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Ethos
360

Ethos 360 is a pioneer in the business world, partnering with forward-thinking entrepreneurs to redefine the corporate landscape.

Portland, Oregon

In the process of establishing and growing their businesses, entrepreneurs can partner with Ethos 360 to create expansion-oriented strategic plans, obtain capital, and streamline marketing endeavors. After a company establishes an identity and a solid market share, Ethos 360 provides pointed guidance to facilitate a long-term, fiscally beneficial course of action. The first step in Ethos 360’s Lender-Ready Business Plan involves application for loans, lines of credit, grants, or Small Business Administration (SBA) supported funding.

Ethos 360 assigns each client a specialized team of consultants, writers, researchers, and financial modelers, so that a great deal of personal attention is paid to every detail of the growth process. Following a three-week assessment period designed to verify a client’s complete satisfaction with a business plan, Ethos 360 contacts lending institutions, the SBA, or private investors to finalize terms of fiscal support. Maintaining a direct focus on the amount of liquidity required to sustain a business over time, Ethos 360 is able to identify the appropriate amount of operational capital needed for launch, expansion, and eventual debt repayment if applicable.

Ethos 360 is committed to supporting client needs in a multitude of ways, such as structuring the business, analyzing the market, assessing the competition, defining a differentiated approach, and creating shareholder guidelines. Moreover, Ethos 360 provides a full five-year financial projection as part of its pro forma executive summary, enabling business owners to make choices in the present designed to facilitate success in the future.

In the event that the fiscal support of a business affects the terms of a funding agreement for any reason, Ethos 360 offers clients the option of redefining a growth model free of charge. Unlike many of its competitors, Ethos 360 places client success above all else. Dedicated to leading by example, Ethos 360 reinvests a large portion of its own profits to hire and train an internal team of experts who are highly regarded as innovators in their respective fields.


Ethos 360's Publications

  • Interview with Ellisa Brenneman (2/2), Ethos 360
    November, 2010
    Interview with Ellisa Brenneman (1/2) Here

    Question: What do entrepreneurs stand to gain from working with Ethos 360?

    Ellisa Brenneman: Entrepreneurs that join us at Ethos 360 gain immediate access to a team of professionals who have experience in a wide range of areas. Ethos 360 prides itself on its start-up coaching, a personalized, step-by step process that covers everything from incorporation to obtaining SBA loans. Additionally, Ethos 360 employs consultants who understand how to fund a business endeavor. We assist our clients in creating a financing strategy, identifying sources of capital, performing due diligence, and closing on a loan. Moreover, Ethos 360’s in-house CFO is available for business plan assessments, working with clients to structure their finances in a manner that ensures optimal allocation of start-up funds.

    Question: In terms of marketing, what advice do you have for your clients?

    Ellisa Brenneman: As I said before, the value of networking cannot be overstated, but original branding is equally important. Ethos 360’s gifted team of graphic designers assist our clients in the creation of a logo that sets their company or product apart from the competition. Ethos 360 also offers website development services. We design aesthetically pleasing websites for our clients that are also highly functional. Today, the Internet is a hotbed of commercial activity, so it’s essential that a business maintain a strong online presence in order to increase sales. After solidifying a brand identity and initiating marketing efforts, Ethos 360 constructs targeted press releases to inform the general public of new product launches or other pertinent news.

    Question: In a nutshell, what is your business philosophy?

    Ellisa Brenneman: I believe in placing people first. The individuals behind a business are the catalyst for growth and should be treated as assets to a company, not simply as employees. I owe Ethos 360’s success largely to my wonderful team. I am grateful for their dedication, and strive to support them in every way. A company thrives when it invests in fostering a positive, supportive atmosphere for its employees.

  • Business Plan Writing, Part 2, Ethos 360
    December, 2010
    Business Plan Writing, Part 1 Here

    Our guide to business plan writing concludes with examinations of the remaining pieces of a proper business plan.

    =Analysis of Potential Market=
    Some ideas are original, but most are designed to compete with a product or service that already exists. If your company’s offering is the latter, this section should explain how your product is equipped to compete, how the product’s marketplace fares at present, and why you believe your product will rise above the competition. Copious detail is necessary for this section. Include information such as: demand for your service whether locally or nationally, projected revenues, and more.

