BEST Business 101.2 – bESTology Week 10

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BEST Business 101.2

In just a few months, it will be time to get down to Bladerunner business.  With a mission, vision and business plan, your winning team will be on the road to success.

In today’s business world, entrepreneurs begin with an idea that grows into a product.  The product is then marketed to a potential buyer.  Along this entrepreneur highway, there are stops, speed bumps and intersections.  Having a map or a business plan makes the journey smoother.

Last year, bESTology Week 16 – Business 101, job descriptions for team members had to be refined in order to “hire” the BEST.  This year, focus on how to get your idea to a potential buyer and how to develop your team’s business plan.

Resources:

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Market Analysis
• Organization and Management
• Service or Product Line
• Marketing and Sales
• Funding Request
• Financial Projections
• Appendix
• How to make your Business Plan stand out
• Writing your Mission Statement (video)

Brainstorming: 

Let’s jumpstart your Bladerunner team by formulating a mission statement for 2014!  Begin by viewing the above resource (Writing your Mission Statement), follow the recommended steps and brainstorm. Once the mission statement is complete, plan ways your team can share this message within your community, e.g. t-shirts, business cards, exhibit booth, etc.

Writing: 

For returning teams, determine if your team has written a business plan in the past.  If so, consider tweaking, modifying or adjusting the plan to reflect the current reality of your team.  No business plan?  No problem, let’s get started! 

The U.S. Small Business Administration has a unique online step-by-step resource tool to help write a business plan. Use this online tool to support your mission statement, share your company’s (team) information, predict growth, describe products/services, calculate financial information and summarize future plans.  Once complete, post this document on your team’s website and share with potential sponsors!

BEST Robot:

Your team’s robot = Your company’s “product”.  Outline basic information about your product (the robot) and prepare to refine once Bladerunner details are provided at Kick-Off Day.  Items to consider about your product:

• commercial application of various robot (machine) components
• copyright or patent filings
• ability to meet consumer needs
• advantages your product has over that of the competition
• product’s life cycle or expectancy
• factors that may influence the product’s life expectancy
• research and development (R&D) activities

Be sure to integrate this information into your business plan!

Community Connection:

Advertising and sharing product information are both key to marketing and sales.  Take a “one-day” challenge and create a list of all of the advertising observed while traveling to and from school and share with your team.  Large trucks are often used as moving billboards.  Search for ways companies utilize vehicles as a way to advertise their name and/or product.

Invite a representative from a local marketing company to visit your classroom.  Ask your guest to share marketing campaigns of past or current clients.  Share your team’s business plan and marketing ideas and ask for their recommendations for improvement. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy: brainstorm, calculate, consider, create, determine, describe, follow, formulating, integrate, invite, modify, outline, plan, predict, prepare, search, show, summarize, write.

Workforce Skills: reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, speaking, active learning, writing, instruction.