LESSON PLAN- BOSS YOURSELF INTERACTIVE ONLINE TOOL

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1 1 LESSON PLAN- BOSS YOURSELF INTERACTIVE ONLINE TOOL Estimated time: 1.5 to 2 hours Preparation: Access to the internet for all students and copies of worksheets. Resource: Boss Yourself website at Prescribed learning outcomes in British Columbia curricula: Business Education 8-10 (1997) and Business Education (1998): It is expected that students will: Describe entrepreneurial skills and attributes applicable to a variety of work environments. (Entrepreneurship 8) Generate business ideas to meet identified needs or opportunities. (Entrepreneurship 8) Assess personal attributes that relate to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity in business. (Entrepreneurship 10) design, implement, and evaluate a business plan Entrepreneurship 10) Design, review, and present a feasibility study for a business idea. (Entrepreneurship 12) Develop and evaluate a business plan and operating strategy for a venture. (Entrepreneurship 12) Describe the role of entrepreneurship in the establishment of a business (Management Innovation 12). Planning 10 (2007): It is expected that students will: B1 - Relate personal attributes and interests to education and career planning. Learning Objectives: Students will develop an understanding about the attributes of an entrepreneur and how these are associated with starting a new business. Students will explore websites, organizations, and identify potential mentors that can assist with starting a business. Students will become aware of the opportunities for starting a business in British Columbia and find out about financing options. Students will create a business plan based on their personal skills and careers of interest. Introductory Activity (45 minutes) Refer to previous Planning 10 or HACE activities that identified students work-related skills and attributes to introduce a discussion about how one s interest in prospective jobs is related to one s attributes and skills. Ask each student to share at least one job that interests them. Record each student s job on a flip chart or on the board. Organize students into groups of three based on similarity of job interests. Distribute a copy of the Boss Yourself Challenge worksheet to each student. Ask each group to discuss the entrepreneurial attributes on the worksheet, writing in the My Ideas section what job function or business activity they think is related to each attribute. Provide clarification and examples. For example, a financial guru would be good with numbers, a skill related to managing money or accounting. Ask each group to present a summary of their ideas to the class. Lead a classroom discussion about how job interests can lead to business ventures and point out the connection between entrepreneurial attributes and the tasks associated with starting a business.

2 2 Ask the following questions to stimulate discussion: Why would individuals consider starting their own business? What would be some benefits and potential challenges? Would you consider starting a business, why or why not? What entrepreneurial attributes do you feel that you possess? Activity Steps: (1 hour 30 minutes) Show the class the Boss Yourself introductory YouTube clip. Discuss the connection between personal interests/skills and starting a business in British Columbia. Ask students to continue working in their groups of three. Refer to the eight entrepreneurial attributes listed on their Boss Yourself Challenge worksheet, and ask them to help each other identify at least three attributes that each group member has best demonstrated through previous experiences. Instruct students to circle the three attributes that are their best personal match, while ensuring that all eight attributes are distributed within the group. Students may come up with an additional attribute on their own. Have each students access the Boss Yourself website at and select the Crests and Challenges button. Ask each student to locate the three attributes they have circled on their worksheet and to take the silver, bronze and gold challenges for each. Students should record on their worksheets the information they acquire from each of the challenges and the Need to know more tab. Students then share the information they acquired with their group members to complete the Boss Yourself Challenge worksheet. Lead a brief classroom discussion on operational and personal skills, asking the following questions: What skills may be the most important to have when running your own business? What skills do you think you can further develop along the way? How would you go about starting your own business? What services and websites would you consult? Ask the class to brainstorm ideas for business ventures that they could implement with the skills and resources that they currently have. Babysitting? Lawn mowing? Teaching seniors how to use ? Baking? Write the following questions on the board to help each group identify a business that they would start together. Would your business provide a service or a product? Who are your potential customers? How would you market your services or products? Provide each group with the Boss Yourself Business Plan Outline worksheet, and ask each group to brainstorm ideas and information to place under each heading of the business plan. Ask each group make a brief presentation of their ideas to the class. Reflection: After finding out about starting a business in B.C., would you consider opening up your own business in the near future? Why or why not? How would you use social media to promote your business? What further education or training will you require to be become a successful business owner? Do you have a mentor/company in mind that you would like to contact for information or assistance? What resources will you take advantage of when starting your business? What is the first step that you will take when starting your business? Enhancement Activities: Activity 1: Create a Business Venture with the Assistance of Junior Achievement of BC. Preparation: Contact a local Program Manager at Junior Achievement ( with a request for one of the following programs: A Business of Our Own for grade 8. Company Program - A Student Venture for grades 11/12. Activity 2: Creating a Mock business website

3 3 Preparation: Prior to the classroom activity, create one free account at The login details to this free account will be shared with students in Step 1 of the activity. Activity Steps: Organize students into their original groups of three. Tell students that each group will create a mock business website and use it as a tool to promote their business and provide information about their products and services to potential customers/clients. Lead students through the following steps to create a mock website for their businesses. Step 1: Each group of students will use the teacher account to login to: Step 2: On the top left hand side of the page (beside the WIX logo) select the Create header: Step 3: Click on New in the left column to create a page: Step 4: Choose a template or use a blank template to start creating a unique business webpage by selecting edit. The pop-up help menus provide hints on how to drag and drop items onto the page. Step 5: Click publish once the website is created.

