Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Opening a Photography Business

October 29, 2014


We are going to use many of the skills we’ve learned this year to complete a group project. Your group will be opening a photography studio business. You’ll create job descriptions, research various costs, complete a budget, create a business plan, design marketing material, advertise, and serve customers to become profitable.


Each group must have four people. If there are one or two people left over after groups form, I”ll place them in a group and subdivide the work. Here are the work responsibilities inside the group:


Job Descriptions / Search for emp: ____________________________________
(only one person in the group may work on this)


Create a Budget / Spreadsheet: ____________________________________


Prepare a Business Plan: ____________________________________


Create an advertisement: ____________________________________


First part of the project is to decide who is doing what portion of the project.  You’ll turn that in today.  Then you’ll have about three weeks to work on the project in and out of class, and will then present your project by having your files on your computer for me to check, and presenting the project to the class (5 minutes to present).


Here are the minimum requirements to receive a passing grade.  Go above and beyond, make it creative, and receive additional credit.  Each group member will do at least one of the following major parts of the project.  If your group is smaller, each person may need to do two.


Search for employees:  Create a one page job description for at least TWO positions inside the company (ideas here).  How many hours will the job require?  What days and times will the person work?  What will they do?  What skills are necessary to do the job?  How much will the job pay?  THEN find out what it costs to place an advertisement in the Tampa Times or on a job website like Monster.com and list that cost in your advertising budget spreadsheet. Want an exceptional grade? Complete it for FOUR employees.


Create a budget:  What will it cost to buy the equipment to start? How much income will the business bring in each month?  For the year?  What will the business cost to operate for a year?  How much is your lease for retail space?  Do you need to buy computers or other electronics?  What will utilities (water, electricity) cost?  Phone / Internet / Cell Phone?  How much will it cost to pay the TWO employees you’ve hired?  Will you have to buy products to sell?  Use a spreadsheet that will total all of these up monthly, and then also show a yearly figure for each row (multiply the monthly by 12 to get the yearly figure).  I will be checking to see if you use FORMULAS for calculations and not a calculator. (this is very important, if you don’t know what that means, please see me quickly).  This is a major part of the project and will take time to do well.  If you do not use for formulas you will lose at least 10 points on the project.  You can start with this spreadsheet I’ve created. Save it to your google drive, then add your data and formulas to make it all work.

If you're having trouble accessing the spreadsheet, try to copy and paste this link into your browser. Then 'save a copy' and start working on it:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DcJJ4Bo9i96M9o2zY1GKoq7RWDKYFavOrUOVPxVeBEQ/edit?usp=sharing



Prepare a business plan.  Start here to see a sample of a business plan.  Complete at least three sentences for each of the items; Business Plan Executive Summary [5-10 sentences that describe what you’ll be doing], Market Analysis [who are your competitors?], Company Description, Organization & Management [who is doing what inside your company?], Marketing & Sales Management [how will you advertise and get customers?], Service / Product Line [what will you be doing or selling?].  Use google docs or word or similar to create a nice looking business plan.  It should be at least two pages. Want an exceptional grade? Make it detailed and four pages.  This is also a major part of the project.


Design an advertisement.  Use whatever software you like to create an advertisement.  It could be a nice looking presentation slide (google docs or powerpoint) or a video or something else creative.  Make it interesting, creative, and clear to see what you’re selling or the service you provide.  You could also create an infographic, see http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225095#  (try using infogr.am, piktochart or easel.ly) Want an exception grade? Complete TWO advertisements, one print, and one video.


This project is DUE Wednesday November 19, 2014 at the beginning of class.  You will be graded on progress each week.  Be prepared to show me your progress at the beginning of class each week.  Have all documents on on your computer (google docs or similar).


(on the next page, there is a turn in page to tell me what business you’re opening up, and list who is doing what on the project.)
Turn this sheet into Mr. Caldwell.  ONE per GROUP. November 2014.


Our group name: _____________________________________


Now, write in the first and last names of who will be doing what.  If your group has FOUR members, then one person would be doing two of them items.  If your group has FIVE members, TWO people can work on any of the last three items below:


Job Descriptions / Search for emp: ____________________________________


Create a Budget / Spreadsheet: ____________________________________


Prepare a Business Plan: ____________________________________


Create an advertisement: ____________________________________


By signing above, you agree you have read this entire project assignment and understand this is a large project that will require you to work a number of hours in total in the next few weeks. You are responsible for your part. Your work does not need to wait for anyone else in the group to complete their part. You will be given time to work on the project in class over the next two weeks. If there are problems inside your group, inform Mr. Caldwell quickly.

This project is DUE Wednesday November 19, 2014 at the beginning of class.  You will be graded on progress each week.  Be prepared to show me your progress at the beginning of class each week.  Have all documents on on your computer (google docs or similar).

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