I've Said it Before and I'll Say it Again - Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

When I was on the baseball team at Rutgers University, we used to have inspirational quotes hanging all over the locker room.  Sadly, the only one I can remember is the above Vince Lombardi quote.  I truly believe that in order to perfect or master something, it is of the utmost importance to focus on doing every aspect of it perfectly.  If you just practice, but practice the wrong way, you'll never get closer to your goal.

With that said, this week we are going to practice the business plan presentation all 5 days of the week.  We will have a panel of guests watch us perform and ask us questions, just as we had last year.  I am confident that this year's group can score just as high or even higher than last year's team.  With a strong written business plan, this year's team will have a great shot at moving on to the State finals.

Below is a breakdown of what we will do throughout the week:

Monday through Friday:

Clear Targets: We can create a business plan presentation AND We can analyze and critique a business plan

On Monday, we will allow the presentation team to review their parts in the presentation and get ready to present.  During that time, we will complete operations AND finalize our artifacts to submit for our Trade Fair Competitions.

After about 5 to 10 minutes of prep and work time each day, we will allow the Presentation Team to read through and practice their presentations.  As the audience, we will play the role of investors and ask the Presentation Team questions we think need to be addressed.  We will also provide feedback on how the presentation looks/sounds, and work on improving as the week goes on.

Please see below for Competition and Operational responsibilities for non-Presentation Team Members:

You will all be assessed on the quality of your work as well as how well you work with one another.  Making sure your final decisions are in the best interest of the organization is of the utmost importance, so please be sure to focus on the big picture rather than individual preferences.  The better we work together, the prettier our bottom line will look at the end of the year.

Here’s a breakdown of what each group will do and who is responsible for each task:

Trade Fair Competition Artifacts:

Written Business Plan Submission:

The window for submission of our written business plan begins 11/1 and I would like to take care of this as early as possible.  Michelle will continue to put the finishing touches on this project.  Once our plan is put into order and saved as a PDF file, we will submit this through the portal.  We will need to read through the entire plan before actually submitting to make one last check on spelling, grammar, statistics, and other details that can help us earn the highest possible score.

Business Card Artifact:

This is a project made specifically for IT/Web Design and my Impact Marketing Team.  The task of designing our business cards is very important.  We have never made business cards before, but I feel as if we need to have them this year.  I need two IT representatives (including VP of IT) to take this project on and make it work for us.

Please refer to the rubric, manage your time wisely, and make this project excellent.  I am available for assistance as needed.

Day-to-Day Operations:

Employees who are not focusing on the business plan presentation or competition artifacts have to carry the load of maintaining our business and keeping things running smoothly.  Remember, just because we have these deadlines for the Trade Fair doesn’t mean we don’t still have a business to run.  After all, without a successful business, how can we really speak so confidently about ourselves in the business plan?  Without a strong business, what good will all these strong marketing artifacts really do to keep customers once we’ve gotten them in the door?

That said, we need our remaining employees to complete our typical operational tasks.  Employees need to be paid, orders need to be filled, sales calls need to take place, our website needs to continue to improve, and all of our financial transactions need to be recorded.  With fewer employees, this means there will be zero downtime, so make sure you work diligently on the upkeep of our brand.  See below for a breakdown of tasks and responsibilities:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

In addition to the tasks below, Shane and Andrea will need to work on creating our promotional flyer for my upcoming visit to Clarksville Young Professionals.  I will work with you to make sure it’s ready to print by the end of class Monday.  Additional responsibilities and tasks are as follows:

·      Upkeep of website – IT

·      Sales Tasks (Calls, Item of the Week) – Sales and IT

·      Maintain accurate inventory records – Sales and Finance

o   Check our wholesale marketplace to update inventory records and update each sales transaction

o   Journalize purchase of inventory in our Cash Payments Journal

·      Payroll – Finance

o   Keep records of who’s present and pay each employee accordingly

I know this is a lot of work, but this class is hand picked specifically because you are all capable of accomplishing these tasks better than anyone else in the school.  Take pride in this and put your best effort into getting these tasks done.  When these tasks are done, you will have a lot of things to add to a personal portfolio that will help you with your college and scholarship applications.

