Business Plan: The Finish
Edit your Business Plan.
This is probably the least fun part of the process for most
people; however, some of us out there (especially people lurking around with
English, Writing, or Communications bachelor degrees) actually enjoy this part
of the plan writing. Regardless of which kind of person you are, someone must
take this job, and that person needs to have some basic skills. If the
following skills are NOT yours, then please, don’t try to take this job!
Excellent grasp of the English language, including the
ability to write flowing, concise, and grammatically correct prose.
Basic understanding of comma use, semi-colons, and colons
(and their differences!), sentence and paragraph structure and spelling. (Use a
dictionary, spell-checker, and thesaurus.)
Patience and cheer.
Understanding of MS Word.
Organization skills (as in comparing the table of contents
against the plan contents, the Executive Summary organization, and updating the
page numbers when they change).
Editing means consolidating all parts of the plan,
organizing them into a decent order (use the Written Plan Rubric!), and
ensuring the Appendix is complete and at the end of the plan. Have a nice title
page, a list of all team member names on the front, a catchy slogan, and
perhaps even a really cool graphic to go with it (i.e. logo).
Caveat: Do NOT download one of those “for
purchase” or “for free” plan templates. They are not organized
in the manner this course requires and often, they are very difficult to read
and grade. They are NOT reader friendly!!
Submit your Business Plan.
Once you compiled the final version of your team plan, do
the following:
Finalize the elements of the Business plan, and then submit
the plan to the appropriate Dropbox. As you finalize your plan, remember that
plagiarism is a serious offense at DeVry/Keller. You should not
“re-use” other teams’ plans, nor should you use any other purchased
plans, plans you have used in other courses (unless you follow the Keller
policy for re-using previously submitted work–see Policies under Course Home),
nor should you copy and paste chunks from websites into your plan. If you are
unsure what constitutes plagiarism, please review the tutorial in the Syllabus,
consult your writing guide, which is a Keller-required textbook (see Syllabus),
or, in the event you are still unsure, consult with your faculty member.
Have your team leader upload the final plan to your team’s
Doc Sharing area AND to the Week 8 Final Plan Dropbox with the title,
“Final Project Submission!” Make sure this is your complete and final
version. You cannot make changes after you upload the final plan. Breathe
deeply and go relax!.
Optional: Print and bind one or more copies of your plan.
You might want to use a quick print shop for a professional job including a
cover and spiral binding. A bound copy of your plan will prove useful as part
of your academic or career portfolio. Your plan will demonstrate your ability
to work in a team, gather resources, and create a professional business
document.
Optional: Save your plan to a CD for safekeeping and
possible future distribution.
Submit your Peer Review to the Peer Review Dropbox. This
document is confidential. Be honest and objective in the evaluation of fellow
Team members. (You do not evaluate yourself.)
Collaborate on your Business Plan by posting to your Team
Discussion Area. This collaboration will count toward your participation grade
in Week 8.
Coordinate a time with your team members and your instructor
to present your final business plan PowerPoint. Submit your Business Plan and
Peer Reviews to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions
on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step instructions or watch this
Tutorial Dropbox Tutorial. See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for
Assignments & Exams” for due date information.
