Small Business Planning Project

(Rev. 8/04)

 

Chaffey | CoopEd | Handbook | End-of-Term

 

Introduction:     Congratulations! By your choice, you have given yourself an opportunity to investigate an idea that you have for starting a business that seems attractive and promising to you. Your goal for this project is to gather sufficient information, using several different sources, to make sound business decisions.

 

Research:  You will be required to do both on-line and field research, focusing first on the Small Business Administration Web Site. You must attend a local Small Business Development Center seminar and schedule a meeting with a consultant from SBDC, SCORE or Chaffey College faculty. You may need to do informational interviews with people who have experience in similar businesses. 

 

Your Business Plan:  Setting goals and determining what needs to be done to achieve them, with a timetable for taking action, will help to keep you moving forward.  Whether you will be asked to begin writing a business plan depends on how many Co-op Ed units you are enrolled for, as well as your progress in your research and your decision as to whether or not to proceed toward your business goal.

 

Email Follow-up: You are required to keep your instructor informed, with at least two emails during the semester regarding your progress on this project. You will be given a schedule of due dates for all assignments.

 

Project Assignments: The number of units for which you are enrolled in this course will determine the number of modules and criteria that your instructor selects for your project, and the number of videos you are to watch. After receiving your project assignment, you may want to review the examples of successful projects that are available in the Career Services Office.

 

Analysis and Conclusions: As you do the research, you may encounter alternative career opportunities that are even more attractive to you than the one you started researching.  As the captain of your ship, so to speak, give yourself the right to change course when the facts at hand convince you to do so.  Support this decision with facts, logic and intuition. You will be asked to describe your decision-making style in the final module, after reviewing videotapes on career planning and decision-making topics. Since there is not a lecture component for this course, the selected videos are important lecture alternatives.

 

Submission Requirements:    The assigned reports are to be typewritten and double-spaced.  Your completed project should be submitted in a folder or 3-ring binder, with tabbed dividers and a table of contents listing each assigned module and criteria.  Please state the name, module number and criteria number of each report.

 

Career Management:  Keep a record of your primary sources of information for your field of interest so you can return to these sources in the future, as you continue your research and career advancement.  Make a list of the books, periodicals, software, Websites and individuals that were your sources of information for this project.

Modules and Goals

 

1.      On-Line Research: Learn relevant information on the Web sites of the Small Business Administration, the Senior Corps of Retired Executives and professional and trade associations.

 

2.      Field Research: Learn about starting a business by attending a Small Business Development Center seminar, and meet with an SBDC consultant, a SCORE representative or a Chaffey College business instructor to get answers to your questions and advice about your prospective business.

 

3.      Networking and Informational Interviews: Obtain first hand information from someone who has been successful in a similar business.

 

4.      Business Plan: Prepare a business plan that will enable you to chart your steps to success.

 

5.      Analysis and Conclusions:  Draw conclusions about your prospective business based on your analysis of what you learned in your research; and evaluate your own decision-making style.

Module #1:     On-Line Research

 

Goal#1:           Learn relevant information on the Web sites of the Small Business

Administration, the Senior Corps of Retired Executives and professional and trade associations.

 

Rationale:       Learn about the free, or low cost, business resources that are available to you.  Get to know what the business climate is like in the sector in which you would be operating, and what your future competitors, customers and collaborators are doing.  Since each person’s research needs are unique, your instructor will work with you in selecting the most useful criteria for completing your on-line research.

 

Criteria:

 

  1. At the Small Business Administration Web site, click on “Starting Your Business”, and review the 8 sections found there, starting with “Startup Basics”, then “Business Planning”, until you have reviewed the topics for all 8 sections. Select (3) topics with the greatest relevance for your business and review them in detail. Write a 1-2 page summary of useful information found on each of the (3) topics you chose.
  2. Compile a list of Web sites representing professional associations or trade

organizations, representing the targeted field. (Suggestion: Enter the name of a professional association, or key words + “associations”, into Google or one of the search engines at Best Search Tools Page - Infopeople).  Review each site, identify which offers the best information and complete a 1-2 page summary of useful information found on that site.

  1. Compile a list of the local business networking opportunities that would get you into the room with your future competitors, customers and collaborators, by using local newspapers, the yellow pages, employer directories, trade magazines, eg. Inland Empire Business Journal | Online (click on Business Calendar) or other on-line or print resources to find the times and places they meet.

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Module #2:     Field Research

 

Goal #2:          Learn about starting a business by attending a Small Business Development Center seminar, and meet with an SBDC consultant, a SCORE representative, or a Chaffey College business instructor to get answers to your questions and advice about your prospective business.

 

Rationale:       Since people vary in what they know and don’t know about the business sector they are researching, please discuss your level of understanding frankly with your instructor so that you both can agree on the most useful criteria to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.

 

Criteria:

 

1.      Register for one of the free “Business 101” seminars by calling the Inland Empire SBDC office at (909) 466-6244 or register online at Inland Empire Small Business Development Center and find out times and locations for the seminars. Attend a seminar and write a 1-2 page summary of useful information learned.

