Teaching Tennessee, CTE Task: “It’s Like Shark Tank, But Not”: A How-to-Write-a-Business-Plan

Sections

Shark Tank, But Not Task Activity Student Resource

Shark Tank, But Not Task

Click here to download the teacher resource for "Shark Tank, But Not Task."

Course(s): Introduction to Business and Marketing; Business Management

Task Length: Approximately 45 minutes - 1 hour

“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: A how-to-write-a-business plan activity

Task Description

Standards

In this activity, students will develop a business plan using a guided worksheet for a company or product line they admire by focusing on the following components: business description/summary, management plan, market analysis, marketing strategy, and financial plan. Students will present a 2-3 minutes pitch using Flipgrid. For their post-activity assessment, using a scoring rubric, students will watch and evaluate their peers’ pitches.

Introduction to Business & Marketing (S14): Explain the purpose of a business plan, and list the four major parts typically included (business description, management plan, marketing plan, and financial plan). Describe the importance of developing a business plan when seeking out potential investors or lenders. In preparation for a future career as an owner or entrepreneur, develop an original business philosophy detailing one’s beliefs for how a business should be run.

Business Management (S6): Analyze the elements of a sample business plan or business plan template

Business Management (S8): Design, write, modify, and evaluate a business plan for the identified existing business.

Business & Entrepreneurship Practicum (S6): Building on standards from Entrepreneurship and Business Management, individually or in teams, develop a new or modify an existing business plan for the proposed startup/business venture.

Business & Entrepreneurship Practicum (S11): Critique the business plan of another team or classmate, annotating the plan with recommendations and suggested edits.

Virtual Enterprise International (S2.1): Define and analyze a business plan and understand the economic roles and responsibilities of citizens at the national, state, and local levels.

Virtual Enterprise International (S5.5): Critique business plan presentations.

Entrepreneurship (S10): Write, review, and revise a business plan for a potential entrepreneurial endeavor.

Principles of Agribusiness (S5): Write a business plan for an agricultural entrepreneurial enterprise that includes basic business and entrepreneurship principles such as budget, target customer, product information, and risk assessment. Develop a three-minute speech to pitch the plan to prospective investors.

Agricultural Business and Finance (S7): Articulate the components of a business plan, and research exemplars from national or local companies.

Content Understandings

Extending Understandings

Upon successful completion of these tasks students will demonstrate the ability to:

Explain the overall purpose of a business plan and identify and define the main components (i.e. executive summary, business description, market/industry analysis, sales and marketing plan, management plan, and financials);
Articulate the purpose, goals, services, and value of your business in a succinct 2-3-minute pitch using an online video tool (Flipgrid);
Apply their understanding of the content, form, and function of a basic business plan to their own company and/or product line;
Create their own basic business plan for a company or product line they admire;
Critique and provide constructive feedback on peers’ business plans and pitches.

To move students towards deeper understanding, they should be given opportunities to:

Classify and then evaluate the individual components of a business plan in terms of value and functionality;
Create their own basic business plan for a company or product line they want to start;
Develop a 2-sentence mission statement or tagline to accompany their 2-3-minute pitch.

Support Strategies

If students are struggling to access this task, additional supports and strategies could be employed as students are engaging with the task.

Key Terms

Sentence Frames

Scaffolded Questions

Business plan

Executive summary

Mission Statement

Position statement

Marketing strategy

Advertising and promotion

Financials

Risks

When crafting a ______________, one central purpose involves validating the overall feasibility of your company and/or product line.

In your __________________, you should clearly and concisely articulate the major elements of your plan, including, for example, your concept, market and intended consumer demographic, needed startup capital, and potential investment value.

Without a well-crafted and succinct___________, your potential investors may believe your business lacks clear direction and purpose.

Apple’s _______________ emphasizes that their consumer electronics allow individuals to find and harness their creativity.

A strong _________________ includes a clear statement of your initial target market, the features of your product or service you intend to emphasize, and other innovative marketing techniques you intend to use.

Many people tend to conflate ______________, and while both use different media to convey a message, ________________ focuses on keeping your business relevant to the public while ______________ illustrates your commitment to the community and community welfare.

A clear and well-supported statement on your ________________ demonstrates that you have evaluated the viability of your business and its investment potential.

When identifying _______________, you should consider problems such as a drop in your industry’s growth, issues within the supply chain, a shift in public opinion toward your business or service, etc.

What is the central purpose of a business plan? And what are its key parts?

Why is it crucial for a new company to develop a clearly written and well-researched business plan?

What potential pitfalls could a new company face if they don’t develop a strong business plan?

If a friend asked for you to help them develop a business plan for an idea they have, how would instruct them? Why?

Additional Resources

Teacher Instructional Materials (See Appendix)

“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: A Business Plan Worksheet
“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: Student Pitch Tips and Reminders
“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: Student Pitch Evaluation Handout

Online Resources – Business Plans

U.S. Small Business Administration’s “How to Write a Business Plan” Course (U.S. Small Business Administration. How to Write a Business Plan Course. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/course/how-write-business-plan/)
“DECA Student Tomas Martinez Talks Cookie Dough and His Life as a CREAM Franchisee”(Knowledge @ Wharton High School. (2017, Nov. 16). DECA Student Tomas Martinze Talks Cookie Dough and His Life as a CREAM Franchisee. Retrieved from https://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2017/11/deca-tomas-martinez-cream-franchisee/)
“Business News Flash: Unicorns Do Exist!” (Knowledge @ Wharton High School. (2015, Aug. 20). Business News Flash: Unicorns Do Exist! Retrieved from https://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2015/08/business-news-flash-unicorns-exist/)
“17-year-old’s rapid success blows the Sharks away | Shark Tank AUS” (Shark Tank Australia. (2020 Aug. 7). 17-year-old’s rapid success blows the Sharks away | Shark Tank AUS. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVY4YxO9d4s)

Tutorials

Flipgrid tutorial (New EdTech Classroom. (2020, March 16). How to Teach Remotely with Flipgrid. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLzX13jw7bw.)

