AN INTRODUCTION TO RESOURCE, INC.

Good afternoon. We are Devon Mack, John Shideler and Nicole Williams with Resource, Inc., a virtual mail order firm developed for the International Business Practice class. Resource, Inc. is promoting the sale of renewable energy products in the international market. The first two products we will offer are shakable flashlights and renewable energy radios. Additional product lines will be added as the firm becomes more established. There are twelve students in our class, as well as our “CEO,” Tracy Dearinger.

To give you an idea of what we have accomplished, here are the goals we have set out for Resource, Inc. to complete this semester:

  • Define business departments
  • Divide class into departments
  • Marketing/Sales
  • Purchasing
  • Financing
  • Human Resources
  • Determine product to sell and market
  • Determine company name
  • Create a company logo

Determine company budget

  • Set up bank accounts
  • Apply for a business loan (in process)
  • Do country reports (target markets)
  • Prepare individual resumes
  • Create a webpage (in process)
  • Create a business plan (in process)

Near the end of the semester the class added two more goals in order to promote the International Business Practice Firm to others. We are scheduling visits in late-April to the local high schools to inform them about the class. We will also be holding an open house on May 13th. Present at the open house will be students from the college, as well as staff members and teachers. Promotional materials (pens and t-shirts) will be handed out at these activities.

Resource, Inc. is made up of a great group of people who hail from different backgrounds. The team is a mix of traditional and nontraditional students who bring a wide range of knowledge and abilities to the corporate table. We have divided up the goals and accomplished each task in a timely manner. Individually, each student works to put together a basic project – for example the corporate logo. The student then presents to the wholeteam his or her ideas and theteamhashes out a final product. Mixing individual effort with the team concept is working amazingly well with this group of people. We have also been blessed with a teacher who is a dynamo and her enthusiasm is contagious. Advisors in the school and the community have also helped us develop the company as realistically as is possible for a virtual company. Three people from Sheridan College have worked with our team frequently, as well as others from the school and community:

  • Barb Williams, Business Office assisted Resource’s purchasing department with its procedures
  • Judy Marshall, Human Resources Director helped Resources human relations with its employee handbook, duties, goals and staff job interviews
  • Wendy Smith, Public Information Officer was invaluable to marketing and sales with information about locating our target markets and setting up sales campaigns
  • Ross Langhorn is a businessman with many years of experience in the international business field. He presented the whole class with an overview of opportunities and difficulties working with foreign countries. He also worked with the finance department as well as marketing and sales advising both about the cost of doing business in foreign countries.
  • Financial and moral support has come from Dr. Steve Maier, President of Sheridan College, Doug Parrott, Chairman of the Business and Social Services Division, and Gary Donnelly, IBPF Director of Casper College.

The line between a real company and a virtual company is fuzzy and probably where we have the most difficulty. It will be easier for classes that follow because the framework will be in place. The numbers will be on paper, the product ideas in front of them, and contacts established. We have found it confusing to ascertain numbers for selling prices, quantities to sell, and costs for running the business. Do we take numbers from local costs or international costs, or pick them out of the sky? Do we base our potential sales numbers on the number of people in the International Business Practice organization? Or do we use a percentage of the total populations of the foreign countries we will be doing business? Do we include the population of the United States? We have attempted to be as realistic in our virtual company as we can, but find it has been difficult.

Our class also ran into difficulty locating funds for our promotional activities. Sheridan College President, Dr. Steven Maier, provided support and funded the promotional t-shirts and pens, as well as the May 13th Open House.

The biggest difficulty though is in time! One semester was not enough for this team to set up a business and actually be able to sell our products. That is what we wanted to experience. We have it set up for those who follow to be able to do just that. It is important that new companies not be discouraged by how long it takes to get the ball rolling.

Further, groups that follow those of us who have set up a company: Don’t change too much (products, numbers, etc.) until you get a feel for how this program works. You may spend all your time reinventing the wheel and not be able to actually “do business.” And doing business internationally, learning about how businesses interact in the world, and preparing each student for the real world are important concepts of this project.

We plan to end our year with an open house where we will be touting Resource, Inc. and the International Business Practice Firm concept to other students, teachers and community members. We hope this will encourage future participation in this interesting learning experience.

Thank you for your time.