Back From Break - Time to Get Ahead

I hope you all enjoyed a fun and restful Thanksgiving break.  My family and I have had a great weekend and I look forward to getting back to school on Monday.  With only two weeks before semester exams, many tend to ease up on things and take it slow before Winter Break.  During this time, the most successful people take advantage of the laziness of others and pull ahead while others lag behind.  By working hard these next two weeks, we will continue moving Pick-It Sweets & Treats to the top of the Virtual Network. 

This week, we are going to do things a little differently.  Due to our amazing success at the Trade Fair this year, amassing almost $100,000 MORE revenue than our anticipated sales goal of $84,000, we have been able to catch up on the lack of sales made during class in the weeks leading up to our trip. 

While we will still focus on pushing our sales forward (CEO and others have worked on brokering partnerships with other businesses), we should also focus on buying from other businesses.  In the real world, when you have discretionary income, you should purchase things that you want.  Given that any money you have left at the end of the year gets drained from your personal bank account anyway, once you’ve purchased everything you need, you should spend your remaining money on things that might interest you.  This drives the economy and the process of purchasing can help you make contacts with other businesses.

That said, each day this week, one of our objectives will be to make a purchase on the VE Network.  Below you will see from whom each purchase will be made each day:

Monday – A business you remember from the Trade Fair

Tuesday – Another business you remember from the Trade Fair

Wednesday – A firm outside of Tennessee

Thursday – A firm outside of the United States

Friday – Everyone in class decides upon a single firm from whom we will all make a purchase

Each day you make a purchase, you are to actually pay for your purchase immediately, using your own money and transferring funds by adding a payee from your bank account.  If you have any trouble figuring out this process, please consult with someone from Accounting/Finance, as that entire department has experience using this feature in the Portal.  After you have paid for your product/service, you then must email the firm directly, thanking them for providing you with something you wanted AND encouraging them to visit our website to find products/services of ours that might interest them.  You will request that they email you directly if they have any issues finalizing a purchase on our site.  This will ensure that we close the deal on the sale and receive payment.

In addition to purchasing goods on the network, we have a lot of other tasks to tend to.  The most daunting task that must get done this week is handling inventory records, purchases and sales journal entries, and handling payroll properly.  Next, we also have to improve upon our weekly newsletter.  Each week, there is progress on this project, but there is still a long way for us to go.  Another project that we need to start is an electronic catalog of our products/services.  This will be an ongoing project that should take approximately two weeks to complete, so the deadline for this will be 12/12/14.  Finally, we will need to make sure we are moving forward with the best looking website possible.  We need to make sure the site is easy to navigate, user-friendly for purchases, and has a well-functioning shopping cart that generates a follow-up email confirming details of the purchase.  This will help sales and finance stay on top of accounts receivable.

Below is a breakdown of tasks to be completed by department:

Accounting/Finance (plus M Lewis and E Kleinhans)

• Make sure purchases and cash payments journals are accurate for our previous purchase and payment for starting inventory
• Complete sales journal entries for each sale at Trade Fair
• Your receipts (see receipt book from Trade Fair) are your source documents for each transaction
• Accounts receivable – Central Bank will be your customer account since the Central Bank is who deposits the money into our account when they’ve seen that our deposits are accurate
• Purchase Inventory to cover amount of goods sold from the Trade Fair
• Complete Purchases Journal entries for all inventory purchased
• Accounts payable – Wholesale Marketplace is vendor
• Pay cash for inventory purchased – from firm bank account
• Complete Cash Payments Journal entry when cash has been paid out
• This should be a single cash payment entry covering all inventory purchased
• Pay employees – please make sure to take out appropriate taxes/insurance withholdings and allowances

IT/Web Design

• Add catering services to website (I’ve been told this has been added already, but have not yet found anything on our home page or website)
• Add new products and services to website – see above for new products/packages and consult with Finance/Sales for details
• Please make sure we have a functioning cart – If you are really at a loss for how to make it work, consult with another firm.  Unfortunately, this is not an area of expertise of mine.
• Work with Sales to complete “Item of the Week” flyer for week of 12/8-12/12
• This flyer will be distributed 12/5 to all on our mailing list

