MAN3083 Entrepreneurship And Business Planning
Question
Answered
Question:
Generate an individual report based on identifying a new business opportunity.
• Each student who applied for EC and chose the alternative assessment option is expected to complete an individual report;
• The individual report will be assessed on how the individual student; demonstrates ability to apply key learnings from the course (up to 2,000 words);
• The report can cover the same business opportunity as your individual EReflective Poster, or can focus on another business opportunity;
• If you choose a business opportunity that is already covered in your individual E-Reflective poster you need to ensure that your individual report goes beyond what is already discussed in the poster;
• In your report you should focus on two key components:
1. Business opportunity
2. Financial plan
• In your report you need to review and evaluate critically your business opportunity and then produce a financial plan as evidence of commercial viability of the business opportunity you have identified.
A fully researched business opportunity including industry overview/trends, competitor analysis, customer segmentation, and company product and description.
You should include the following:
• Industry overview/trends in the industry you have identified;
• Customer segmentation: you should consider which different groups might buy? What distinguishes them and make them separate groups? what evidence can you find? What problem you are solving for your customers? What are their characteristics?
• Competitor Analysis: you should consider your direct and indirect competitors and evaluate their current offerings/pricing strategies/value proposition etc and how might you differ to them? What is your USP or value proposition compared to your competitors?
• Product/Service Description: you should consider providing an in-depth discussion of your business opportunity.
How many times do entrepreneurs approach me and say “I got a great business idea… can you fund me?” I Have a Great Business Ideas
When I ask them how do you monetise the idea and they reply “I am not sure…”
How do you put legs on a business idea?
How to build a financial plan?
Ø Building blocks
Ø Pricing strategy
Ø Break-even analysis
Ø Cash flow forecasting
How do you use the financial plan?
How do you monetise a business idea?
What is involved?
What is important?
Where the money does come from? Why?
Where the money does not come from? Why not?
• Savings
• Friends & family
• Sell car / re-mortgage house
• Grants
• Revenue
• Bank loan
• Business angels
• Venture capital
What are cost and revenue drivers?
2. Where does revenue = costs?
1. What pricing strategy do you use?
3. How does it compare to competitors?
4. What are sources and uses of cash?
5. How does it evolve over time?
How much initial capital do you need?
• What are the start-up costs?
• How do you price a product?
• How do cost and revenue drivers compare to competitors?
• Are you making money from what you thought you were?
• Ultimately, how does your business capture value…
Financial plan provides insight into key performance indicators for profitability, liquidity and risk;
Analysis should include pricing strategy, break-even analysis and cash flow forecasting;
Can use either build-up or comparable methods to determine forecasts for revenue, fixed costs and variable costs;
Should identify capital put into business as well as ongoing profitability;