I’ll see you soon!

Keep Your Noses to the Grindstone and CHOP!

This week, we need to really keep our nose to the grindstone (not like the cartoon below, though) and CHOP through a number of tasks.  We again have  four main areas of focus for our tasks, but this week’s focus is refinement.  Below is a big picture look at what we will be doing:

• Completing the oral presentation (PowerPoint AND talking points) by Wednesday
• Make sure to base everything on what we’ve included in the written business plan AND the competition rubric
• Trade Fair competition artifacts:
• Impact Marketing
• Newsletter
• Company Website
• Day-to-day operations
• Upkeep of website
• Trade Fair Banner
• Payroll
• Display Board
• Acquiring sponsorships to subsidize cost of Gatlinburg trip

Just like last week, we will be doing these tasks throughout the week, so our clear targets again will be:

We can apply concepts to operate a start-up business

We can create a business plan presentation

You will all be assessed on the quality of your work as well as how well you work with one another.  Making sure your final decisions are in the best interest of the organization is of the utmost importance, so please be sure to focus on the big picture rather than individual preferences.  The better we work together, the prettier our bottom line will look at the end of the year.

Here’s a breakdown of what each group will do and who is responsible for each task:

Business Plan Competition Team:

Review the Oral Presentation Rubric and finish the PowerPoint and talking points for our Oral Business Plan.  Remember to focus on our purpose and work to include every detail required in the rubric, as well as additional information we included in our written plan (Company Vision, Specialization of our products, etc.).

Feedback from last week’s work:

• Catchy introduction: I love the picture you paint in your introduction.  Practice this opening and you will have the attention of the investors
• Accuracy of data: Sadly, I don’t think you got this far in your preparation.  EVERY TEAM MEMBER NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MARKET CONDITIONS AND WHY OUR BUSINESS WILL SUCCEED.  Review with Michelle our current market conditions.  You will sound very educated if you can use this information when addressing questions from investors
• “Feasibility”: Again, this hasn’t been addressed yet, so focus on asking for the business.  This year, we can earn up to 5 extra points if the judges are willing to invest in our organization.  That said, make sure to include a slide in which we ask the judges if they are willing to invest, and if they are not certain, be sure to ask if there is anything they wish to know that would help them come to a definite decision

Trade Fair Competition Artifacts:

Impact Marketing Artifact:

Your initial creation has a great background and includes a lot of company information.  Create at least one more option for our class to choose from so we have options on what to submit.  Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.  Maybe something simple, like the “Got Milk” posters described in the rubric or something outrageous like the “Your Wife is Hot” idea we discussed.  Just make sure to keep everything professional and appropriate.

Newsletter Artifact:

Your artifact is complete.  We will need to review your work to revise some of the writing (syntax, grammar, etc.) AND the aesthetics (enlarging font, adding some color and company logo throughout the file).  Your choice of topics was strong.  We might want to add to it.  That will be our focus this week.

Company Website Competition and Banner Creation

IT has done a fabulous job of having almost everything finished for the website competition.  As it stands, we will have to get a shopping cart built into the site to have everything ready for the judges.  

In addition to the website, we now have to design and create our banner for the trade fair.  Please use the old Pick-It Sweets & Treats banner for inspiration.  Our banner will need a design, our contact information (including that web address), and some eye-catching designs.  Complete this project by Thursday and we can review on Friday.

Day-to-Day Operations:

Employees who are not focusing on the business plan presentation or competition artifacts have to carry the load of maintaining our business and keeping things running smoothly.  Remember, just because we have these deadlines for the Trade Fair doesn’t mean we don’t still have a business to run.  After all, without a successful business, how can we really speak so confidently about ourselves in the business plan?  Without a strong business, what good will all these strong marketing artifacts really do to keep customers once we’ve gotten them in the door?  

