The Process
PART 1: Decide what your business will be
Fill out the Business Plan and get it okayed
by me. For help with the mission statement, read the following short article on Writing
a Mission Statement, and read
the examples it gives.
PART 2: Entrepreneur Interview
Find one entrepreneur who has successfully run a business in your chosen field. Together with your partner, interview that person.
- Follow the guidelines for interviewing that were discussed in class
- Interview should last at least 30 minutes
- Type up your questions and answers
PART 3: Logo
After the idea has been okayed, design your logo. The logo
should be used in all further activities of your business.
- Keep the
dimensions to less than 2" by 2".
- You may use any program to create your logo: Photoshop, Word, hand-drawn and scanned, etc.
- For help with logo design, visit LogoMaker, a free online logo maker; you do have to register to get your completed logo, and you will need to use your snipping tool to capture it as an image to use in the other applications.
- Other logo examples can be found at InstaLogo, but there is a fee to use this site
- There are many free sites; just do a google search for "free online logo makers" or something similar.
PART 4: Publisher Documents: Business Card, Letterhead, Other
Create your business Letterhead and
Business Cards for orders and advertising. Both
should include:
- Logo
- Slogan
- Company name and complete address (city, state, zip)
- Phone number
- Fax number
- Email address
- Web page address
- QR code
- Mission Statement (on letter only, not necessary on the business card)
- For the date on the letter, use the due date of the project
For examples of logos and letterheads, visit the links below.
On your letterhead, write a
short
letter introducing your business to your future customers. Use the
same formatting in your letter that we covered in class and be sure to
include the following in the content of your letter:
- Logo, Slogan, Mission Statement
- Purpose of your business
- Location
- Hours
- Promotion/Sale/Special Deal/etc.
Also create at least one other publication using Microsoft Publisher:
- Advertisement
- Brochure
- Flyer
- Gift Certificate
- Menu
- Newsletter
- Calendar
PART 5: Spreadsheets
In Excel, you will be creating six separate
spreadsheets to track all income and expenses. Search the Web to
determine what some of these might cost. The information is out there.
LOOK FOR IT!!! Include on the spreadsheet how many of each item you
will need along with the price. Figure the grand total.
All spreadsheets will be saved into one workbook. This
means that all spreadsheets will be saved under one file name. If
you don't know how to set this up, see Mrs. Huddleston.
Spreadsheet 1:
Goods and Services Sold (either
weekly, monthly, or quarterly).
Create a list of everything you sell along
with their prices. Include in the spreadsheet how many of each item
you realistically expect to sell in a one week/month/season time period. You
can use:
United States Small Business Administration and Business
Plans Made Easy for some help. Also consider that different states
have different sales taxes. Visit
Federation of Tax Administrators to view a comparison of state sales
taxes.
Spreadsheet 2: Consumable
Inventory (done on the same time frame as your Goods and Services
Sold Spreadsheet). This is a list of all the raw materials you
will go through each time period to produce/sell your product. Items
to consider include cleaning supplies, paper products, food items, etc. Include
the prices, quantities, and totals.
Spreadsheet 3: Capital
Expense List. This is a list of real equipment needed and other
one-time purchases to start your business. Things to think about
are tables, computers, inventory systems, shelving, software, etc.
Spreadsheet 4: Overhead Expenses. Items to consider include rent/mortgage, utilities
(electric/heat), water and sewage usage, phone and Internet usage, advertising,
loan repayment, etc. and totals. This is a list of those expenses
you pay every month, that remain fairly constant from month to month.
Spreadsheet 5: Payroll
Expenses. Include number of employees, monthly salary (if a
manager), hourly wage and hours/week worked (if waged employees), taxes,
and totals. Minimum wage is currently $7.25. Othe guidelines
and points to consider are on example.
Spreadsheet 6: Net
Profit/Loss Statement. This spreadsheet should show the
grand totals from the previous five spreadsheets and your net profit/loss
as well as a second-year projection of net income. The acceptable range for the Total Net Profit/(Loss) is -$250,000 to +$250,000. Numbers outside that range will receive a deduction since they are highly unrealistic.
PART 6: Commercial
Make a 10-30 second commercial using Windows MovieMaker or any other video editing software you have. Include the following (all are minimums):
- 1 video clip
- 1 still picture
- Audio
- Text
- :10-:30 seconds long
PART 7: Web Site
Create a website to showcase your products/services online. Your web site will have at least the following pages:
Home page: Try not to have scrolling on the home page. Some may be necessary, but excessive scrolling will result in a deduction. Keep it simple, yet creative.
