Introduction

This lesson was developed to give students the opportunity to think and work through the steps of designing and starting their own business. This project will be a major part of the grade for the Small Business Management Course at Murdock Middle High School. The students in this course are seniors and most plan on attending college after graduation.

In this lesson, students will brainstorm ideas to develop a small classroom based business. Once the idea is chosen, students will develop a business plan and seek start-up capital to get the business off the ground. They will develop an organizational plan in which students will compete for jobs, they will develop a detailed marketing plan to attract customers, and they will develop a financial plan to keep track of business progress.
 

The Task

Students will work together to to build a classroom based business. There will be opportunities for them to think critically about opportunities that exist within their school system. They will develop a business plan and determine who the target market is, what their products will be, how they will get financial support, and who will do each job required to operate a successful business. Most students in this course are seniors in high school with plans of attending college after graduation. Most students have jobs, but are not involved in the management or setup of the business. They have a basic understanding of business and will need good math skills, good people skills and good communication skills.

Students will have the opportunity to design the business of their choice. They will think through in very detailed terms all the necessary aspects of starting and running their own business. They will decide on the type of business, the product, and who will do the work
 

Process

Students will become more interested in this project if they learn about how some of today's successful businesses got started. The first activity is to have students research the history of several well known companies.

1. Each student must write a brief summary of three businesses they are interested in. In the summary, describe the history of the company and any detail explaining the growth of the business. Listed below are several web sites they may use. They may research others.

Web sites to Investigate:

http://www.cocacola.com
http://www.mcdonalds.com
http://www.wendys.com
http://www.mrsfields.com
http://www.subway.com
http://www.walmart.com
http://www.staples.com
http://www.entrepreneur.com
http://www.inc.com
http://www.allbusiness.com
 

2. Are you ready to become a business owner? Do you have what it takes? Complete the worksheet below to determine if you might be a successful entrepreneur.

Have you got what it takes...to be an entrepreneur?

Check all the words that best describe YOU. Then circle the five (5) traits that represent your greatest strengths. Rank these 5 strengths from 1 to 5 with 1 being your greatest strength.
 

 
 

__________ well-organized	__________ cautious
__________ ambitious	__________ honest
__________ can solve problems	__________ intelligent
__________ creative thinker	__________ persevere
__________ good communicator	__________ self-starter
__________ good listener	__________ energetic
__________ patient	__________ efficient
__________ love to talk	__________ can't make a decision
__________ understanding	__________ good time manager
__________ independent	__________ often late
__________ responsible	__________ enjoy being alone
__________ reliable	__________ impatient
__________ enthusiastic	__________ don't always follow through
__________ motivated	__________ loafing is my favorite pastime
__________ confident	__________ like to be told what to do
__________ positive attitude	__________ temperamental
__________ helpful	__________ stubborn
__________ friendly	__________ rebellious
__________ take risks	__________ shy
__________ innovative	__________ unpredictable
__________ like to work with my hands	__________ good with numbers
__________ computer literate	__________ good with customers
__________ quick thinker	__________ can make decisions easily
__________ internet savvy	__________ trustworthy

1. Based upon the results of your 5 greatest strengths, suggest 3 businesses that you might be suited to own; explain why these traits are needed in these businesses. _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. List your hobbies or activities that could relate to owning a business. Example: Collecting baseball cards, surfing the Internet, reading books. Suggest the type of business you might have.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. List 3 words from the list above that would not describe someone who was running his/her own business. Explain why not.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
 
 

3. Student Activity to enhance student team building, creative thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills, this activity allows you to think through some alternative uses of different products.

Team building, Creative Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Skills

Objective: You will use creative thinking to create solutions to problems and make decisions. This activity will highlight how creative thinking generates ideas.

Materials needed: 

• several obsolete or single-use items: (4 or 5 different items for a class of 20 students) Examples: powered detergent measuring cups, rolling pins, file boxes, paper rolls from paper towels, plastic produce containers, video storage box,
• paper and pencil

 

B. Next, team up with others who studied the same item. Give them 2 minutes to discuss their suggestions, combine lists, and add other items. Draw a line at the end of the list.

C. Form teams of 4 to 6 students with like items. Then combine lists and brainstorm other items for 2 to 3 minutes.

D. Count responses you listed as individuals, then as pairs, then as part of a larger team. What conclusions can you make from this exercise?

Part 2:
Each team will pass their final list on to a team that had another item to study. This team must discuss which ideas will work and which ones will not work. They then must decide and agree on one of the uses for the item.

This step in the activity promotes communication, teamwork, creative thinking, and decision making resulting in consensus.

Part 3:
Results of all teams are reported to the entire class. Each team makes a recommendation for the use of their item. The class can override this use by giving convincing arguments for another use of the item. The purpose is to develop arguments to sway the other members of the class towards your choice. Consensus must be reached so you must be very convincing.

This presents opportunities for debate, critical thinking, and problem solving.
 

4. Next, brainstorm ideas to start a classroom business. List all feasible opportunities and then pick one that would work within your school environment. Some examples might be:

• school store
• cookie & pastry cart
• monogramming T-shirts
• swap shop for clothing or sporting equipment
• car wash

5. The main project you will work on will be a Business Plan. Begin by developing three main components of the plan.
It would help if you had an opportunity to view a few sample plans. Log on to one of the web sites listed below to preview some good examples:

http://www.bplans.com
http://www.planware.org/freeware.htm
 

The Business Plan:

• The Organization Plan
• The Marketing Plan
• The Financial Plan

The Organization Plan

The organization plan is the section of the business plan that details out all the key elements of the business.

Once you have decided on the type of business you will startup, the fun begins. Decide on a name for the business. The name should be easy to remember and associated with the type of business being formed. 

