Vermont Forest Business School · Est. 2020
Since 2020, the Vermont-only Winter Essentials program has quietly built something rare. The six-month session beginning October 2026 will be the final one. There is no next year.
The situation
The Vermont Forest Business School began in 2020 with a simple format: a Vermont-only, six-month Winter Essentials program for working lands business owners. Each year, a small cohort of serious people gathered weekly to sharpen the business side of their work.
It worked. So well, in fact, that it grew into regional programs and now a national version. That growth is a good thing — but it means the original Vermont-only format is coming to a close.
If you've considered the program in the past — talked about it, meant to look into it, thought "maybe next year" — this is the moment where that either becomes something, or it doesn't.
Who this is for
You know your trade. What you want is to become sharper at the business decisions that shape your operation's future.
You don't wait around for permission. You want a structured environment that matches the intensity you already bring to your work.
This program runs on participation — real conversations with real people solving real problems. You show up prepared. You contribute.
Your livelihood is tied to land, wood, production, stewardship, or practical problem-solving in Vermont's working landscape.
The program
Remote meetings every week (7 PM EST), October through March. These are real working conversations — Socratic discussions that force you to think and apply, not just listen.
Audiobooks, podcasts, and notes so you arrive each week with ideas ready to test and refine with your peers.
Not 100 people. Not anonymous. A small group of serious Vermont professionals growing together over half a year, with the chance to meet in person.
Completing the program connects you to a national community of graduates who continue to support one another long after.
The real cost isn't money. It's whether you're the kind of person who shows up and uses it.
Study topics
The kind of people who do this
Over the years, the Forest Business School has brought together people whose work is rooted in the real world — dealing with margins, labor, land, weather, and uncertainty. Past participants have included:
That matters — because you're learning alongside people who deal in reality, not theory.
Something you can't replicate later
Every person in the room will be rooted in Vermont's working landscape. Same geography, same challenges, same season.
Built the way it was always meant to be. Small. Intensive. Personal. The format that launched everything that came after.
Formed at the exact moment the program transitions to a national scale. A small group, in one place, closing out a chapter.
The real decision
They say:
This time, there is no next one.
Add Your Name to the Interest List →Adding your name to the interest list carries no obligation. It simply ensures Steve Bick will reach out to you in late summer when the final cohort begins to fill.
Add Your Name →No obligation · No cost · Just don't miss the window
