Generating a Business Idea
You are one of 20 business students selected to start a school-based-enterprise. Your first step is to generate a business idea that aligns with the policies and need/wants of the school. You will recognize a business opportunity for Loganville High School and present it in an organized and convincing manner using a PowerPoint presentation. You will use the PowerPoint to present your idea to our class 3 days from now.
1. Assemble with your Business Plan groups to complete this assignment.
2. Generate a Business Idea that can be implemented as a School – based Enterprise. Answer the following questions for your idea.(typed report, MLA style, minimum 2 pages), use these as headings:
a. What will we produce? (If someone had never heard of your product or what you do, they would be able to have a good vision of it, don’t just list “We will sell fruit”, list the specifics in this section.)
b. Why is our product needed? (Don’t be general, why is there a need for your product AT SCHOOL, and why is it not simply a “want”, think about what your product does for kids, why it’s different than what is already offered.)
c. Who are our competitors? (Where would someone else spend their money instead of spending it at your establishment? Do not be naïve enough to think that it’s just other vendors with similar products, think anywhere they can spend their money)
d. What physical materials will we need? (Tables, Chairs, Cash Register, not your products, anything that compliments them, etc.)
e. How much will our product cost to produce? (How much you purchase the item in bulk for and how much each individual item you sell costs to sell to the consumer) - A table is good in this section
f. How much money will we need to get started? (Supplies, Bulk amount of product first purchased, machinery, etc.) Tables are a good idea here, be specific
g. How many people will we need to run the business? (3 minimum, unless you want to hire more employees) (Use your real lunch schedules)
o Hours of Operation? (Cannot be during class hours)
o Location? (Find an actual location in our school)
o Roles & Responsibilities? (What will each person be assigned to, be specific, cleanup/setup/deposits/marketing/product making/purchasing)
h. How much profit do we expect to make? (list prices of your items and multiply that by a good estimate of how much you think you could sell each day. Always under-exaggerate this section. Multiply your sales by 160 days a year to come up with your total number. Make sure to subtract your costs to arrive at your final answer. Tables usually assist in this section as well.
i. What challenges do you anticipate? What could stop you from being successful? DO NOT list that you could lose money or customers, list WHY this is possible.
3. Create a PowerPoint presentation to convince Coach Johnson and other participants that you (the team) can make this Business idea work.
4. Present your idea, using the PowerPoint Presentation as a visual aid, to the facilitator and other participants. Other visual aids are ok and encouraged but not required.
5. After all ideas have been presented, discuss and select the best group that we would implement if we had to choose. Winner gets 10 points on any previous daily assignment.
You will have 2 and ½ days to generate an idea, type up the written report and create a PowerPoint Presentation. Make best use of time and work together as a group!
MLA Style Formatting Guidelines
Generating A Business Idea
Names: ______/ Teacher: Coach Johnson
Date of Presentation: ______/ Title of Work: Generating A Business Idea
Criteria / Points
4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Organization / Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can follow / Student presents information in logical sequence which audience can follow / Audience has difficulty following presentation because student jumps around. / Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. / ______
Content Knowledge / Student demonstrates full knowledge. Answered all questions. (more than required) with explanations and elaboration. / Student demonstrates knowledge and thought. Answered most questions satisfactorily. / Student is uncomfortable with information and is able to answer only rudimentary questions / Student does not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject / ______
Visuals
PowerPoint / Student used visuals to reinforce screen text and presentation – describe the details / Visuals related to text and presentation / Student occasional used visuals that rarely support text and presentation / Student used no visuals. / ______
Mechanics / Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors / Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors. / Presentation had three misspellings and/or grammatical errors. / Student's presentation had four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors / ______
Delivery / Student used a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms. / Student's voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly. / Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation / Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in the back of class to hear / ______
Business Idea / Excellent – Convinced all. / Good – Convinced the majority. / Ok – Convinced half the audience. / Did not gain much support. / ______
Collaborative Skills / Group ALWAYS listened to, shared with, and supported the efforts of others. Always stayed on task. / Group Usually listened to, shared with, and supported the efforts of others. Usually stayed on task. / Group Sometimes listened to, shared with, and supported the efforts of others. Easily distracted from task. / Group not very productive.
Seldom on task. / ______
Total----> / ______
IDOE—Business Services & Technology Programs Minibasket—Generating a Business Idea
Carolee Tremain, New Palestine High School (2003) Page XXX