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.

Final Week of Initial Draft

This week, we will finalize our business plan and conduct a company-wide read-aloud of everything we’ve put together.  By the beginning of Wednesday’s class, all elements of the plan should be emailed to the person responsible for putting the plan together.  During Wednesday’s class, the plan will be put in order, including title page and table of contents, and everyone else will work on business operations (website construction, pricing, wholesale marketplace, newsletter-worthy articles, etc.).  On Thursday, we’ll read the plan aloud and talk about how to improve it.  On Friday, we will establish the writing team that will compose the final draft and create Blogger accounts. Below is a breakdown of the week:

Monday and Tuesday:

To start the week, we’ll finalize our initial draft for the business plan.  Your completed work will be sent to the person responsible for putting the plan in order by the close of business (end of class) Tuesday.  While you’re working, I’ll circulate the room to find out where I can lend assistance.

A breakdown of our plan can be seen below:

Table of Contents and Final Layout of Plan

Kaltenthaler

Cover Page Design and Layout:

IT Department

Executive Summary:

Tariq Silver, CEO

Andrew Oglesby, Admin

Company Description:

Admin Department

Management Functions:

Admin and HR Departments

Current Economic Conditions:

William Palmieri

Industry Analysis (Real and Virtual):

Sales and Finance Departments

Market Segmentation, Marketing Mix (5 P’s), and Company Analysis

Sales Department

Breakeven Analysis and All Financial Data:

Finance Department

SWOT Analysis and Business Risks:

HR Department

Please adhere to the requirements set forth by the rubric and use previous plans (which can be found in the class Google Drive) along with the Gotham Enterprises model to guide you as you go.  Please also make use of all links available on the VEI Website.

Wednesday

While the business plan is put together, all other employees will complete the following tasks:

·        Sales – put all products & catering packages on the wholesale marketplace (I may need to update your settings in the portal, so give me a heads up if you can’t access the wholesale marketplace)

·        Finance – consult with sales to ensure pricing and wholesale costs are accurate.  Also, split up responsibility among different members of sales and finance as to who is responsible for different items (gold, platinum, diamond, catering, etc.).  Lastly, purchase all our office equipment and restaurant equipment.

·        HR & Admin – use the course standards to search for online articles that could help our employees understand important business concepts

·        IT – Continue working on company website, app, and promotional videos

Thursday

On Thursday, we’re going to complete our initial read of the business plan.  We’ll need to begin class by accessing the scoring rubric so we can properly evaluate our work.  Once finished with each section, we’ll determine how closely we’ve written our plan to the requirements set forth by VE International.  Final draft will be completed by our designated writing team.

Friday

With the short period on Friday, we’ll simply establish the writing team that will compose the final draft and create Blogger accounts.

Details, Details, Details, and a Fast-Approaching Deadline

This week, we will continue to work on the business plan, focusing on refining the initial draft we created.  I read through everything you shared with me on my Google Drive and gave you some general feedback this afternoon.  Throughout the week, I will meet with each of you to help guide you in crafting your finished product.  On Monday, I’ll meet with each group to give you slightly more detail about what to work on (resources, previous plans, and some other helpful tips).  From there, I will sit with you individually to give you some specific direction and feedback, focusing on the details I feel will make your plan the strongest it can be.

My overall impression of your submission, as is the usual case when a new group begins a new plan, is that it is very broad/general/vague.  I want each of you to think like an investor or a bank when you read through your writing.  Ask yourself, “If I was an investor who had to read through a dozen plans, would this stand out?  Have I painted the right picture for the reader to make him open up his wallet and invest?”  Once we look into some finer details and make our writing more descriptive, it will jump off the page. 

Monday Through Friday:

To start the week, we’ll go over some housekeeping items regarding Tuesday’s after-school concessions.  We have some inventory to replenish and some great ideas about increasing sales, so we’ll have to iron out all the wrinkles in the first 15 minutes of class.  After this, we need to get the ball rolling on revising our plan.

Once we address after-school concessions, our singular focus is on finalizing the most comprehensive, descriptive plan we can put together.  My input when we sit down individually will provide you with the direction.  Your creativity will make the final draft the best it can be.  

