Starting Out

The story of UPS is a great example of how a very small business can actually grow into a mega-corporation with world-wide influence. But in the early days, Jim Casey was exactly like you — a young person just starting out.

It’s a competitive world out there, so you need to make every preparation possible before launching a business venture. The biggest preparation of all is a written business plan. Now that you know how a business plan is put together, you have a head start on your future competitors.

Resources to help you lean more about writing a business plan:

• The US Small Business Administration has a website (www.sba.gov) that is an invaluable resource for learning how to write business plans.
• The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs (www.wsj.com ) also offers an online tool for creating a simple business plan.

Before you go to the next lesson, we have two important learning activities that will help you begin to create a more concrete plan for turning your business concept into reality. If you are taking this course for a grade or for credit, you will complete these activities and turn in your work to your advisor or teacher.

Activity 5: A Marketing Strategy

As explained in this lesson, good marketing is never haphazard. The right product must be presented to the right people at the right price, at the right place, with the right promotion. These are the five P’s of marketing that should be covered in your business plan.
Click the link below to download a worksheet that will guide you through the process of developing a marketing plan that covers the five P’s of marketing. If you are taking this course for a grade or for credit, you will turn in this assignment to your advisor or teacher.

Download Activity 5: Marketing Strategy Worksheet

Activity 6: Calculating Start-Up Cost

Raising start-up money is one of the main challenges every entrepreneur faces when starting a business. It is very important to know how much start-up capital you will need.

Start-up cost includes three types of expenses:

• The cost of the initial inventory needed to open the business
• All pre-opening expenses such as advertising and utility deposits
• Ongoing expenses (such as rent, phone, etc.) to operate your business until sales increase enough to pay expenses

Click the link below to download a worksheet that will guide you through the process of estimating the start-up cost for your business. To complete this assignment, you will also need the Estimate of Potential Profit you developed in Activity 3. If you are taking this course for a grade or for credit, you will turn in Activity 6 to your advisor or teacher.

Download Activity 6: Start-Up Cost Worksheet

Click the race car to complete Lesson 3

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