Next, it is necessary to determine business location, hours of operation, equipment needs, and positions required to run the business. This stage requires some advance planning with the administration. Let them know what the plan is and select an area that the business will be able to operate with plenty of exposure to the target market.

Once the positions of the business have been determined, develop job descriptions for each position. The next step will be to have each student complete an application for a position they would be interested in applying for. This might be an opportunity to prepare resumes and prepare for job interviews. Microsoft Word has a resume template to help you develop your own resume. You may also go to http://www.CareerJournal.com
Once on this web site you may visit the job hunting advice section and view resumes and cover letters.

The selection process will begin with the teacher looking at all the applications, interviewing all interested applicants, then selecting the most capable manager for this business. The process continues as the new manager and the teacher review the existing applications, then interviewing each candidate for each position. Finally the selection is made and each person has a position that they were interested in.

The rest of the organization plan should be dedicated to thinking through just how the business will be run. What activities are necessary, and who will do each task to run a successful operation. Depending on the type of business, students will have to develop record keeping documents for such items as merchandise
 

The Marketing Plan

In order to be successful, your business needs a marketing plan. You must find the most efficient and cost effective way to let everyone know about your business and your products. Your market is made up of all the potential customers you want to sell to. You must understand what their needs are, and find a way to fill them. You must spend several hours researching the market in which you will operate. What kind of competition will you be dealing with? What are the existing products you are competing with? What kind of prices are your competitors charging? How will your products be distributed? How will you promote and advertise?

Student Activity: Develop ways to communicate to your market. Draw up posters, advertise on the daily announcements, draw up an ad for the local cable channel, or make handouts and distribute them to all students, teachers and administrators. As a classroom based business you will not have much startup capital so it will be necessary to use school supplies as needed. To get some ideas on advertising have go to http://www.adage.com.
 

The Financial Plan

It is essentially important to maintain accurate records in this business endeavor. Some of you in the class will likely have some accounting background. This will be determined during the job search process you will go through in the beginning of the project. Develop a easy to follow system that will allow the freedom and flexibility to keep track of how the business is doing. 
Often at this age, however, you don't have much experience in this area. I find it very helpful to go to the following web site to learn about saving and investing money: http://www.stocksquest.thinkquest.org
This will give you the opportunity to learn about investing and saving money.

Another key component for this project will be finding startup capital to begin operations. Once you develop the business plan you can go out and seek a funding source. Several options exist within a small community. You may choose to go to local businesses to seek donations or products that you will be able to sell. You may ask the administration if there is money in the budget for this type of operation. You may go to the Sports Boosters and work to develop some type of partnership, whereby for a small amount of startup capital, the you could work on different projects sponsored by the Boosters.

Many options exist. Your mission will be to find the right business for your school environment. Have fun and experience the pleasure and joy of running and operating your own business.
 
 

Resources Needed

Describe what's needed to implement this lesson. Some of the possibilities:

• Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
• E-mail accounts for all students
• Entrepreneurship in the Classroom: Connection to the Workplace
• Specific reference material in the school library
• Computers with Internet Access

Evaluation

Rubric for Student Evaluation:
 

                Degree to which skills have been performed

Work Performance	Standards 3	2	1	0
Business Skills (for position held) Salesmanship Customer Service Management Technology Marketing Accounting Other _____________ 3 x _______=________	Excellent work, skills exceed expectations; can do someone else's job; very capable in this position	Good job skills, meets expectations; capable in this position; can fill in for someone else	Average work skills; does only what is expected; can sometimes fill in for another position	Fair job skills; below expectations; could not be counted on to follow through with tasks
Teamwork, Interpersonal, and Leadership Skills 3 x _______=________	Excellent leadership skills; a team player; ability to effectively take charge without controlling; interacts well with others, including those with cultural differences	Some leadership skills; works well with teammates; assumed some leader roles; usually interacts well with others; often relates well to people with cultural differences	Takes direction well; worked with the team; cooperative; has some difficulty relating to people with cultural differences	Little interaction with teammates; sometimes uncooperative; often unable to accept people's cultural differences
Basic and Communication Skills Math, Reading, Writing, Communication 3 x _______=________	Skills exceeded expectations; ability to effectively give verbal and written directions; excellent math and reading skills	Good communication skills; can give and receive information that is understood; good math and reading skills	Not always clear in communicating verbally or in writing; has some difficulty with math; average reading skills	Little effort made to communicate with others; reading, writing, and math skills need improvement
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving Skills 4 x _______=________	Excellent ability to think quickly and effectively solve problems; quick to learn, adapt, and apply new information	Thinks quickly to solve problems; adequate in learning to adapt and apply new information	Makes some good choices when solving problems; is not consistent in applying new information	Has difficulty making decisions; does not effectively learn and apply new information
Personal Qualities 3 x _______=________	Always on time; reliable; honest; motivated; self-confident	On time; dependable; usually motivated; accepts responsibility	On time; usually dependable; needs encouragement to perform tasks; somewhat motivated	Often late; can't be counted on; must be prodded to perform tasks; lacks motivation
Other (Write in those specific to business) 2 x _______=________

 

Conclusion

This project is beneficial to the students in the class, the students in the school and the community. It teaches real world experience and job skills that all students will need after they graduate. This project forces students to think through a variety of every day problems and allows them to freely solve the problems with minimal risk attached. This is a project based course so students are less likely to be bored by a lecture type of class. the general reaction is that it is fun and exciting and builds for them skills that will make them successful employees for the future.

Credits & References
 

Entrepreneurship in the Classroom: Connection to the Workplace, Ingraham; LSI Productions, 2002
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Meyer & Allen; Glencoe, McGraw-Hill, 2000
The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business, Mariotti; Three Rivers Press, 2000