4 4 Step 6: Record the web address for your group s website on the board so that other students in the class can interact online with your business. Have students visit each group s business website. Ask each group to upload pictures about their services/products and provide information to their potential clients/customers. They can also include information about deals and upcoming promotions. Groups will respond to customer inquiries by inserting a contact form and adding a comment section for customers/clients to provide feedback and for the business to interact with clients. Remind students to maintain and update their group s business websites regularly and to be prompt when answering inquiries. Reflection: What types of information was exchanged via your mock business page? How did you use the information you solicited from your clients/customers to improve your business? Why is it important to update your business page frequently? What are the potential benefits of a business page? Activity 3: Locating and Interviewing a Mentor Preparation: A copy of the Mentor Interview worksheet for each student. Ask the original groups of students to locate a mentor who currently leads a business venture similar to the business opportunity that the group identified for their business plan. Assign each group to interview their mentor via face-to-face meeting, web conferencing, or telephone. Students will prepare a two to three-page report on ideas, strategies, and information provided to them by their mentor. Reflection: What did you find out about operating a business in your chosen area of interest that you did not know before? What are some strategies that you learned about to attract potential clients/customers? What are some ways that you can keep costs low and profits high? What are some trends and challenges faced in your business market? Who are your competitors? Activity 4: Just the Basics: Applying Trend Hunter Concepts to Your Business Strategy Preparation: Access to the internet, projector and screen to show the YouTube Innovation keynote speaker Jeremy Gutsche 30-minute speech from Trend HunterTV. A copy of the Just the Basics worksheet for each student. Play the Trend Hunter video for the class. Ask students to get into their original groups of three and distribute the worksheets. Have students brainstorm how they can use Jeremy Gutsche s ideas to create strategies for their businesses. Reflection: What are some ideas that you learned about communicating with your potential clients/customers? What steps would you take to re-invent an idea? Is it okay to fail? Why or why not?

5 5 BOSS YOURSELF CHALLENGE In the first row, you will record what you think each entrepreneurial attribute/skill contributes to a business. When you take the Silver, Bronze and Gold challenge for each of the three personal attributes you identified, fill in the information that you learned in the matching columns. Complete the remaining columns after discussing with your group members what information they gathered about the other attributes/skills. Financial Guru Multi- Task Master Business Beginner People Seeker Problem Solver Mentor Magnet Marketing Director Leading Thinker Other My Ideas Silver Challenge Bronze Challenge Gold Challenge

6 6 BOSS YOURSELF BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE The following table lists the core components of a business plan. After your group has agreed on a business idea, write down notes about what types of information you will provide under each category. Consult for further information. Type of Business/Business Name: Executive Summary (summary of your business plan) This section should be done after all the others sections are completed. Opportunities (describe opportunities for selling your product/service, describe your vision) Market Research (outline potential customers/clients, competitors, current and future trends) Marketing and Sales (outline how you plan to reach out and sell to your targeted markets) Your Team (biographies of key people in your business, job descriptions, organizational chart) Financial Forecasts (cash flow statements, profit and loss forecasts, and sales forecasts) Implementation Plan (list estimated dates of completion for different aspects of your business plan) Appendices (include licenses, agreements, permits and contracts)

7 7 MENTOR INTERVIEW SHEET 1. How long have you owned and operated your business? 2. Why did you choose to start your own business? 3. How did you get started? 4. Did you have a mentor? Why or why not? 5. What were some challenges trying to start up your own business? 6. What are some benefits of having a business? 7. What were some entrepreneurial skills and attributes that you had prior to starting your business? 8. What were some entrepreneurial skills and attributes that you developed along the way? 9. How did you finance your business? 10. Do you have a business model or structure that you follow? 11. Do you have employees? If so, what types of employees do you have, and how do you manage them? 12. What steps did you take to obtain a business license? 13. What strategies do you use to be competitive? 14. How did you attract clients/customers and build and maintain relationships?

8 8 JUST THE BASICS WORKSHEET Embrace change, try new things and focus on opportunities--perspective, Intensional Distruction, Failure and Customer Obsession (source: Jeremy Gutsche How will your business respond to failure? Specifically, what are you trying to do? How will you create a cultural connection for your clients/customers towards your products/services? YOUR BUSINESS: What trends can you identify with your business? How can you be innovative? How will you make your message travel? How is your product/service the best in the world for the specific group of people that you target?