Unit 16: Business Enterprise Assignment 1 â?? â??Starting your own businessâ?? Purpose The purpose o

Unit 16: Business Enterprise

Assignment 1 — ‘Starting
your own business’

Purpose

The purpose of this
assignment is to provide a framework within which the learner can:

ü Understand how to prepare
for business
ü Know how different aspects
affect preparation for business
ü Understand how to start and
run a business

Scenario

You
have recently completed a 1 year business course at North West Kent
College, which you
enjoyed very much. The course has helped you to decide what you want to do with
your future. You have decided to put you new business skills to good use and
start your own small business. There is a lot to consider when starting your
own business but you are confident that you have the knowledge and
understanding to succeed.

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Task 1a

Your first task is to
identify your personal strengths that will help your business succeed and your
weaknesses that you will need to address or overcome. You complete a SWOT
analysis and written report that will include:

·
Your
strengths, your weaknesses, any opportunities you have for starting a small
business and any threats that may affect your business
·
An
explanation of how having knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses can be
applied to preparing for and contributing to a business

(This
provides evidence for P1)
The hand in date for P1 is 3rd
February 2012

Task 1b

To meet the Merit criteria you
need to extend your written explanation to include a description of the
benefits of starting a business providing examples that are relevant to your
own business idea.

(This provides evidence for M1)

Than hand in date for M1 is 20th
April 2012

You
may want to consider the following:

Own strengths and weaknesses: personal circumstances, experience,
skills, knowledge and abilities; areas for development or improvement;
suitability for self-employment or a small business

Contributing to a business: own contribution e.g. personal
time, money, space, ability to contribute to and run a business; personal savings;
availability of time; impact on working and personal life; barriers to
starting/running a successful business; professional help

Benefits of running a business: personal objectives; business
objectives; profitability of the business; other considerations e.g. impact on
personal and working life

Task 1c

To meet the Distinction
criteria you need to extend your written explanation even further to provide an
evaluation of the issues that need to be considered when starting a business.
Your evaluation should include;

Advantages and disadvantages of
your strengths and weaknesses and how these would affect your business
start up
Advantages and disadvantages of a
business plan and how these would affect your business start up
Advantages and disadvantages of
the sources of advice and how these would affect your business start up

(This provides evidence for D1)

The hand in date for D1 is 18th May 2012

Task 2a

You now need to decide on
your small business and conduct some research into legal and financial barriers
that would affect your chosen business as well as how you would market and sell
your products/services. Your small business must be realistic to your
circumstances. Create a PowerPoint presentation that includes the following;

A list of the regulations and
laws that will affect your business
A description of how you would
prepare to market and sell your products or services
A description of the financial
issues that could affect preparation for your business

(This
provides evidence for P2, P3 and P4)
The hand in date for P2, P3 and P4 is
2nd March 2012

Task 2b

To meet the Merit criteria,
extend your PowerPoint presentation to include an analysis of the different
aspects (legal, financial, marketing) that will affect preparation for your
business. You need to explore advantages and disadvantages of the different
aspects and analyse with some detail how exactly they would affect your
business.

You must also, explain the
purpose of each component of the business plan and give an overall explanation
as to why business plans are needed. You must evaluate your own business plan
and make suggestions for improvement.

(This provides evidence for M2)

The hand in date for M2 is 4th May 2012

You
may want to consider the following;

Regulations and laws for small
businesses: legal status e.g. sole trader,
partnership, limited company; process for starting a business legally;
regulations; licences; formal records e.g. leasing arrangements, tax returns,
health and safety; keeping and submitting business records; the importance of
completing and keeping correct records

Marketing and sales: reaching and retaining customers;
customer care; marketing information; market research; analysing and meeting
customer needs; competition; building
customer relationships; cost and
price of products or services; promoting products or services; unique selling
points; selling techniques; personal selling; environmental issues

Financial issues: sources of finance; start-up costs;
operating expenses and income; organising and controlling expenses and income;
cash flow forecasting; records; external organisations e.g. HM Revenue and
Customs, measuring financial success e.g. costs and income, profits, assets,
financial state of a business; financial priorities; risks e.g. losing money,
security of income, changes to financial situation

Task 3a

You now have a clear idea
of your business, and you need to present these ideas to the stakeholders. In a
suitable written format, such as a report, present your business plan, which
should include;

Your business idea including;
business name, logo, slogan, your USP
A description of the
products/services you hope to sell/provide and an explanation as to how
you would present these to your customers
A description of your target
market (customers) and their needs
A forecast of your sales targets
Market research techniques that
you plan to carry out
A week by week break down of the
work that needs to be done before your business starts trading
A list of the materials and
supplies that you will need before you start trading
An explanation of the sources of
advice and support you plan to use

(This provides evidence for P5
and P6)

The hand in date for P5 and P6 is 23rd March 2012

You
may want to consider the following;

Business plan: the business idea; products or
services; possible customers; customers’ needs e.g. when and where they want
products or services, where and when a product or service can be sold; sales
targets; the need for forward planning

Starting and running a business: the needs of a business; research
techniques; planning techniques; controllable and uncontrollable aspects;
timing; what work needs to be done to start and run a business; materials and
supplies

Advice and support: business support, e.g. people,
agencies and organisations offering advice or help, funding and financial
support, technical support, education and training available

Task 3b

To extend your business
plan to meet the Distinction criteria you need to make a justified
recommendation for your business start up, based on the evidence from all the
tasks so far. You may wish to recommend that you do not proceed with starting
your business; this is acceptable as long as you justify your reasons.

(This provides evidence for D2)

The hand in date for D2 is 25th
May 2012

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