Include the following elements:
- Title should be the name of your business and location
- Logo
- Slogan
- Mission Statement
- Links to other pages
- Other design elements
- Meta tags
Contact Us page: Include the following elements:
- Complete address
- Phone
- Fax
- Email (should work)
- Mapquest map/directions
- Hours
- Links to at least two (2) social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. You must include profile information and content.
About us page: Assume you are the president/CEO/founder of your company. Talk about yourself and your accomplishments that got you to this position.
Tell why you decided to start this business.
Keep it professional and realistic (you are teenage entrepreneurs, not Harvard graduates). Humor is fine, but don’t get ridiculous.
Include the following elements:
- Current picture of you (from a digital camera) - either one photo of the two partners together or two photos of each partner separately
- Add a photo of your store/office front
- Discuss how you and your partner created this business
At least 3 product/services pages: Discuss your product: what is it, costs, descriptions, pictures, guarantees/warrantees, etc. You may have between 3-15 product pages. If you need more than 15 product pages, see me first. Without prior approval, pages beyond 15 will be subject to a -10 point deduction per page.
The following elements are required:
- Pictures
- Prices
- Descriptions
- Commercial
The following elements are optional, but will add credibility and realism to your project.
- Testimonials
- Guarantees/warrantees
- Coupon codes
- Anything else that will help sell your product and make your online presence realistic
PART 8: Prezi
Put
together a Prezi to show your work. In this slide show
demonstrate your ability to make a buck. Explain your product and how
your company will make its money. Put
it together to SELL your company and its ideas! Design this as a
professional presentation you would show to future investors. USE BULLET POINTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT. (Cafe Com Leite Prezi & website example)
Your Prezi needs
to include the following information as well as appropriate transitions and animations:
- Title Slide (Name, Due Date, Technology II, Period, Mrs. Huddleston, Title of Project)
- Introduction (Explain the project. What did you have to do to begin? Why did you choose this business?)
- About the Owner (Personal biography)
- Contact Info (Name, Address, Phone Number, Fax Number)
- Hours of Operation
- Mission Statement, Slogan, Logo
- Product Information (Pictures, prices, guarantees, testimonials, etc.)
- Marketing Audience Demographics (Specifically, who will buy your product or service?)
- Expansion (Do you have plans to expand to other local locations, cities, counties?)
- Competitors (Show competitor logos and link them to their web sites)
- Publisher Documents (Embed or link to all Publisher documents)
- Online and Social Media Presence (What are the pros and cons of using a web site and Facebook/Twitter?)
- Advertising (List at least two other mediums you could use to get your information out with pros/cons.)
- Current Promotion/Sale/Deal (Link to commercial)
- Income (Explain what your weekly/monthly and yearly income, explain where your revenue comes from, also called a Revenue Stream)
- Expenses (List your various expenses and their weekly/monthly and include image of expenses graph)
- Net Profit/Loss Statement (include image of speadsheet, NOT including graph)
- Web Site Format & Explanation (Linear, hierarchical, combination)
- Web Site Updating (How much and how often?)
- Why should anyone invest in your business?
- Entrepreneur Interview (Who did you interview? What did you learn? Summarize at least three Q&As from your interview.)
- List 3 things you really like about your project.
- List 3 things you would like to change about or add to project.
- Conclusion (What did you learn? What changes would you recommend?)
- Domain Name (Create a link to the home page of your website)
PART 9: Give an oral presentation of your project to the
class, showing your PowerPoint or Prezi presentation and other work. Sign up for
presentation days will on a first-come, first-served basis. Your oral
presentation will be graded on the following criteria:
- Physical Appearance (dress uniform outfit or business attire)
- Voice Projection
- Clarity of Speech/Fillers (like, uhm, ya know)
- Posture
- Eye Contact
- Clarity of Material
- Nervous Habits
- Length of Presentation (between 10-20 minutes)
- Interest Factor
- Focus on Oral Presentation (Things not to do: talk to the computer,
talk to the projector screen with your back to the audience, read word-for-word
what's on the screen-for every screen. Things to do: talk to the audience,
use the PowerPoint to hit the main points, but in your verbal presentation,
expand on what is on the slide.)
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