2.      After attending the seminar, schedule an in-person consultation with the SBDC Consultant, by calling the SBDC office or by scheduling it online at their Web site. Write a 1-2 page summary of useful information learned at your meeting.

3.      Schedule an in-person consultation with a representative from the Senior Corps of Retired Executives at www.score.org or by calling their office at (909) 652-4390. Write a 1-2 page summary of useful information learned at your meeting.

4.      Schedule an office meeting with a business instructor.  Prepare a list of questions that link your education to your future business. Write a 1-2 page summary of useful information learned at your meeting.

 

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Module #3      Networking and Informational Interviews

 

Goal #3           Obtain first hand information from someone who has been successful in a similar business.

 

Rationale:       There’s no substitute for experience, yours and that of others.  What you learn from someone who’s been down the road you’re on could save you time and money, and accelerate completion of your business plan.  If you find it too difficult to schedule time with an owner, start with someone in a management position in a business similar to the one you are considering.

 

Criteria:

 

1.      An informational interview is quite different from a job interview.  So, begin to shift your focus by watching “Informational Interviewing: A Foot in the Door”, a video on the subject that is available for viewing in the Career Services office. Write a one-page summary of this video, outlining the main concepts presented, and how you will use this information in your research.

2.      Consider acquiring paid or unpaid experience by seeking an internship in a business similar to the one you are considering.  Visit the Orange Coast College Web site to explore the QT Newsletter links on the topics of internships and informational interviews. Write a one-page summary of useful information found.

3.      Prepare in writing, a personal statement that you would be comfortable saying when introducing yourself to an expert in the business you are researching. It is helpful to prepare a list of questions, based on your research so far.

4.      Conduct one or more informational interviews with individuals who are currently, or have previously been employed in the type of business you are considering, using your list of questions and your personal statement.  (You may be able to connect up with a SCORE consultant who has retired out of the industry you are researching by contacting them at SCORE).  Maintain your credibility by limiting the length of this interview to the length of time you requested (30 minutes usually.) Interviews should be conducted at the experts’ work sites, if at all possible. This will give you an opportunity to try to visualize yourself in that workplace at a moment conducive to decision-making; impressions to be carefully reviewed later. Promptly send each person you interviewed a thank you note, after making a copy to submit with your report.

5.      Write a 1-2 page report of findings for each interview.  Your report should

include the names and job titles of the people you interviewed, where the interviews took place and what you learned from them. The questions on page 2 of the Informational Interviewing handout are also recommended report topics.

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Module #4      Business Plan

 

Goal #4           Prepare a business plan that will enable you to chart your steps to success.

 

Rationale:       “If you haven't written your plan yet, your business is still in the fantasy stages. That isn't harsh; it's how it is in the real world. A company's business plan is what lenders such as banks and the U.S. Small Business Administration use in deciding to lend you money. It's the main company document that your employees -- and you -- use to gauge your company's success and to make decisions about what you should do first, second, or not at all.

If you're starting a home-based business on a shoestring, some of these suggestions probably aren't necessary, but you still should create a plan that outlines your goals, expected costs, marketing plan and exit strategy. A business plan is your road map for how you expect to succeed and how you'll measure success.” (Microsoft on How to write a business plan)

 

Criteria:

 

  1. You may choose to write your business plan according to guidelines of your choosing.  Discuss with your instructor which guidelines to use and how much of your business plan you can reasonably expect to complete before your due date to turn in your work.   Here are some recommended Web sites that offer information on the subject:
    1. The SBA - Business Plan Basics site may be easiest for you because other project assignments use this site as well.
    2. Microsoft’s Small Business Center offers information on How to Write a Business Plan and links back to the SBA site, and to its own suite of business services.
    3. Others?

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Module #5      Analysis and Conclusions

 

Goal #5           Draw conclusions about your prospective business based on your analysis of what you learned in your research; and evaluate your own decision-making style.

 

Rationale:       What have you learned from the research you have done? What are your conclusions regarding the business opportunity you examined? What facts support that conclusion? Did you discover any attractive alternative opportunities? What further research do you think is needed? What is your plan?

 

Criteria:         

 

1.                  Complete the Analysis and Conclusions items.

2.                  Complete the Goal Planning items.

 

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Analysis and Conclusions

 

Write a 1-2 page summary for each of the assigned questions:

 

1.                  Write a one-page analysis of your findings and your conclusions regarding your prospective business. 

2.                 Watch Career Advantage video episode # 19, “Decision Making Strategies”. Write a one page description of your style of decision-making, and how you made decisions for this project

 

Goal Planning

 

3.                 Watch Career Advantage video #20, “Goal Setting and Action Planning”.  List 2 long-term goals (which you hope to achieve in 5 or more years). List 3 short-term goals (less than 5 years), and your timeline for achieving them. List 3 specific objectives, or actions you plan to take, for each short-term goal, including a timeline for completing each objective: