Throughout your Economics course this semester, you will apply your classroom knowledge to real business world tasks. You will simulate actions of a true entrepreneur as you create a portfolio of projects that involve gathering current business information and interacting with your community. The information you obtain and decisions you make will allow you to complete your primary portfolio goal: to design a small business plan for a product or service that you can successfully sell to consumers in the current economy. Many of your tasks will serve as actual components of your small business plan; others will guide you to make decisions about these components. All the projects will help you answer countless questions as you prepare to operate a business, such as: • What type of product/service should I sell? • Who will purchase my product and why? • Who are my competitors? • How will I advertise or market my product? • How will I determine the price of my product? • What kind of business will I operate and manage? • How much money and capital do I need to start my business? • What are my short and long term goals for my business?
Although this portfolio will conclude with the written business plan, you will ultimately be the one to decide if you wish to launch your plan into action. Part of this portfolio will guide you to assess the qualities that successful entrepreneurs possess and help you decide if you have the interest and ability to promote your ideas into a real business world success. Starting and operating a small business is a difficult task. Many small business attempts fail because entrepreneurs neglect to research their ideas, establish goals or to document their plans. This portfolio is designed to help you avoid these pitfalls by allowing you to gather the ideas, formulate the plans and write the documents necessary to initiate a successful business venture.
This project strongly ties into our unit on business types and will help you to better understand the complexities of business ownership. There were hundreds of factors involved and expenses all over the place. While owning one’s own business is certainly a great experience, it is also labor- and paperwork intensive. The Business Plan project set an order for students to assemble a business plan that would persuade investors to put forward capital for our business. As with other economic's assignments, you will have to assemble a comprehensive selection of information. Your plans included what our business is, how it would operate, and information about expenses. Each plan needed to include information of where and how capital would be obtained, along with how much would be required to start the business.
Grade Level: High School
Subject: Social Studies-Economics
Topics: Real World economics, opportunity costs, wants, needs, scarcity, trade offs, budgeting and life management skills. Students will:
* Formulate a savings or financial investment plan for a financial goal.
* Explain how consumers and producers confront the condition of scarcity by making choices which involve opportunity costs and trade-offs.
* Make strategic use of Digital Media( textual, graphical, audio, visual and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and enhance and add to interest.
* Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing and speaking.
*Describe major revenue and expenditure categories and their respective proportions within a budget.
*Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.
*Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine and convey clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.
*Practice good time management skills.
* Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
*Students understand common economic terms and concepts and economic reasoning.
*Compare and contrast the following forms of business organization: sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation.
*Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
_________________________________________________________________________
Start your own Business Project
Mr. Scott Nichols @ Woodsville High School
~ As this is an upper level college preparatory class you are expected to know how to manage your time effectively. You are to plan out when you will "get stuff" accomplished on this assignment in the time given. You have ______ weeks. I suggest you write your time management outline in your planner and/or your Google Calender(using your SAU23 Student Gmail). If you are having trouble planning your time please see me and ask for help.
Your Corporate Structure-
1. Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
2. Vice President Records/ Documentation - Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
3. Vice President Advertising/ Marketing/ Website Design
4. Architect/ Interior Design
You will complete a comprehensive and detailed portfolio that includes:
--
3 Ring Binder w/sectional tabs _____
Professional appearance _____
Colors/ Charts _____
Easy to read/ Organized _____
Informative _____
List of Product(s)/ Services
With prices _____(should include pictures)
Three page research paper on 4 (four) of today’s entrepreneurs ______________
Advertising/ Marketing
Advertising/ Marketing Budget _____
Website Costs _____
Facebook Page(take a screen shot since Facebook is blocked at school) ______
Twitter handle/ page _____
3 Slogans (ex. Just Do It, The Road Will Never be the Same, Don't leave home without it, etc.)
1 Fully Developed (2-4 pages) S.W.O.T.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats & Trends)(see me for potential report layouts) Report _____
25 Brainstormed Marketing Ideas (B.M.I.) _____
10 Expanded Advertising/ Marketing Concepts _____
* 2 Actual Fully Developed (see me if you are not sure about this) Advertising/ Marketing Concepts_____
How to Write a marketing Plan1, How to Write a Marketing Plan 2 , Creating a Marketing Plan
2-3 Page Target Demographic Report (T.D.R) (Get the demographic information for the town you will be located in and decide how you will target your advertising toward certain demographics). _____
Webmaster-
Full Website Development( Weebly, Google Sites, etc.) _______
Verify domain name is avaliable using Go Daddy
Logo Design __________
Design 5 Banner Ads-
-468v60, 120x240, 120x60, 125x125, etc _____
Records & Documentation (Chief Financial Officer)
Detail the 4 Factors of Production for your company _____
Franchise fees? _____
Daily, weekly, monthly & yearly expense report _____
Start-up Capital Needed Report _____
Business Mgr./ Attorney _____
Corporate/ Organizational Structure Report _____
What form of business organization
(sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation)______
Proofread ALL work done by all other divisions. _____
Detailed Daily expense report _____
Detailed Weekly expense report _____
Detailed Monthly expense report _____
Detailed Yearly expense report _____
Domain name registration, website fees (hosting, design, etc.) _____
Advertising/ Marketing Budget _____
Architect/ Interior Design
Chief Executive Officer
Responsibilities:
Mission Statement _____
Geographic Location _____
4 Factors of Production Report _____
Contact and have discussion with actual business owner of similar business. (Include person’s name/ contact number and/ or email) _____
Ensure that ALL others are on task _____
Ensure that the Business portfolio is complete and turned in on time. _____
Outline of schedule for 30-minute presentation _____
5, 10 & 15-year/ Future Business Goals plan report _____
New Hampshire LLC Info (http://www.sos.nh.gov/corporate/llcleader.htm) ___________
Part Two-Presentations- (date ____________)
Basic Guideline