(MIYB) The Fundraiser--Part I

The next few weeks of Make It Your Business (MIYB) Fridays will be very different from the projects we have tackled until now. Through the next few weeks' worth of blood, sweat, and tears, you will create and run your own businesses in a week of fundraising frenzy! Even better, you will be able to earn a group jackpot towards your clothing stipend accounts.

The Project
1) Today you will break down into groups of 2-3 people and spend about 20-30 minutes deciding what your fundraising "business" will be. You have a choice of doing any of the following three choices:

1. Creating a fundraising pizzaria
2. Creating a Valentine's gift/photo shop
3. Creating a lunch catering business

Additionally, you may come up with your own idea for a SMALL fundraising event/business, but your idea must not require too much start-up money and resources, and it must be feasibly completed in a few hours to be approved.

2) Once you have your ideas ironed out for your businesses, you will need to come up with a list of all the supplies you need. The less supplies your business has to purchase, the better for your team's ability to raise and earn money. Once you have a complete list for your business, you need to come up with a list of prices of the items/services you will sell. Using this, we will calculate your break even point, or BEP (the point where you've earned the money you spent out for supplies).

For the purposes of our project, this number (the number of products you have to sell to break even is determined by the following formula:

BEP = (total costs for supplies) ÷ (price of most popular products/services)

You will summarize this information in a worksheet that you will turn in as one of the requirements for today's project.

3) Lastly, for the remainder of your time today, you are to write a one paragraph summary of your chosen fundraising idea that you can include as your cover sheet for the work to follow in the next few weeks. Briefly name your group members, describe your idea, and choose two dates in February that all group members (or the majority) can agree to meet. (The fundraiser day for your group will only be on one of those days.)

Summary
Today's project is the first in a series of four MIYB project days. You will keep the same groups for all days, and groups are small, so it is important that everybody maintain good project attendance for the next few weeks. Also, all stipend money that is raised for the group will be split by group decision, so unproductive members beware!

By 6:00 today, you are to (1) meet with your group; (2) decide on a fundraising business idea; (3) come up with a supply, cost, and price list, and complete the worksheet; (4) determine your BEP; and (5) write up a fundraiser proposal sheet describing your project idea, members, and proposed date.

(Project) MIYB Project 3 - Head of the Class

Two projects ago, we learned about "Concept" as a component of the business plan. By business "Concept," we understand the main idea or set of ideas that describe how a business will achieve its financial goals.

"Concept" is the secret ingredient for a business's success; it answers the very general questions of "How?" and "By doing what?" when it comes to a business attaining its goal.

Here's a metaphor that might help.

A business's goal is like a finish line in a race. It's the place you are trying to get to within a certain time, or before other people get there to win if you're competing against others. But how will you get there? Does your strategy involve racing along the inside track? Holding back until the last minute? And just as important, what will take you to that finish line? Your shoes? Your breakfast? Gasoline?

All of these things that get you there (strategies, energy sources, etc.) work like a business "Concept." It describes specifically not where you are going but how you plan on getting there.

Take the example of a restaurant that serves food in East Harlem. Its goals--like any other business--might be to make a certain amount of money by the end of the year, or to become a household name in the surrounding area within six months. These things are fine goals to have, but they do not count as the business's "Concept." The concept of the business might be to put the customer first, or to sell a certain food that puts them ahead of the competition. These could all be components of the business "Concept" because they are all ways that they are going to succeed in reaching their goals.

Today's Project
Today's project will require you to make presentations to a class of MicroSociety students about what a business "Concept" is and get them to start thinking about what things could qualify as business concepts for the businesses they are building.

You are to go to an assigned room at 4:30 and introduce yourselves to the students in your classroom. Tell them that you are here to introduce an idea that they might find very useful in making up their business plans for their sectors. Then, with permission, present briefly about what a business's "Concept" is and give them a short oral quiz after your presentation.

Your performance today will be determined by the average quiz score of your group. The two highest scoring groups will be awarded $30 FWB toward their clothing stipends.

(Project) MIYB: Business Plan Basics

As you have learned in the pre-workshop exercises today, writing a business plan is a big project that starts with good organization and dilligently researched information.
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Today's Project:
Today, as your MIYB Project, you will be broken into two or three groups and asked to create a basic business plan according to the criteria we went over earlier today.

Keeping in mind our "Focus Five" sections of the business plan ((1) Business Concept, (2) Future Goals/Past Milestones, (3) Customer/Market Information, (4) Competitor Information, and (5) Products and Services), create a basic business plan for Redken, a New York-based hair product company who won a 2006 Webby Award for website design in the Beauty and Cosmetics category.

Today's winning group members will recieve, individually, $30 toward their clothing bank. The deadline for submissions of business plans is today, at 6:00PM.


Good Luck.