That said, we need our remaining employees to complete our typical operational tasks.  Employees need to be paid, orders need to be filled, sales calls need to take place, and all of our financial transactions need to be recorded.  With fewer employees, this means there will be zero downtime, so make sure you work diligently on the upkeep of our brand.  See below for a breakdown of tasks and responsibilities:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Contact Local Businesses for Sponsorship
• Please utilize the list of Clarksville Young Professionals we met this summer to reach out to potential sponsors.  As a sponsor, they could help our class in many ways, including:
• Donating supplies, equipment, or money
• Guest speaking
• Helping judge business plan presentation practice next week
• Maintain accurate inventory records – Sales and Finance
• Check our wholesale marketplace to update inventory records and update each sales transaction
• Journalize purchase of inventory in our Cash Payments Journal
• Keep records of who’s present and pay each employee accordingly

I know this is a lot of work, but this class is handpicked specifically because you are all capable of accomplishing these tasks better than anyone else in the school.  Take pride in this and put your best effort into getting these tasks done.  When these tasks are done, you will have a lot of things to add to a personal portfolio that will help you with your college and scholarship applications.  

I’ll see you soon!

Competition Preparation and Business Operations

This week is the first week of the year in which we’ll truly work in teams.  There are four main areas of focus for our tasks, so each group really needs to stay with it and get their jobs done as efficiently as possible.  Below is a big picture look at what we will be doing:

• Completing the oral presentation (PowerPoint AND talking points)
• Make sure to base everything on what we’ve included in the written business plan
• Trade Fair competition artifacts:
• Impact Marketing
• Newsletter
• Company Website
• Day-to-day operations
• Upkeep of website
• Sales calls
• Payroll
• Display Board
• Acquiring sponsorships to subsidize cost of Gatlinburg trip

Because we will be doing these tasks throughout the week, our clear targets are as follows:

We can apply concepts to operate a start-up business

We can create a business plan presentation

You will all be assessed on the quality of your work as well as how well you work with one another.  Making sure your final decisions are in the best interest of the organization is of the utmost importance, so please be sure to focus on the big picture rather than individual preferences.  The better we work together, the prettier our bottom line will look at the end of the year.

Here’s a breakdown of what each group will do and who is responsible for each task:

Business Plan Competition Team:

Review the Oral Presentation Rubric and create a PowerPoint that illustrates our Written Business Plan.  Remember to focus on our purpose and work to include every detail required in the rubric, as well as additional information we included in our written plan (Company Vision, Specialization of our products, etc.).

Areas of focus include:

• Catchy introduction: Did you notice how every National Finalist opened their presentations with something to engage the investors?
• Accuracy of data: make sure to utilize the facts and figures from the plan, but also be prepared to update information (unemployment rate, prime rate, 30 year fixed interest rate) that may have changed recently.  This is something to enter with today’s information but also focus on again when we are ready to present in November.
• “Feasibility:” This year, we can earn up to 5 extra points if the judges are willing to invest in our organization.  That said, make sure to include a slide in which we ask the judges if they are willing to invest, and if they are not certain, be sure to ask if there is anything they wish to know that would help them come to a definite decision

Trade Fair Competition Artifacts:

Impact Marketing Artifact:

I would like at least one sales representative and one representative from Admin or HR to focus on this competition.  We finished in 3rd place two years ago, so the bar is set high for this group.  Please refer to the rubric (linked above) and feel free to ask me if you need assistance.  MS Publisher is the best Office Suite to use to work on this.

Newsletter Artifact:

We’ve created one so far this year and it was decent.  Make use of this rubric to improve upon your previous creation so that your competition submission is excellent.  Since this is a weekly project HR and Admin complete, I would like these departments, along with a representative from Sales AND one from IT/Web Design to get this done.  

Please divide your work appropriately and don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions about what to include in your project.

Company Website Competition:

This is a project made specifically for IT/Web Design.  The task of designing our company website is very important.  We have taken great strides already in building our site and I know once we use the rubric, we will have something that will stand out..  I need two IT representatives (including VP of IT) to take this project on and make it work for us.  

Please refer to the rubric, manage your time wisely, and make this project great.  I am available for assistance as needed.