HR/Admin

• Weekly newsletter - Please include: 
• An article about OUR trade fair results, positive experiences from the Trade Fair, ideas for next year’s booth - this might end up being a 2-page article
• Employee spotlight - Conduct an interview and include highlights or full questions with answers
• An article about what’s going on in business today (please find at least two sources that discuss a business topic going on right now and cite evidence from each article that support your idea)
• Be sure to include more color and images as we had discussed previously
• Finalize company handbook (include rules/regulations, policies/procedures) – this should have been finished before the Trade Fair
• Begin working on product catalog – finished product due 12/12/14

In addition to this, we need real merchandise to sell at the concession stand on Tuesday.  I have the beverages covered (water, soda, Gatorade), but we need candy and chips to be donated for sale.  After this week, I will purchase more items for next week.  I also need two students to work the concession stand with me after school.  Please select two students on Monday and have all concession inventory to my classroom no later than Tuesday morning.

Let’s keep pushing while others are taking an early break.  Our effort these next few weeks can really catapult us ahead of the rest, so let’s make the most of our time.

Oh How Time Flies... Last Week Before the Trade Fair

This week, we will take care of all the finishing touches for our Trade Fair, in addition to tending to everyday operations of the organization.  We have a lot of work to do and only so much time left.  Every day counts, so please make sure we stay on task and pick up slack if someone else needs it.  Here’s a basic list of what needs to get done for the Trade Fair:

• Confirm order for banner
• Complete billboard
• Create package promotional signs (use last year’s signs as a model for this year’s)
• Compile list of items needed for booth
• Procure items we don’t currently have for booth
• Create as many decorations as possible for booth setup
• Set itinerary for weekend with Spinella
• Create order forms for Trade Fair

CEO must designate assignments for each of the aforementioned tasks and maintain a running log of our progress on each task.  All employees must blog their progress on Tuesday and write a reflective blog post about their expectations for this year’s trade fair. 

Departmental tasks (in addition to Trade Fair Tasks) are as follows:

Sales:

• Solicit 10 VE firms for business
• Create weekly newsletter
• Create weekly sales email

Finance:

• Ensure proper inventory prices
• Consult with available sales rep to discuss snow cone pricing (How many to sell? Which flavors [be creative]?)
• Consult with available sales rep to discuss what will be included in each package – this will work hand in hand with our package pricing for Trade Fair
• Purchase correct inventory
• Pay employees
• Enter purchase/sales/payroll transactions into appropriate journals

IT/Web Design

• Work with M Lewis on Billboard – see me for information on getting the foam board and tripod
• Add catering services to website (I’ve been told this has been added already, but have not yet found anything on our home page or website)
• Add new products to website – see above for new products/packages and consult with Finance/Sales for details
• Please make sure we have a functioning cart – If you are really at a loss for how to make it work, consult with another firm.  Unfortunately, this is not an area of expertise of mine.

HR/Admin

• Weekly newsletter – Please include an article about OUR trade fair (plans, hopes/wishes, etc.) and a BUSINESS WORLD trade fair (do research and write an article about it)
• Finalize company handbook (include rules/regulations, policies/procedures)
• Create list of items needed for Trade Fair – what to bring to have a successful booth

**It is your responsibility to check the supply closet and classroom to find out what we have and list what we need.  We will get what we need this week. 

In addition to these tasks, we have to run the concession stand this Tuesday after school.  I need three students to help run the stand with me and an additional two students to help move inventory before class and after we close up.  We’ll need some candy bars too, as we pretty much only have chips, soda, water, gum, and Gatorade.

That’s it for this week.  It’s a heck of a lot of work, but I know we’ll get it done well.  We always do.

Another Short Week

This week, we have Tuesday off again, which means we will have to get some of our work done outside the classroom.  Many of you have computers with internet access, so we will need to check our email away from school and dedicate some additional time to complete our tasks.  In addition to preparing for the Trade Fair, we need to focus efforts on operating the business effectively.  I’m glad we finalized a list of items we need for the Trade Fair, but fear we have fallen behind in other Trade Fair activities (creation of billboard and inventory check on materials we already have on hand) AND business operations.  By now I would have imagined our sales team to have at least $2500-$5000 in revenue, which would allow finance/accounting to create more journal entries and update inventory records AND would allow admin and HR to write something great in our weekly newsletter.  It would also allow us to create follow-up opportunities to demonstrate our excellent customer service.  In any case, without this, we need to step up this week with our sales.