Time to Define Ourselves!

This week, we will use the results of our research to register our business on the VE network, review the written rubric for the business plan as laid out on the VE website, distribute responsibilities for each department and individual department members, and begin writing our business plan.  The initial draft is to be completed by Friday, September 16, 2016. 

1.    Finalize Mission Statement and Company Vision

a.    Shane and his department will again present our options for a mission statement.  We will choose a mission statement and Shane’s team will work on improving the syntax of the mission statement so that we have a solid idea of our company goals

2.    Choose Company Vision

a.    This will be added to the business plan after our Mission Statement and will paint a clear picture of the future of Make-A-Meal

b.    Shane and Drake will work together to make sure this is carried out to meet our high standards of excellence

3.    Business Plan Sign-up/Trade Fair Sign-up/Business Registration

a.    Executives are to complete this by end of business Wednesday

4.    Analyze Business Plan Rubric and lay out a plan of action

a.    Vice Presidents will work out which department is responsible for different elements of the business plan

b.    Each department understands the 9/30 deadline, but will set goals for what to complete by 9/16, 9/23, and 9/30

                                               i.     Please make sure to work interdepartmentally so that we are on the same page for each element of the plan

c.     Within each department, delegate who is in charge of each piece of the puzzle

5.    Begin writing the plan

a.    PLEASE UTILIZE LAST YEAR’S PLAN TO SET A BASELINE FOR WHAT WE EXPECT.  WORK TO IMPROVE ON THAT PLAN

b.    PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY ELEMENT OF THE RUBRIC UNADDRESSED.  THIS COULD COST US A TRIP TO THE STATE FINALS

c.     DON’T HESITATE TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN

                                               i.     Some departments may not have direct connections to certain elements, but you can use their expertise for help if your department has a lot to cover

d.    MAKE USE OF THE POWERPOINTS AND LINKS FROM OUR GOOGLE DRIVE

                                               i.     I have laid out how to address just about every element of the plan.  Use this information

                                             ii.     Consult with Google and the sample business plan on www.veinternational.org (Gotham) if you need further assistance

Daily tasks are broken down below:

Monday

Objectives: Analyze Business Plan Rubric, , Divide Responsibility for completion of Business Plan, Summarize what our business is and how we fill a need in the economy

Clear Target: We can create a business plan

We will begin class by logging into the VE Portal.  Once this is complete, we will analyze the written scoring rubric so that we can delegate which department will complete each section.  We will be organized in delegating responsibility and not begin working on any section of the plan until we have divided the responsibilities up completely.

Once responsibilities are distributed, we'll need to identify the need in the market our business fills.  This is essential to differentiating yourselves from other food service organizations and will help our sales team close deals when we begin operating.  Highlighting how we are different, why we are superior, and why customers need our services will make all the difference when our plan is compared to our competitors' submissions.

Finally, we'll have to find a real-world business partner who is willing to place a large order with us.  According to the VE decision-makers, we can have a real-world business complete an order that accounts for up to 75% of our company payroll for the year.  With those funds, we will have some of our business expenses satisfied.  Finance, sales, and our executive team will need to solicit the potential customer, offer the products/services (can be a long-term purchase), create an invoice, and close the deal.

We'll close class with a summary report of our work for the day.

Tuesday through Friday:

Objectives: Set deadlines for each week of business plan work, work on business plan

Clear Target: We can create a business plan

The only formal work we need to accomplish for the rest of the week is determining weekly deadlines.  Last year, we did not do a great job of finishing things in a timely manner, and by setting deadlines, we will learn from our mistakes and finish each portion of our work on time.  We will also work on completing work outside of class if needed so that we remain on schedule.

Once deadlines are set, it’s on you.  Please make use of all your resources (Google Drive, PowerPoints, previous plans, VE Portal resources) so that we can make the most impressive business plan.  You all have it in you if you work together, and I will be available for assistance as needed.

I look forward to the three-week sprint ahead of us.  I am confident this year can be our year to go to the State Finals and perhaps even further.  See you tomorrow!