Day-to-Day Operations:

Employees who are not focusing on the business plan presentation or competition artifacts have to carry the load of maintaining our business and keeping things running smoothly.  Remember, just because we have these deadlines for the Trade Fair doesn’t mean we don’t still have a business to run.  After all, without a successful business, how can we really speak so confidently about ourselves in the business plan?  Without a strong business, what good will all these strong marketing artifacts really do to keep customers once we’ve gotten them in the door?  

That said, we need our remaining employees to complete our typical operational tasks.  Employees need to be paid, orders need to be filled, sales calls need to take place, and all of our financial transactions need to be recorded.  With fewer employees, this means there will be zero downtime, so make sure you work diligently on the upkeep of our brand.  See below for a breakdown of tasks and responsibilities:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Sales Tasks (Calls, Item of the Week) – Sales and IT
• Maintain accurate inventory records – Sales and Finance
• Check our wholesale marketplace to update inventory records and update each sales transaction
• Journalize purchase of inventory in our Cash Payments Journal
• Keep records of who’s present and pay each employee accordingly

I know this is a lot of work, but this class is handpicked specifically because you are all capable of accomplishing these tasks better than anyone else in the school.  Take pride in this and put your best effort into getting these tasks done.  When these tasks are done, you will have a lot of things to add to a personal portfolio that will help you with your college and scholarship applications.  

I’ll see you soon!

Teamwork Toward Multiple Goals

This week, we are going to focus on completing a variety of tasks in different interdepartmental teams.  On Monday, we'll kick off the week by getting your creative juices flowing by watching an excellent business presentation from one of our direct competitors, Sweet N' Savory Catering and then break out into groups to complete the following tasks:

1. Second Draft of Written Business Plan
2. Register for Business Plan Competition and Trade Fair
3. First Newsletter of the Year
4. Item of the Week
5. Finalize and Launch Company Website
6. October Display Board

Completion of these tasks requires collaboration, teamwork, and focus.  This is why we'll be working throughout each class from bell to bell.  Below you will find a breakdown of who is responsible for each task and how to thoroughly complete each:

Second Draft of Written Business Plan - Business Plan Writing Team

For those of you who are on the Business Plan Writing team, you should split up the responsibility among one another based on your areas of expertise and confidence with improving each section.  Dakota and Michelle should obviously focus on current market conditions and all financial aspects of the plan, but the rest of the writing can be distributed as you see fit.  Again, please refer to our previously created plans in our class Google Drive and the Gotham Written Plan as models for layout, organization, and writing style (clear, concise, focused on what separates us from the competition).  

Register for Business Plan Competition and Trade Fair - Shane and Tariq

***To be completed during advisory on Tuesday***

First Newsletter of the year - HR, Admin, Sales

OK, so the first newsletter of the year should be completed in MS Publisher (preferred) or Word, and should include the following sections:

• Cover Page
• News about our company - how we've worked on starting up the business, writing the business plan, etc.
• One standards-based business article - research one of the topics, include links to the research you've done, cite the standard, and inform us about one of our standards
• Employee Spotlight - Interview someone on the Newsletter Team and complete an employee spotlight article
• NWHS News - Sports at a glance, new renovations, and upcoming breaks or exams have been great themes for this section.  Select one or two of these, or come up with your own

Item of the Week - Sales & IT

Determine a catering package or buffet option to highlight as our item of the week on our website.  Create a promotional flyer either in MS Publisher or Word.  Use company colors, attractive images, large text, and include our logo & tag line

Launch Company Website - IT

You're well on your way with this task, so I expect this to be completed once we determine and highlight the item of the week.  Work on adding a cart to the site as well, since that's kind of mandatory for our class.

October Display Board

Please decorate the display board with butcher paper, borders, images, and aesthetically pleasing designs.  I expect at least one entire side of the board to be finished this week.  We will finish the other side when we return from fall break.

This is a lot of work, but I know you're all capable of completing it.  I look forward to assisting as needed, and I realize there will be a lot of need.  This is your first week of preparing to operate the business, so don't get discouraged if/when you encounter stumbling blocks.  Seek help and work through the challenges.  You'll surprise yourselves when you see how much you can do in each class period.