Activity

‘IT’S LIKE SHARK TANK, BUT NOT”: A HOW-TO-WRITE-A-BUSINESS PLAN ACTIVITY

Context:

This activity will follow at least two lessons on writing business plans.[1] The first lesson should focus on the purposes and components of a business plan; here, the instructor should focus their lesson on both providing students an overview of the purpose and form of a business plan and helping them to identify the purpose and form of the separate components. In the second lesson, the instructor should provide students a sample business plan and through both guided practice and independent work, ask students to evaluate the business plan. Once students have a strong understanding of the content, form, and purpose of a business plan, they will move on to the business plan activity.

Activity Steps:

Each student will select a company they admire and create a startup business plan for that company.[2]
After selecting a company and/or product line, students will use the guided worksheet to craft a business plan by focusing on the following components: business description/summary, management plan, market analysis, marketing strategy, and financial plan.
1. To help facilitate this step, the instructor will distribute the “How-to write your business plan worksheet.”
2. For a more advanced class (i.e. “Business Management”), the instructor can still choose to supply the worksheet, modify it to align with the level of their students, or turn it into a business plan template.
After students have developed their business plan, they will use Flipgrid to put together a short (2-3 minutes) virtual “pitch” to present to the class.
During the pitch, students need to address the main questions they answered on their business plan worksheet.
During their pitch, students should focus on clarity and simplicity of their delivery.
Students will submit their final Flipgrid pitches at the end of class.

Post-activity Homework:

Students will watch and complete the attached scoring sheet for each pitch.
Once they’ve watched and scored each pitch, they will need to use an online poll[3] set up by the instructor to vote for their favorite.
The instructor will use the polling information to announce the top 3 plans, and then using the information from the scoring sheets, the instructor will create an online discussion board where students discuss why they found these 3 plans and pitches most successful and reflect on their overall experience with this activity.

Appendix: Teacher Instructional Materials

“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: Business Plan Worksheet

Directions: Use this business plan worksheet to guide you as you create your business plan for your own company or for a selected company you admire. Be as detailed as possible to ensure that you have a successful business.

Company/Business Name ____________________________________________________________

Business Plan Worksheet
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY What product or service will your company/business offer? How will you offer it? What market needs will you address with your product or service? Why is your business idea viable?
MANAGEMENT PLAN Who makes up your management team? What are their titles and roles? What skills and knowledge do they bring to the table?
MARKETING ANALYSIS What does your competition look like? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors? Where do you have the advantage over your competitors?
MARKETING STRATEGY How will your business go about selling its products or services? What features of your product or service will you emphasize to help customers notice your product or service? What sorts of innovative marketing or sales techniques will you use? Where will you focus your efforts (e.g, locally, regionally, nationally, internationally)? Why?
FINANCIAL PLAN How much startup capital does your company need? How will you use this money? How will your company make money? What risks do you foresee?

Business Plan Worksheet

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY

What product or service will your company/business offer? How will you offer it? What market needs will you address with your product or service? Why is your business idea viable?

MANAGEMENT PLAN

Who makes up your management team? What are their titles and roles? What skills and knowledge do they bring to the table?

MARKETING ANALYSIS

What does your competition look like? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors? Where do you have the advantage over your competitors?

MARKETING STRATEGY

How will your business go about selling its products or services? What features of your product or service will you emphasize to help customers notice your product or service? What sorts of innovative marketing or sales techniques will you use? Where will you focus your efforts (e.g, locally, regionally, nationally, internationally)? Why?

FINANCIAL PLAN

How much startup capital does your company need? How will you use this money? How will your company make money? What risks do you foresee?

“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: Student Pitch Tips and Reminders

Directions: Students can use this handout to help them develop and prepare their Flipgrid pitch.

Task	Yes No
Do you open with an engaging hook that clearly identifies your company/business’s name and product or service?	________ ________
Do you identify and explain the problem facing your consumers and/or the opportunity available to your company/business?	________ ________
Do you explain how your business’s product or service will help solve a key problem for your consumers?	________ ________
Do you state how your business intends to sell its products/services?	________ ________
Do you address the competition and how and why you have the competitive advantage?	________ ________
Do you identify the possible risks involved?	________ ________
Do you explain how you will earn money and from whom?	________ ________
Do you speak clearly and slowly throughout your pitch?	________ ________
Do you look into the camera and make “eye contact” with your audience?	________ ________
Do you present your idea with energy and enthusiasm?	________ ________
Do you fidget or talk with your hands too much throughout your pitch?	________ ________

“It’s like Shark Tank, but not”: Student Pitch Evaluation Handout

Directions: Students will use this handout to help them keep track of important details and evaluate their peers’ Flipgrid pitches.

Company/Business Name
Product/Service
Where do you see a need for this product/service? Does it fill a gap? Or is the market already flooded?
What risks did they identify? Do you agree? Explain.
Would you be interested in this product/service? Why? Why not?
One area in their pitch where they excelled?
One area in their pitch where they could improve?

[1] Depending on the level, structure, and size of a class, an instructor may decide to spend more than two class periods on these introductory lessons.

[2] The instructor could also give the students the options of working in small groups (2-3 per group). If so, the instructor will be responsible for setting up small group online discussion boards and/or email groups to facilitate conversation and collaboration within the groups.

[3] There are several free online survey sites available (e.g., Google Forms, Kahoot, Pollmaker, Typeform, and SurveyMonkey).

Student Resource

Click here to download the student resource for this task.