1. Adventures in Entrepreneurship
The Business Project
Adventures in Entrepreneurship
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?

2. The Proposal
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Understand the process, timeline and assessment criteria for the Business Project., and brainstorm an original small business to create.
Success Criteria:
Students will turn in a written project proposal and identify the following:
partners for the business project.
the product they wish to sell, or service they wish to provide.
a list of potential business names
a list of potential locations
a list of anticipated initial expenses
   

3. The Proposal Choose partners Product or Service
Choose wisely!!! Compatible schedule and skills
Get contact information
Product or Service
Something you are familiar with or have an interest in
Remember this is a small business, not an oligopoly
Don’t get over ambitious !!!
Potential business name(s)
It’s your first contact with your customers—Your first impression, so make it GOOD!
Potential location
Remember you must find a real physical location
Initial expenses
One time expenditures, not wages, rent, etc.

4. Part I – Description and Market Structure
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Describe the product or service you plan to provide with your business, and explain how you plan to compete with other similar businesses.
Success Criteria:
Students can choose a name for their business, and explain why they chose it.
Students can provide a detailed written description of their product or service, using all five senses to create a picture.
Students can identify their competition by name, and explain how their product or service will stand out from, or be better than, their competitors.
   

5. Part I – Description and Market Structure
What is your name and why did you choose it?
Explain! You should be excited about your name!
Detailed description
Use all five senses. Make your business come alive. Draw a floorplan – use color, texture etc. to describe everything!
Identify competition
Not just identical businesses, but those with similar or substitute products or services
Remember you can’t be cheaper, so how will you be better? Think service.

6. Part II – Leadership Structure
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Identify the areas of management necessary in a small business and divide them among the partners based on individual strengths and weaknesses.
Success Criteria:
Students can provide a detailed list of tasks that must be done daily, weekly and monthly.
Students can categorize those tasks into the following four categories: Business Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Sales, Human Resources, Facility Maintenance, Repair and Safety
Students can evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses and decide how to divide the responsibilities detailed in #4.
   

7. Part II – Leadership Structure
Business Finance and Accounting
Marketing and Sales
Human Resources
Facility Maintenance, Repair and Safety
List all the tasks you think would fit under these categories. Think about daily, weekly, monthly tasks.
What are your strengths and weaknesses and how will you use them to decide which partner is responsible for what tasks?

8. Part III – Personnel Requirements
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Students will determine personnel requirements for their small business.
Success Criteria:
Students can determine how many employees they will need for their business.
Students can establish hiring critieria.
Students can create a weekly employee schedule.
Students can determine appropriate wages for their employees.
   

9. Part III – Personnel Requirements
How many employees will you hire? It needs to make sense for your size and type of business.
You are your business’ main employee.
Remember full-time employees must have benefits.
Have a clear job description.
See sample schedules. They are harder to make than you may think!
Go to salary.com if you need specialized employees and do not know what to pay them.
NO janitors or accountants !!!!

10. Market Structure
Homework: Read Chapter 7 and fill out the Market Structure Chart.
As a Business Project group, answer the following question thoroughly (this is the beginning of next class):
What type of market structure does your business fit into, and why? How will this affect your marketing strategy?

11. Part IV – Marketing Plan
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Students will identify their target market, create a logo, business card and advertising, and explain their choice of advertising for their small business.
Success Criteria:
Students can explain the importance of location to attract customers for their business project.
Students can describe how they will attract their customers, including promotions and signage.
Students can create advertising that is consistent with their marketing goals.
Students can design a logo and business card that is consistent with their marketing goals.
Students can determine the price of their product or service, and explain how they determined the price.
   

12. Part IV – Marketing Plan
(PLACE) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! Explain the importance of your location in attracting your customers. A description of your building and the sign you choose is important here.
(PRODUCT)Who are your target customers? What needs/wants are you going to meet for them? Your logo and business card need to support your marketing goals – need to match your target audience.
(PROMOTION) Not just advertising. Think promotions and merchandising! Be creative! These don’t have to be expensive.
 (PRICE) Determine your prices. Either mark-up wholesale costs, or figure out the standard mark-up and work backward to find your wholesale cost. You will have to guess your number of sales.

13. Part V – Financing Your Business
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Students will determine start-up costs, evaluate financing options, and create a balance sheet for a small business.
Success Criteria:
Students can research and total up all start-up costs they will need for their business project.
Students can explain the criteria to qualify for a small business loans, and describe the process of applying for a loan at a bank.
Students can determine the monthly loan payment based on a getting a loan for 80% of their start-up costs, a given interest rate, and an appropriate loan term using a loan calculator..
Students can create a simple balance sheet, and identify assets, liabilities and owner’s equity.
   

14. Part V – Financing Your Business
Sample: Start-up costs (must have list of all that you are purchasing)
$27,328.42
(round up!)
$30,000.00
20% 80%
(Owners’ Equity) (Liability – loan)
$6, $24,000.00 Go
use7% as your interest rate
plug in your loan amount
plug in your term
It will calculate your monthly payment for you!
(The amount you round up becomes your cash.)
Less than 20k 1year
20k – 100k 5 years
100k+ 10 years

15. Reminders! Don’t forget to interview your small business owner!
Final Projects:
Business Plan must be typed, and written as one single essay, incorporating all the changes from your feedback. DO NOT break down as Part I, Part II, etc.
Turn Business Plan, Financial Reports and Logo, Business Card and Advertising sample in a report cover, with cover page with name of business, partners, and class period.
Make sure you have documented all of your sources.
Presentation must have a visual element – Powerpoint, posterboard, etc. Samples are encouraged!
Be prepared to answer questions about your business.

16. Part VI – The Income Statement
Essential Question: How do entrepreneurs use their resources to start businesses?
Learning Target: Students will determine revenue and costs for a small business, and prepare a monthly income statement.
Success Criteria:
Students can determine total revenue, using the price they have established for their goods/services, and estimate the number of sales.
Students can determine the cost of goods sold if applicable, and subtract from total revenue to get net sales.
Students can identify all other operating costs, and subtract from net sales to get net income.
Students can estimate total taxes and subtract from net income to determine the amount of profit, if any.
Students can correctly fill out a sample income statement for their small business.
   

17. Part VI – The Income Statement
You need to ESTIMATE your total revenue – remember that it is Price x Quantity Sold!
Cost of Goods Sold
What you paid for your inventory items (wholesale v. retail). A book cost you $3 (cost of book) and you sell it for $10 (price of book).
Or, you may have to find the standard mark-up on your good. For example, you sell clothes. The standard mark-up on clothing is 100%. So, if you price a shirt at $20, the cost of it would have been $10. (You will need to look this up!)
Your operating costs are your recurring expenses (i.e rent, utilities, wages, loan payment)