    =Marketing Plan=
    Obviously you cannot simply release your product or service and expect it to make millions overnight. Give thought to how you plan to market the product and lay out that plan in this section. Make sure your plan takes into account modern marketing avenues such as social media, as well as established venues such websites, blogs, television, and radio. Only target areas that are popular with your intended demographic: if your prospective customers frequent a certain website, you should contact that website to make sure they advertise your product.

    =Financial Projection=
    At a minimum, you will need to research and state your plans for three to five years. Compose spreadsheets detailing your plan, the formulas you used to make it, income statement, cash-flow projections, and more. After explaining your entire forecast, clearly state how much money you would like to borrow from prospective lenders. If you want lenders to sign on with your business, this section must be exhaustively researched and complete.

    =Exit Plan=
    Sometimes, even the best conceived plan does not come to fruition. This section reveals your strategy for bowing out of the market with minimal financial loss.

  • University of British Columbia, Ethos 360
    January, 2011
    by Ethos 360

    Having celebrated its centennial in 2008, the University of British Columbia is known as a premier institution of higher education with an international reputation for excellence.

    Although the University of British Columbia is officially just over 100 years old, the school itself has roots dating back to 1877. When the University of British Columbia was conceived in the 1870s, the province had a population of less than 50,000. However, far-thinking educators knew that Canadians would want the opportunity to pursue their degrees in their home country. Unfortunately, at that time so much rivalry existed between communities on the mainland and Vancouver Island that officials failed to reach a consensus about where to build the main campus of the proposed University of British Columbia. Ultimately, those representing the island in a final vote failed to show up for the scheduled meeting and the legal act that would have allowed the foundation of the University of British Columbia was rendered invalid.

    In 1899, Vancouver High School partnered with McGill University in Montreal to create Vancouver College. When McGill took over the campus in 1906, it was renamed McGill University College of British Columbia. The school existed as such until 1908 when a new act by the Legislature permitted the creation of the University of British Columbia. Land was chosen for the new University of British Columbia campus though World War I halted construction and opening ceremonies were delayed until 1925. It was during World War II, however, that enrollment in the University of British Columbia skyrocketed, and after the war the school continued to grow. Today, the University of British Columbia’s enrollment stands at more than 50,000.

  • Ellisa Brenneman of Ethos 360 and EvanCarmichael.com, By Ellisa Brenneman
    October, 2011
    Ellisa Brenneman, founder of business plan leader Ethos 360, has written numerous articles for EvanCarmichael.com, including a four-part series on managing customer complaints and a business start-up guide for women. Most of Ms. Brenneman’s EvanCarmichael articles focus on business planning, entrepreneurial advice, and how to create business plans. She is featured as a “Platinum Author” on the site.

    EvanCarmichael.com is the website of international speaker and entrepreneur Evan Carmichael. Over the years, the web portal has evolved into a broad-based destination featuring forums and a blog network. The website has attracted a who’s who of business contributors, including Donald Trump, Zig Ziglar, Tom Peters, and Jack Canfield. Altogether, EvanCarmichael.com’s stable of close to 6,000 business leaders has written more than 295,000 individual pages of content. To help its 750,000 monthly visitors navigate this sea of information, the website offers a search box and a browsable article directory within its Expert Business Strategies section.

    The website offers free business promotion for contributors through its VIP Author Account program. The program seeks articles with an entrepreneurial slant that are between 300 and 500 words in length and not self-aggrandizing. All articles are approved by an editor before being listed on the site. The VIP Author Account program helps its authors rank higher on search engines, drives traffic to their websites, develops credibility as industry experts, targets specific kinds of customers through bi-weekly performance reports, and conserves their marketing budgets by publicizing the authors for free. The site actively promotes its authors through Twitter, which recently became its third-ranked traffic source, and presents a host of satisfied author testimonials as well as frequently asked questions on its author registration page.

    Ellisa Brenneman has taken advantage of EvanCarmichael as a forum to share her research and ideas on business plans and entrepreneurship. She has written a host of helpful articles for entrepreneurs such as “Keys to a Powerful Business Plan,” “How to Start a Business for Under $5,000,” “How to Increase Your Chances for Getting an SBA Loan,” and “Ethos Mentor: The Ultimate Success Strategy for Entrepreneurs.” Her articles simultaneously educate the public while informing them about the resources available through the business plan writers at Ethos 360. To see her list of articles for yourself, visit EvanCarmichael.com.