Assignment 1:
Informational Interview (Informational Interview
The informational interview involves meeting and
interviewing an entrepreneur, business owner, or financial professional to
gather information. You should not wait until the due date to prepare,
asmeetings may be difficult to arrange at short notice. If your work schedule
inhibits such preparation, you may conduct the interview by telephone or via
online/e-mail format.
Required Elements to include in the Informational Interview
Write Up:
Students are responsible for developing questions that will
garner the
responses necessary to address the key elements of the
assignment.
Include all of the following elements in your interview
report:
Provide a brief description of the business which includes
the
business form the nature of the business, how many years in
business,
and whether the business is local in nature, national, or
international in scope;
Why did the person decide to go into business, and what was
the
biggest obstacle they had to overcome in the early stages of
the
business;
Did the owner develop a Business Plan before starting the
business,
why or why not;
Discuss what makes the business unique and different from
its
competition and what is its value proposition;
Does the company have a clearly defined strategy, what do
you believe it is;
Discuss the owners marketing and sales strategy for gaining
and
maintaining new business opportunities;
What core business functions if any did the business decide
to
outsource and why;
Discuss the hiring process and the core values that have
been
established for the organization;
Discuss the financial management tools and metrics that the
business
owner depends on too manage growth and profitability;
Discuss keys to success, from the owner’s perspective;
What the person would do differently if he/she had it to do
all over again.
Critically assess the current status of the business based
on concepts
presented in class.
What would you say is the future for this
business? Would you invest in this business? Why or why not?
Interview questions must be included as an addendum to the
assignment;
however, these should not be counted toward the length
requirement of
the paper.
Required Formatting of Informational Interview Report:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and
three to five
pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;
Title page;
· · Introductory paragraph and a summary
paragraph;
· · Use headings;
· · Write in the third person;
· · Use APA formatting for in-text citations and
a reference
page. You are
expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions
will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
· · Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Assignment 2: Case
Study
SarasSarasvathy’s Full Case Study & Questions
Part 1 of this assignment involves identifying the market
for this product. Utilizing the five questions that are provided under Problem
1: Identifying the market as a guide, prepare a 1 page assessment of how you
will determine the market for this product and the factors that must be
considered in identifying the ideal customer for this product. Based upon the information that you have
gathered from this case, discuss what makes this product unique and different.
Part 2 of the assignment involves evaluating the results of
the survey for the 3 focus groups that were presented under Problem 2: Defining
the market. Prepare a 2 page assessment of the results of the survey. Discuss
the key factors that must be considered in determining which customer base the
business should target. Discuss the pros and cons of focusing specifically on
each of the focus groups as potential customers. Discuss the critical decisions the business
must make in the process of determining the focus group that is the best fit
for the company in its initial roll-out.
Part 3 of this assignment involves evaluating the
competition and making a decision on the business model that the company should
choose to bring this product to market. Utilizing the 3 questions that were
provided in the Competition section as a guide, prepare a 2 page recommendation
on how this productshould be brought to the market. Discuss the factors that
were considered in making the final decision.
Required Formatting of Case Study Report:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and
three to five pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;
Title page;
Introductory paragraph and a summary paragraph;
Use headings;
Write in the third person;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and a reference
page. You are expected to paraphrase and
not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be
unnecessary;
ASSIGNMENT 3: PART ONE – BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW
INSTRUCTIONS
Business Plan
The final project requires you to develop a comprehensive
business plan. This plan should be a working document on how to establish or
acquire and operate a business venture.
Required Elements to include in the Business Plan:
Cover all basic matters, including a description of the
business and products/services to be offered, identification of target markets,
and analysis of competition. The project will consist of a completed business
plan for your real or imaginary business venture. Although there are different
types of enterprises, there are commonalities among all. These should be
reflected in the following sections:
For Assignment 3 Part One of the Business Plan complete the
following items. These items will be included in Assignment 3 Part Two of the
complete Business Plan.
Ø introductory letter
Ø executive summary
Ø statement of objectives
Ø background
Ø technical description of product/service
Ø marketing strategy
Ø market data
Ø selling tactics
Grading will be based on content, comprehensiveness,
organization, packaging, grammar, mechanics, and timely submission.
You may consult with fellow students, use outside sources,
or discuss portions of the project in detail with instructor
The final paper, however, must be your original work.
Required Formatting of Paper:
Must be typewritten and neatly packaged in a form
presentable to a financial institution or investor.
As some businesses are more complex, no specified number of
pages is required. The key is to ensure that all critical portions of the plan
are covered in sufficient detail to portray in-depth thought and effort. Some
areas may not apply to all businesses.
Financial statements are important, and you are expected to
provide pro forma balance sheets, income statements, break-even analyses, and
cash flow projections.
You should decide early in the course what type of business
the plan will involve, as high-quality plans cannot be developed in a short
time.
You should get an early start to perform the research and to
prepare a paper that covers all aspects of a business plan.
Your business plans must be submitted on the date indicated
in the course schedule to be eligible for full credit. Plans received after the
due date will only be eligible for full credit if the reason for lateness is
based on an emergency or otherwise approved by instructor before the due date.
part 2
Business Plan
The final project requires you to develop a comprehensive business
plan. This plan should be a working document on how to establish or acquire and
operate a business venture.
Required Elements to include in the Business Plan:
Cover all basic matters, including a description of the
business and products/services to be offered, identification of target markets,
and analysis of competition. The project will consist of a completed business
plan for your real or imaginary business venture. Although there are different
types of enterprises, there are commonalities among all. These should be
reflected in the following sections:
Ø introductory letter
Ø executive summary
Ø statement of objectives
Ø background
Ø technical description of product/service
Ø marketing strategy
Ø market data
Ø selling tactics
Ø operations plan
Ø financial data
Ø management plan
Ø human resources plan
Ø conclusions
Grading will be based on content, comprehensiveness,
organization, packaging, grammar, mechanics, and timely submission.
You may consult with fellow students, use outside sources,
or discuss portions of the project in detail with instructor
The final paper, however, must be your original work.
Required Formatting of Paper:
Must be typewritten and neatly packaged in a form
presentable to a financial institution or investor.
As some businesses are more complex, no specified number of
pages is required. The key is to ensure that all critical portions of the plan
are covered in sufficient detail to portray in-depth thought and effort. Some
areas may not apply to all businesses.
Financial statements are important, and you are expected to
provide pro forma balance sheets, income statements, break-even analyses, and
cash flow projections.
sYou should decide early in the course what type of business
the plan will involve, as high-quality plans cannot be developed in a short
time.
You should get an early start to perform the research and to
prepare a paper that covers all aspects of a business plan.
Your business plans must be submitted on the date indicated
in the course schedule to be eligible for full credit. Plans received after the
due date will only be eligible for full credit if the reason for lateness is
based on an emergency or otherwise approved by instructor before the due date.
