The assessment served as a final paper for a Principles of Business course. The process covers much of what is in a typical introductory course, but allows students to use their own ideas for a small business that could be started with a small amount of capital.
Learning Goals
To apply business principles in a business planning format
Objective - to create a new business that you could own and operate during your first year of college.
The idea behind this is that you could take this idea, research, and artifacts and make some money after you leave high school. This business is one that would not require that you take out a business loan.
Ideas - dog walking, tutoring, sports skills camps, make-up artistry
Please provide the textbook definition for any underlined vocabulary word and also address how the concept would be applied in your business.
Cover page with your name and company name
Overview
Rationale for business
Personal skills that will lead you to success
Professional/business skills that will lead you to success
Areas of risk
Product/Service description
Describe what you will sell
Identify materials needed to start and operate the business
How are you adding value through form utility?
Schedule (hours, days, etc.)
The Market
Identify your target market (demographics and psychographics)
Identify at least two potential competitors
Determine where you will operate and describe why that is a good location. Provide a map of the city and map of location within the city (dorm meeting room, library, gym)
Ethical and social responsible behavior (Chapter 4)
Describe the potential ethical issues you could face and how you will overcome them
How will you demonstrate social responsibility
Developing and Pricing Goods and Services (Chapter 14)
Determine the product differentiation
Determine class of good
Identify the pricing objective
Determine your type of pricing
What non-price competition factors exist for your proposed business?
Distributing Products (Chapter 15)
Identify the distributors from which you will buy your products to create the product/service
Marketing Plan (Chapter 13)
Customer relationship management - how will you find your customers, what information will you keep on file, and how will you entice your customers to remain loyal
Using Effective Promotions (Chapter 16)
Advertising - Flier to promote your business (include all details one needs to know to purchase your product or service)
Sales promotion - you pick
Social media posts - you pick the platform and write three messages
Personal selling - write your two minute sales pitch that you could tell a stranger about your business
Understanding Accounting and Financial Information (Chapter 17)
Spreadsheet - start-up costs and supplies, and total capital required to start the business
Spreadsheet - ongoing expenses
Spreadsheet - three month projection of sales and expenses
Extra Credit Opportunities:
Create a Google site to promote your business
Design a 15 second promotional video
Surprise me with something fun that could work for your business (and makes sense for your target audience)
Volk, Michelle. "Mini Business Plan". OER Commons. Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, 23 Jan. 2020. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://wlresources.dpi.wi.gov/authoring/1886-mini-business-plan>.
Volk, M. (2020, January 23). Mini Business Plan. OER Commons. Retrieved May 14, 2024, from https://wlresources.dpi.wi.gov/authoring/1886-mini-business-plan.