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BUSINESS PLAN BASICS

The business plan is a tool to help you find and explore opportunities.

Students at any level of education can use the concept of preparing a business plan as a method of exploring all kinds of ideas for starting a business. It is merely a series of questions that lead you to think about the requirements and the possibilities of any kind of business. Until you start to ask these questions, you aren't able to visualize the details necessary to be successful in a business.

There are many different approaches to writing a business plan, some more complex than others.

BUSINESS START-UP SIMULATION

Simulation is designed to involve all participants in the Entrepreneurship program in the activities of setting up a business. It can be used for instructor training workshops or for actual students in the entrepreneurship program. It uses the knowledge presented in the National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education and organizes the content into tasks to be accomplished in setting up and running a business.

The tasks can be divided into work for three teams (Management Team, Marketing Team, and Finance Team). Also there are tasks for the entire class that will integrate the decisions of the whole business team. Depending

CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Innovative thinking is the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Whether you actually invent a new product or process, or you use creativity to find a better way to market existing products or services, you will need to learn how to think like an inventor.

START WITH THE CUSTOMER OR END USER

The customer is always your first and most important creative challenge. Listen! Try to see the customers' problems and needs from his or her point of view. Restate the problem and the customers' needs in their terms until a consensus is reached. Ask not only what the problems

ECONOMICS THE FOUNDATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The purpose of the study of economics is to help society decide how to create, distribute, and consume wealth. Every human activity has an economic dimension. Every time you wonder if there will be enough money to pay the rent or the mortgage, question the increase of food prices or decide to buy certain products, you are acting as an economic decision-maker.

Most people want to know more about the economy. Knowing some economics is essential to understanding what is going on in your life. Economics is not always easy to figure out and many adults and young people feel

ENTREPRENEURSHIP...IT'S ELEMENTARY!

WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION???????

The elementary teacher often has so much to teach that entrepreneurship education does not appear in the curriculum. Because it is crucial to let children know that entrepreneurship is a viable career option and the skills are critical in developing problem solving skills, there are many ways lesson can be integrated into existing curriculum.

GEOGRAPHY/LANGUAGE ARTS

Have students take a walking tour of community businesses. Snap pictures of the businesses. When the pictures are developed, have the children construct an entrepreneurial map on a large wall.

Students can practice oral and written communication skills by writing interview

ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT CELL

Entrepreneurship is the back bone of economic growth of any country. Entrepreneurship can be fostered by inculcating entrepreneurial skills right at the stage of education. The presence of Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC) in educational institutes helps in developing entrepreneurial culture in academic institutions so as to foster growth of innovation and entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC) was started with the object of promoting specialized knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship development. In view of the worldwide shortage of jobs (both government and private sectors) leading to unemployment problems and lack of proper utilization of human resources; the cell strives

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IS GOOD BUSINESS

Ethical business practices include assuring that the highest legal and moral standards are observed in your relationships with the people in your business community. This includes the most important person in your business, your customer. Short term profit at the cost of losing a customer is long term death for your business.

A reputation for ethical decisions builds trust in your business among business associates and suppliers. Strong supplier relationships are critical to a successful business. Consider the problems you might have if you could not supply what the customer needs...at the time that they need it.

The entrepreneur is

FRANCHISING KNOW-HOW

FRANCHISOR OR FRANCHISEE ?

What does it mean to you ?

The idea of franchising makes you think of fast food restaurants or real estate brokers.

But did you know that almost any type of business could be a franchise? That is because a franchise is merely a legal document that defines a commercial relationship between the owner of a trademark, service mark, trade name or advertising symbol and an individual or group that wants to use that identification in business.

If you own a trademark you can choose to distribute your product all by yourself, or you can create

IDEAS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACTIVITIES IN THE SCHOOLS

Teachers are great sources of ideas for learning activities that provide experience in entrepreneurial skills...and often they don't even know they are doing so. Any teacher in the secondary schools can help students understand the opportunities of our entrepreneurial economy by infusing entrepreneurship-related activities in their regular course of study. Such experiences may change the vision of their future for many of our youth.

Be sure that your activities encourage students to think creatively...not just to determine how business operates now. Help them to ask questions about how businesses might be created in new and better ways, using new and

PROFITS COME FROM TAKING BUSINESS RISKS

You face risks every day.

You cannot cross the street without some danger that you will be hit by a car. Getting out of bed, driving a car, and opening a business all involve SOME risk. Risk is simply the possibility of damage, injury, or loss.

Like individuals, business owners need to protect themselves against the risks they face. It is important for entrepreneurs to recognize potential risks they face and prepare effective strategies to deal with them. It is also useful for entrepreneurs to design "contingency plans", or alternative courses of action. Contingency plans show that the entrepreneur is