Topic outline
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To the concepts of the business plan learning, the students should read the texts in this section and post a summary should contain the following analysis:
- Main points for starting a business
- Most common difficulties
Links to texts:
- Business Plans: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How To Write A Business Plan
- How to Anticipate Cash-Flow Problems
- 10 Reasons Not to Write a Business Plan
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Description of collaborative activity
To apply the discussed concepts, the course propose to the students the practical development of a business plan.
To accomplish the collaborative activity, the students will be organized in groups composed by 4 or 5 members which will be composed by the tutor selection based on personal skills classified by each own student (See Student Profile).
The course stimulate the groups to choose different business areas. Relying this varied choice of the options (presented in the Table 1), it will be possible for all students to learn more about multiple scenarios until the course ends. All students will access all collaborative activities when they are considered read to publish in the learning community.
Each business area described in the Table 1 establish the type of commerce, which will be the theme of each collaborative activity.
Table 1: Business area and type of commerce
Business area
Commerce type
a) Service provider
IT network service
b) Raw material transformation
Production and sale of lunchbox
c) Health
Veterinary clinic
d) Commerce
Informatic store
To characterize the activity as COLLABORATIVE, each group should present until August, 15:
- Concept map of the business plan;
- Cash flow for the simulated business;
- Schedule of the business.
As soon as the activity starts being published in community of learning, all groups will contribute with other groups (entire class) in order to think further and evolve the prior ideas to better works.
To make It possible, there is an online space named: COLLABORATIVE PROJECT and all groups should upload the requested files (described above) until August, 15.
Note that there is one topic for each type of document and all groups are separated inside each activity.
In the Forum named BUSINESS PLAN DISCUSSION – ALL GROUPS, everybody will make comments on colleagues’ business plan. These comments may include agreements, disagreements, suggestions, etc. There is no problem to have disagreements, the important is to remember always of being polite and respectful.
After intense discussions about the business plans of all groups in the Forum, each group should improve its activity based on the collective construction of knowledge in this subject and repost the requested activities (concept map, schedule and cash flow) until August, 31. The space to repost is the same as the activity was posted previously (COLLABORATIVE PROJECT)
See the flow below, as an example:To understand better the requested activities, note that:
- Concept map: development of concept map of the business plan.
The concept map consists in a graphic description of how the business plan will be developed. It should list the main elements (for example: marketing plan, Market analysis, etc.) and detail each one explaining how each element will be developed (strategies and actions).
- Cash flow: development of the cash flow for your group business
The cash flow represents debits and credits of your group business and it is necessary to accompany the accountability aspect (debits, credits, invoices, incomes, fees). There is a draw of the cash flow in the end of this document (See Varied tasks).
- Schedule: development of a schedule of your business for the month, quarter, semester and year. Planning is fundamental for your business success!
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In the excel file above the group should prepare the cash flow of the company in accordance with the intended business activity to your group.
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In the excel file the above group should prepare the planning for the opening of the initial steps of the company, according to the model already filled.
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Prepare and submit a conceptual map of the business district of your group.
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The group should download the excel file containing the cash flow include information relating to business activity chosen and sent for evaluation.
The activity should be made until 31 / August. -
The group is expected to download the spreadsheet model of the schedule of activities, change it, and send it for evaluation.
The activity should be made until 31 / August.
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Development of a Business Plan - Concept map
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The students will be selected by the tutor to compose the groups based only in the personal skills listed in the profiles. The skills are:
- LEADER, FACILITATOR
- INVESTIGATOR
- HIGHLIGHTER, CONNECTOR
- ILLUSTRATOR, SYNTHESIZER
- WRITER, TEXT EDITOR
In the profile, each student should do a self-description of professional history and interests, to cite an entertainment preference and to do a self-evaluation with ONE skill among the skills cited above. Generally, people have multiple skills, but each students should select only that item which represents him most.
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