Entrepreneurial Kids

About

In this project, students develop business skills. Taking a role of young entrepreneur. The students set up business goals, conduct market research, determine product potential, seek funding and market their product. They do research to determine the suitable business opportunity and use their knowledge of marketing to start their own business and reach their goals. Then students use their business plan and experience running business to teach others in a workshop.

Content Standards:
Living Skills: Business and Entrepreneurship
Mathematics: Money and Data Handling
English: Express thoughts and feelings and give opinions ; Give accurate information

Students will:
•Gather data by conducting a survey to determine sales potential
•Summarize findings, draw conclusions, and rank items based on survey and research data
•Create a business plan
•Run the business
•Share the business plan and experience with others using thinkquest and workshop.

Instructional Procedures

Activity 1: Set the stage
Teacher tells students that they will be taking on a role of young entrepreneurs and their task is to start and run their own company successfully. Students discuss and brainstorm ideas. Then the students generate a list of things that they can make and sell. Teacher asks questions to prompt student thinking, such as How did you decide which items would or would not be good to sell?

Activity 2: Market Survey
For the market survey, the related terms are introduced such as producer, consumer, marketing and profit. The term are defined by using simple language. Students create an online market survey and persuade their friends to answer the survey.

Activity 3: Poll and Business Decision
The students collect data from the survey, put the data in a spreadsheets and create a chart. Students write a simple summary. Teacher helps students draw conclusion.

Activity 4: Business Plan
for this activity, teacher creates a business plan template. Once the students have decided on which product to sell and determine a sales goals, they write a business plan using the template.

Activity 5: Inform and Persuade Others
The students will write a letter to their parents asking for the start-up money to help launching the business.

Activity 6: Advertise
The students use desktop publishing software to create a poster and promote their business during the morning assembly.

Activity 7: Making the Products
In advance, students will collect required material and seek help from the Arts teacher. Teacher will provides laminating machine. The students make the products, take pictures and write simple description about the process.

Activity 8: Sell
Students sell their products. The students are allowed to practice giving correct change and tracking products sold. Finally, students will keep track of money received. The sales information entered into a spreadsheet daily that will give the overall picture of the profit/loss.

Activity 9: Measure Success
Teacher and students revise the original goals, business plan, research, funding effort, marketing strategies and profit. Students will draw their own conclusion about whether their effort is paid off and worth the risk.

Activity 10: Sharing Session
The students conduct a workshop about starting a business. They will invites their friends to participate in the workshop.

Conclusion
The number of business opportunities for kids have exploded with the growth of the Internet. Hopefully this project will arouse children interest to set up their own business and grab the opportunities.

The project's essential problem, question or issue:
1. Why take the risk? 2. How to start a business?

Timeline: Jan. 05, 2012 - Apr. 25, 2012

Category: Business & Industry > Money & Economics