Creating a Business Proposal
This assignment is designed for a 4 Eso class, and should be completed in groups of three. Assessment is based on the physical business proposal worksheet and an 7-10 minute pitch targeting investors as the intended audience of the presentation. Guidelines below.
Click here for the business proposal worksheet
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Things to include in your "pitch" presentation:
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Brainstorm
Welcome to the project that guides you to your first time being the boss. You get to make all of the decisions on the journey of outline what your business looks like. Step one is to brainstorm. Think about the places you consider yourself an expert. Think about what you like spending doing. Think about a problem you or someone you know regularly experiences, and try to solve that problem with a product or service. Take your time, and try to come up with as many ideas as possible so you have some options. Grab a new sheet of paper, write your name, and write down at least five business ideas.
Competition
Pick an idea and try to find it online. Your idea might already exist, but just because it does, does not mean that your business couldn’t still be successful. You can change the function or price of your product, or the target market of your business to maintain originality. Maybe your idea doesn’t exist yet. Either way, make a list of your most direct competition. Try to notice some things about those competing businesses (prices, marketing, location, technology). If you see these competitors and think, “ok, my business is a little bit different and there seems to be people buying things like my product”, then let’s continue. If not, repeat this step with another one of your ideas from the brainstorming step.
The Product
After you have chosen the business that makes most sense for you, paint a more detailed picture of the product. Make sure your product is solving a problem of some kind. How the the product work? What is it? What is the product’s impact on communities and the environment? It might help later, if you make a list of all of your products parts (or offers/services).
Industry & Market Analysis (Google me!)
What space are you in? What business environment are you entering? If you want to make a new smartphone company, your industry is telecommunications and the market size will be over three billion dollars by 2023. I would not recommend a venture like this, unless the group is very passionate about their idea. The industry is crowded and the business is going to need a huge investment to get started. Next, who are you selling to? Students? Parents? Women? Athletes? Businesses? Before the next step, you know want to know who your customers will be.
Marketing Strategy
How are your customers going to learn about your product? Start by finding a list of different marketing strategies, and choose a few that your thing will work. Keep your demographic in mind. If you are selling to teenagers, you probably do not want to spend money on television advertisements that air on local news channels. If you are selling to your grandparents, they probably won’t see your special offer on Instagram. Additionally, keep costs in mind. Some marketing tools are free, some are not. If you are going to spend a lot of money to spread the word, make sure that results in sales.
Business Model
How does your business actually sell? Do you have a store? That’s called a Brick & Mortar. Or do you online sell online? Much cheaper. Maybe you only sell to other businesses. Companies like Netflix and Spotify use the subscription model. Again, do a little research so you feel confident on having an effective strategy to deliver your product. Then, you can think about how your company will grow. What do you want to accomplish in the first month of business? Six months? Two years?
Risks
Before asking investors for $$$, they are going to want to know that your have thought about everything. What are the potential risks of your business? Once you know where things could go wrong, you will be empowered to reassure your investors that those things will not happen. Know the solutions you can turn to during times of adversity.
Financial Needs
Finally, you ask for the money that you need. Be as specific as you can be. If someone is going to give you their hard-earned money, they are going to want a lot of information: What is my money going to be used for specifically? When and how will I get my money back? And finally, what is the potential ROI (return on investment) or, how much money can I make if I invest with you?
We need X amount of money, to pay for X, Y, Z, and can over you X % of the company.