B283 week 4

My imagination has had lots of fun planning my “Big Idea” business. I won’t actually be able to get started on it for a couple more years (until I get done with school), but having to write down a business plan makes it seem more real. I think that my plan is great, but I’m afraid that only the realty part of it will actually have very much business. There are a whole lot of elderly people who are in our town, however, the question remains as to whether the heirs will actually hire me to handle it for them. I’m optimistic that they will.

The $100 challenge is also coming along. I’ve decided on what I will sell(popcorn balls, rice crispy treats, cookies) and how I will package them(in plastic wrap). I’m opting for the least expensive and time consuming options to allow for a higher profit margin. I have also planned to have music playing to draw attention to the stand and a large sign to have in front or have my “helpers” hold. Advertising also includes placing an announcement in the paper and online sites telling of my project. The town is very supportive of “good causes” and I think it will have a good turn out throughout the weeks.

B283 Week 3

We read a case study about a guy who started a business doing Duck Tours. He had a lot of problems getting started but was very successful. As I read this guy’s story, I realized that I have this dream in my head of what starting my business is going to be like, but I haven’t really done some of the investigating that I need to. I have assumed quite a few things, but I may need to make sure that I don’t need any permits before starting my own business. I would also like to have all of my financial records already in some kind of Quick Books program so that the end-of-the-year records aren’t ridiculous. I want to run a successful business, but I know that if I start off with than many problems, I will probably give up and not finish it. My own business won’t be starting until I’m done with school, so that gives me plenty of time to get it all figured out.

As for my $100 Challenge project, I’m fairly certain that I will be doing a bake sale. I’ve realized that we will be doing this around Valentine’s Day and thought that I could make some holiday specific cookies or candies along with regular cookies. I’ve looked though some ideas for easy Valentine’s crafts and treats and have been figuring out which will taste good and be easy to either put in a bag or package of some sort. Lots of ideas, I just want to focus it so that I don’t overwhelm myself or waste too much.

B283 Post 1

This semester I am taking B283 Small Business Creation and once again need to blog the experience as part of my grade. I’m actually really looking forward to learning the material for this class. Starting my own business is what I have wanted to do for some time now and I’m excited to learn more about the process. Keeping track of it all on here will also be helpful so that I can find the information again when I am ready for it. One assignment that we did was to make a list of all our big idea options and $100 challenge ideas. I brainstormed with my husband about some ideas that we might be able to start. There are more options than I had expected for such a small town. Some of those, I think would be very beneficial here and build some revenue for the town as a whole. I might take a few ideas to our Chamber of Commerce and get their take on them.

The book that I’m reading for this class is Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It seems like a great book for getting out of debt, but it’s not really a book about business. Or maybe I just haven’t read that far yet. So far, I’ve read about half of the book and how great his program is, but he hasn’t actually said what the program is yet. I might have to skip a few pages to find out what the program is because it’s getting old really fast.