Below, you will find a list of tasks by department for our firm.  I expect that we will accomplish these and get the ball rolling in the right direction.  Of course, we will start the week off with our club picture at 1:40pm in the LGI room.  You will need to report directly to the LGI Room in professional dress for our photo.  Refer to my email and explanation from class last week to understand what you should wear for the photo.  Once we are done with the club picture, we will report to class and get right to work.

All Week:

Clear Target: We can apply concepts to operate a successful virtual business

Objectives: See below for departmental assignments:

Sales

Solicit 15 VE Firms (5 per associate) for business

Help create weekly newsletter

Create weekly sales email for 11/17-11/21 and distribute to as many businesses as possible

Accounting/Finance

Create records for all inventory (check my Public_Faculty folder or the Portal for inventory spreadsheets)

Help Sales with selling to new businesses – if an Accounting/Finance department member is the first to close a sale, you will receive a $100/week pay raise for the next 3 weeks)

IT/Web Design

Design banner for Trade Fair (use videos on Portal to see what some banners look like and use your design ideas to make ours better)

Along with Admin, check Portal to find out what we need to actually create our billboard for the Impact Marketing competition @ the Trade Fair

Update website to include checkout option with cart.

Contact Signs Now when banner is finished

HR/Admin

Weekly newsletter – Please use feedback from my email on Friday to amend this week’s newsletter appropriately (please interview employees to be highlighted, find new article ideas from business and industry by searching business news articles online, highlight things going on at school such as winter sports season or the play, use two columns for the newsletter rather than one)

Finalize company handbook (include rules/regulations, policies/procedures): This was not completed last week.  We need to get this done

CEO is in charge of overseeing our sales department and is responsible for contacting 5 VE firms this week in addition to the 15 our sales team will contact. 

Understand that after this short week, we will only have 5 class periods to have everything prepared for the Trade Fair.  We leave for the Trade Fair on Saturday morning, so we will need to have everything in place, as well as know where we will store everything in the vans.  Let’s get this work done!

Club Picture Day This Monday 11/10 @ 1:40pm

Below is a copy of the email I sent you regarding our club picture for the yearbook, which will take place at 1:40pm this Monday:

All,

Please dress professionally (button down and khakis at minimum, but I suggest a shirt and tie for the males and dress for the females) this Monday, November 10.  We will start class with a club picture in the LGI Room.

We will report directly to the LGI Room to start class, take the photo, and get back to work.  I do not want this photo to take too much time out of our class period.

Competition Then Onto the Next Big Thing

Though this is a shortened week, we still have a lot of work to get through.  We will begin our week with a report from our competition team about their performance at the Regional Business Plan Competition.  Members of the team will detail what went well, what could have gone better, and how they think they did overall.  They will explain whether they believe they could have finished in the top 2 and what they think they’ll need to do to improve upon their performance.  After our day off, we hit the ground running, working on making sales calls, creating promotional materials, adding to our product line, purchasing inventory, keeping financial records of our transactions, and most importantly, preparing for the Trade Fair.  Yes, the list is extensive, but when split into the right groups, we will get everything done.  Below is our day by day rundown:

Monday

Clear Target: We can analyze and critique a business plan presentation

Objectives: Discuss individual and overall performance, self-assess presentation, formulate opinion as to whether we will earn a spot in the State finals.

The objectives say it all.  Our task for Monday requires the presentation team to share out how they did.  I will provide perspective on the performance to end our discussion. 

Tuesday: Off day

Wednesday through Friday

Clear Target: We can apply concepts to operate a successful virtual business

Objectives: See below for departmental assignments:

Sales:

Solicit 10 VE firms for business

Create weekly newsletter

Create weekly sales email

Finance:

Increase product line

Amend inventory prices

Purchase correct inventory

Enter purchase/sales/payroll transactions into appropriate journals

IT/Web Design

Design banner for Trade Fair

Add catering services to website

Add new products to website

HR/Admin

Weekly newsletter

Finalize company handbook (include rules/regulations, policies/procedures)

Create list of items needed for Trade Fair – what to bring to have a successful booth

After we complete these tasks, we will be in a good position to have some sales under our belts and prepare for the Trade Fair.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at any time.