where several people decide, respond to public tenders and donor calls, and invoice foreign clients in line with foreign exchange regulations.

   • The key account sales cycle: buyer, user, decision-maker, legal counsel, and the stakeholder map3 exercises18 min
   • Public tenders and donors: ARCOP in Senegal, ANRMP in Côte d'Ivoire, NGO tenders, bid files and certificates3 exercises20 min
   • Diaspora and foreign clients: contracts in euros or dollars, pricing, payment guarantees3 exercises18 min
   • WAEMU foreign exchange rules and repatriating funds: what the BCEAO says and what your bank asks for2 exercises15 min
   • Documents that reassure a key account: tax and social security certificates, references, insurance, data compliance3 exercises15 min
   • Workshop: the tender response file and the international contract checklist (fictional worked case)4 exercises40 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: key accounts and internationalModule quiz
   • Your key account or tender fileProject to submit
8. 8

   Module 8· 16 exercises

   Structuring and financing the company

   Choose the legal form, organize the arrival of partners and finance growth through self-financing, public schemes, bank loans or investors.

   • SARL, SAS or SUARL in the OHADA zone: governance, liability, cost, and the right choice for your project3 exercises18 min
   • Partners and the shareholders' agreement: equity split, contributions, vesting, exit3 exercises18 min
   • Non-dilutive financing: self-financing, DER/FJ, FONGIP, ADEPME, banks in Senegal, Ivorian schemes for young people and SMEs3 exercises20 min
   • Business angels and investors: when it makes sense, what they look at, and the financing application3 exercises18 min
   • Workshop: the cap table, the key shareholder agreement clauses and the funding file (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: structuring and financingModule quiz
   • Your legal structure and your financing applicationProject to submit
9. 9

   Module 9· 16 exercises

   Organization, leadership and delegation

   Design the target organization, hire a right-hand person, lead by objectives and take the founder out of day-to-day operations without losing quality.

   • The org chart at 12 and 24 months: functions, owners, what the founder keeps3 exercises15 min
   • Hiring a right-hand person or a head of production: profile, pay, probation period3 exercises18 min
   • Leading with quarterly objectives: three objectives, measurable key results, a monthly review3 exercises18 min
   • Stepping out of operations: the leader's calendar, delegated decisions, the reports that come back up3 exercises15 min
   • Workshop: the 24-month org chart, quarterly objectives and the founder's calendar (fictional worked case)4 exercises35 min
   • Module handout (PDF)5 min
   • Quiz: organization and leadershipModule quiz
   • Your target organization and your management systemProject to submit
10. 10

    Module 10· 15 exercises

    Steering and growing the company over 24 months

    Keep a management dashboard, anticipate risks, choose a new market and write the 24-month growth plan.

    • The management dashboard in 12 indicators, reviewed every month in one hour3 exercises18 min
    • Mapping risks: client dependence, exchange rates, loss of a key team member, cash flow, and how to counter each3 exercises18 min
    • Opening a new market: Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou or the diaspora, a low-budget test and decision criteria2 exercises18 min
    • Writing the 24-month growth plan: figures, milestones, financing, organization3 exercises20 min
    • Workshop: the complete 24-month growth plan, worked through end to end (fictional case)4 exercises45 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: steering and growthModule quiz
    • Final project: the 24-month growth plan for your digital companyCapstone

11. Certificate included

After the course

What you get once the course is complete

Optional services, free for learners. This is not a promise of employment.