Wow! You’ve come a long way since Lesson 1. Now you are on the starting line, revving your engine, ready for the race to begin. The goal is clear — to start a small business that will eventually become a major company that goes public and raises capital by selling stock.  

Lessons 1-5 were all about getting ready to enter this race. Here are some of the steps you have taken:

• In Lesson 1, you explored the pros and cons of starting a business and learned that a successful business must serve customer needs.
• In Lesson 2, you considered how to create a business concept that fits your particular skills and talents — the right business for you!
• In Lesson 3, you learned how vital it is to have a written business plan if you want your venture to be successful (and what goes into that plan).
• In Lesson 4, you looked at three main ways to raise money to fund the growth of your business venture: asset financing, debt financing, and equity financing.
• In Lesson 5, you explored the steps to take a company public and considered how you might develop a team of “players” to help you accomplish this goal.

Now you are ready for Lesson 6, which will give you a picture of what your company might look like after the IPO. Why do you need to know this? Because going public can bring tremendous prestige and many financial benefits, but it also brings new responsibilities. And the CEO of a public company is held responsible for making sure the company follows all the legal regulations. It’s a good idea to understand what some of these regulations might be.

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