Business Plan Project My Money My Business Spring 2010

Objectives Develop a business plan to include product (s) service (s) to fill the needs of residents in Tioga County. Select a location that will be effective in filling the needs and wants of potential customers Develop a marketing plan to market (advertise and promote) the product (s) and / or Service (s) you are selling. Create a historical perspective regarding your plan.

Resources Links to resources for the project are included. However, you may find other useful items within those links. Plan on finding your links as well. Resources should provide you with a guide of both the current and historical aspects of the project.

Step 1-Need / Want Identification Develop a rationale for a need or want of specific residents in Tioga County. This is something that is needed or desired but is either not available, affordable, or is hard to get. Narrow down areas where this is most needed and would most accessible by potential customers. Use demographic information and local online sources to help determine this need concentration.

Step 1-Sources Wellsboro Information (County Seat) Map of Wellsboro U.S. Census Data Historical Info About PA Use this as your starting point for location and needs identification.

Step 2-Location Selection Based on the need / want you are trying to fill, choose ONE location your business will be stationed at. Explain why you choose this location.

Step 3-Business Plan Your business plan is a written document that will contain the following elements… ▫Location and reasons for it. ▫Type of store front, office, facility. ▫Size of the business (physical) ▫Service (s) Products (s) you are offering and reasons for those offerings. ▫Pricing strategies (in general) ▫Structure

Step 3-Business Plan (cont) ▫Structure  No. of employees and positions (justify reasons)  Descriptions of what each person does  Hours each person works ▫Store Layout  How will your operation be laid out? Provide a blueprint (floor plan) of the entire facility.  Explain how this layout will serve your needs, your customers’ needs, and assist your employees.  Describe how you may have to change this layout.

Step 3-Business Plan (cont) ▫Marketing Plan  How will you advertise? Will some items be advertised differently than others  Media used – frequency – location of ads / commercials – promotional activities  Describe the ideal customer (s) you are targeting and how your advertising plan will reach them.  Provide demographic summary ▫Age – occupation – education – interests – income ranges – lifestyle characteristics – needs -

Resources for Step 3 Ideas about being an Entrepreneur Stories from Young Entrepreneurs Wall Street Journal - How the Current Economy will Impact your Business PlanWall Street Journal - How the Current Economy will Impact your Business Plan These sites can help give you insight into developing a business plan that will work in the current economy. Use these sources as a “gateway” into larger sources.

Resources for Step 3 and 4-Marketing / advertising Old Poster Ads Retro Product Images Olden Day Radio Ads Radio Culture TV Commercials of the past TV advertising of Yesterday http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/new.duke.edu Older and more recent advertising can be viewed on the above sites. Note the different methods and how older ads were more “sales” focused. How would your plan be marketed differently based on these concepts?

Step 4-Historcial Perspective Using the plan you have created, develop a historical perspective for your business. Select a ten year time frame within the last 100 (excluding 1985-current) ▫How would your plan be different? What parts of the plan would change and what would stay the same? Explain your rationale for this. ▫What products would be different and what would be the same? ▫How would the needs of your customers differ.

Step 4-Historcial Perspective (cont) ▫How would the marketing and advertising be different? Why would these be different. ▫Explain the phase of marketing that would have been present during your selected period. Justify this with examples of advertisements.

Historical Business Perspectives Historical Business Images Historical Shopping Local Business History and Photos What would your business have looked like during a previous time period? Why would look different now?

Cultural Aspects Vintage Music of the 1900's Music and the Great Depression Popular Music of the 20's and 30's Sheet Music and Cover Pages How would have culture of yesterday impact your business plan and operation? How does today’s culture impact it?

Step 5-PowerPoint Presentation Your PowerPoint will be in two parts. ▫Part 1-Business Plan Overview for Today ▫Part 2-Business Plan Overview of the Past. Guidelines ▫Your presentation must be in the order of the plan requirements from start to finish. ▫Keep all content organized and logical. ▫Please refer to the rubric for expectations of the PowerPoint and overall plan.