Students in Business 9/10 will have the opportunity to win up to a $100 interest-free loan towards starting a small student-run business of their choice (half of net profits will be kept by students and half donated to an appropriate registered charity). Students will provide a written business plan document and then pitch their idea with a multimedia slideshow to a small panel of judges. The purpose of the project is to plan and develop a student-run, start-up social enterprise while building a connection and making a difference in your community.
Everybody in this class has a good chance of getting their idea funded. Try to embody the Glowbal Restaurant entrepreneur: hard work, communication with peers and Mr Robson, and passion will help you win!
Mr Kam is the founder and chairman of Warriors’ Den. He may be one of the judges: let’s give him a round of applause.
There will be four tasks to complete:
Group Selection
Business Plan Document
Business Plan Slideshow
Presentation
1. Group Selection
For this assignment, you will work in groups of threes or fours.
The $100 loan will be used to start and possibly grow your business. The money may be for advertising (e.g. photocopies, art supplies), buying start-up supplies (e.g. cups, ice, lemonade), and growing and sustaining your business (e.g. more cups, more lemonade). You do not need to spend the entire $100 to start the business but $100 is the maximum investment towards your venture. Your group will eventually need to create a realistic budget and financial projections.
Debate the strength and weaknesses within your group and mentor, and then share your best three ideas with the teacher before starting the next section.
Note: If you plan to sell food or beverages in the school, they must meet FoodSafe standards AND Guidelines for Food and Beverages Sales in BC Schools. These two regulations are for everyone’s safety and health. Ask Mr Robson about these if you are planning to do anything food-related.
2. Business Plan Document
The first evaluated task is to develop a business plan. Your business plan must be 8 to 10 pages in length, maximum 1.5-spaced, which includes the title page, table of contents, and any graphs, tables or images. Click here to download a template (in .docx format).
A typical business plan will include the following sections:
Title Page: 1 page
Include group name and logo, member names and positions, block and submission date; slogan is optional.
Table of Contents: 1 page by itself
List your sections and its respective page numbers; often done last.
Executive Summary: 1 page in well written paragraphs
Introduce your group name, your group members and your product(s) or service(s).
Summarize your purpose; i.e. how much money do you need to borrow, how will you spend this money, what do you intend to do with the money you make?
Management Summary: 1 page in written paragraphs with photos
Start with a Mission Statement that reflects your company’s philosophy and your charity; less than five sentences.
List Members and Roles with a short synopsis for each individual; start with the CEO. Include relevant past work/volunteer experiences, personal interests, hobbies and personality traits that you can back up with specific, concrete examples; written in third person and present tense.
Opportunity Recognition: 3 pages, indented paragraphs with lists and tables
Provide a brief Business Environment Analysis (i.e. problem statement) that identifies a problem in your community and explain your business or product attempts to solve it.
Identify the Market Size and Target Market broken down in terms of demographics, geographic, psychographics and behavioural. Make references to your market survey. About 1/2 page.
Include a SWOT analysis that identifies the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats; i.e. what are the risks and threats confronting the business, and what can be done to mitigate them? This may be presented as a table or a list; about 1/2 page. It may be helpful to refer to examples.
Include a Competitor Analysis that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors: i.e. who are the competitors, and how will you maintain a competitive advantage? Compare yourselves to three other competitors (e.g., one local and then one big store); 1 page.
Lastly include a Financial Budget and Projections. The budget breaks down your expenses and explains how the loan will be used (e.g. capital, rent, inventory, marketing costs, etc.). The projections are estimated earnings based on your market research survey. The budget and projections will allow you to estimate your net profits. This section will be reported in a table.
Marketing Plan: 1 page, mostly lists and visuals
Provide a summary of the 4Ps:
Product(s) or Service(s)
Price(s)
Place (distribution and operations with flow chart)
Promotions
Appendix – Market Survey: 1-2 pages
Explain the Methodology in which the market research survey is conducted:
Where / when / to whom / how did you ask the questions?
How many people did you ask? How many people responded?
How many people did not respond? Why not? Did you provide incentives to respond?
How well does the sample survey represent your market? Justify your claim.
Include the Survey Questions from the market research.
Present the Results with graphs and tables.
Include any other supporting evidence that show your business idea is ready to be executed (e.g. advertising posters, written permission from teacher/admin to run special event, sample handcrafts, etc.)
Very helpful: Try out this Business Plan Writer from Futurpreneur.
3. Evaluation: Total possible group marks: 100. *There will also be individual / peer evaluations which may – but not necessarily – result in not every group member receiving the same mark.
Presentation – 30 marks consisting of:
-Formatting: 15 marks
-Spelling and Grammar: 15 marks (this should be 100%; always ask Mr Robson if unsure about a word or structuring a sentence)
Content – 50 marks total, consisting of:
Title Page and Table of Contents: 3 marks
Executive Summary: 8 mark
Management Summary
Mission Statement: 2 marks
Members and Roles: 4 marks
Opportunity Recognition:
Business Environment Analysis: 3 marks
Market Size and Target Market: 4 marks
SWOT Analysis: 4 marks
Competitor Analysis: 4 marks
Budget and Projections: 6 marks
Marketing Plan: 6 marks
Appendix: 6 marks for Market Research + up to 6 marks for Supporting Evidence
Overall Idea / Proof of Concept – 20 marks
Extra coaching: Groups must get at least a 50% grade for Content (that is, the Business Plan Document). If you need to redo, your group will receive free coaching from Mr Robson after school. His charge-out rate is usually $70 per hour, so you’re getting a great deal!
Late submissions will be marked against more stringent standards, because groups will have had more time to fine tune and do a better job. Should Business Plans be 2 or more days late, then the whole group will receive complimentary coaching from Mr Robson.