Assignment 3
Please note that the 3000 words do not include references, figures, tables, and appendices.
Overall Assignment Task
This assignment will allow you to take the entrepreneurial opportunity you have chosen in Assignment 2 further and develop a business model and part of a business plan to progress the idea. If you have found that the venture opportunity you have identified in Assignment 2 is not viable enough to progress, change the idea or identify a new entrepreneurial opportunity. This assignment will help you to conduct relevant opportunity research, then analyse and consider options for YOU personally on starting a business venture or developing the specific business/venture opportunity.
Address the following assignment tasks:
Task 1: Describe your idea. Describe the process by which you have identified your idea. Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur Work Book 1 at http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Task 2: Develop a value proposition for your product/service and shortly discuss the process you have followed to develop the value proposition. After you have developed the value proposition, write down a succinct value proposition for your product/service. Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur work book at http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Task 3: Develop and describe the business model for your enterprise by using the ‘The Business Model Canvas’. Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur Work Book 2 at http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-WorkbookGuide.pdf A Template of the Business Model Canvas is available on the StudyDesk for this course.
Task 4: Building upon your value proposition and business model, you are required to develop a business plan. This business plan should include specific sections in a business plan only, as indicated in the marking criteria for Assignment 3.
Task 5: Identify 3 classmates with whom you will be in a group (4 per group) who will provide you with feedback on your business model canvas and description (see more information on this task in the Group Section of your Assignment below).
Group Section of your Assignment
The main goal of the group section of this assignment is to receive valuable feedback on your proposed Business Model Canvas and hopefully it will help you to improve your business model or at least make you think carefully about your business model. An essential element of progressing an entrepreneurial idea is to obtain feedback from others, especially those who have a knowledge of the process of venture development. You may wonder whether it’s actually a good idea to share your idea with others in case they steal your idea. Read here about the answer to this question. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-siskar-/why-you-should-tell-every_b_7666818.html Furthermore, this is a management course and including this group section as part of your assignment is as much about your ability to collaborate virtually with group members and to manage each other, to obtain an outcome from each other (their feedback on your Business Model Canvas), as about the actual work being produced.
Group Tasks
• There is a Group Section in this Assignment where you will collaborate with group members on obtaining feedback from them on your Business Model Canvas (see Task 4 following in the section ‘Overall Assignment Task’).
• You will be assigned to a group by 25 August 2022. Please check the Discussion Forum for this course after this date to find out who is in your group.
• Each group member is expected to send their Business Model Canvas to each of the members in their group. Hence each member will receive Canvasses from their group to provide feedback on. A fillable canvas is available on the StudyDesk for this course such as the following. You can also design your own if you wish to.
• 21 October 2022 is the final date of submission for Assignment 3, however each member is to send their one page Business Model Canvas and short description to the members of their assigned feedback group by 10 September 2022.
• Each group member will use the template to provide you written feedback on your Business Model Canvas (see Task 4 below).
• Members of your group have until 17 September 2022 to provide written feedback to you on your Business Model Canvas and vice versa.
• Their feedback and your evaluation of the value of this feedback need to be included at the end of your submission document of Assignment 3.
• The feedback template used to provide feedback to other group members’ is provided below.
Group Member Feedback Sheet
Fill this table out with the feedback provided to you on your Business Model Canvas by your team members (cut and paste your team members’ written feedback and any other feedback from them provided to you). Then, in the second column, write your response about the value of the group members’ feedback.
Student Name:
Feedback by group members Your comments on the value of group members’ comments
Team member 1 (Student number):
Team member 2 (Student number):
Team member 3 (Student number):
Marking guidelines and criteria for Assignment 3
Required format and marking criteria – use section and subsections from below as the
structure for your business plan. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD SUBMIT ONLY ONE DOCUMENT. WHERE YOU HAVE SUPPORT FILES YOU SHOULD INSERT THEM INTO YOUR DOCUMENT AS APPENDICIES.
Task 1: Idea – Describe your idea. Describe the process by which you have identified your idea. Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur Work Book 1 at http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Sub Tasks Criteria Marks
Describe idea
Describe the process by which you have identified your idea
Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur Work Book 1 at: http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Clever choice of business; novel ideal and or business has a clear competitive edge
5
Task 2: Value proposition – Develop a value proposition for your product/service and shortly discuss the process you have followed to develop the value proposition. After you have developed the value proposition, write down a succinct value proposition for your product/service. Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur work book at http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Develop a value proposition
Discuss the process you have followed to develop the value proposition
Write down a succinct value proposition for your product/service
Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur work book at: http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Creates interest
Differentiates your offer from your competitors’ offers
Increases the quantity and quality of your sales leads and makes conversion to a customer much easier
Wins your business greater market share in your targeted segments
Aligns your business operations more closely to customer needs
Focuses on your customers’ point of view 10
Task 3: Business model
Illustrate and describe the business model for your enterprise by using the ‘The Business Model Canvas’
Draw on your study materials and the MARS Entrepreneur Work Book 2 at: http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-WorkbookGuide.pdf
All issues addressed in the Business Model Canvas clearly addressed
Depending on the type of venture, how scalable is the business model?
Does the business model produce recurring revenues? 15
Task 4: Business plan – Building upon your value proposition and business model, you are required to develop a business plan. This business plan should include specific sections in a business plan only, as indicated below:
Section Subsection Criteria Marks
Title page Relevant title, professionally presented 2
Table of contents Preferable automatically generated in word 2
1.0 Executive summary 1.1 Introduce your company The executive summary is a snapshot of the business. Make sure you cover all the business plan’s important topics. Enough information provided to enable the reader to understand what the business is, and the main point(s) of each topic. Ideally limited to one page. Include aspects you would cover in a five-minute pitch
5
1.2 The product or service your enterprise provides
1.3 What makes you unique and special (very important: strong value proposition)
1.3 Summarise who you will be selling to (who are your customers/clients)
1.3 Operations
1.4 The short term goals (1-2 years) and long term goals (3-5 years) you have for the enterprise including some basic financial projection
2.0 Business/enterprise description 2.1 Mission statement If a brand new business describe the reasons behind wanting to start it. There should be at least three correctly specified goals for the business. They should apply over the next 12 to 18 months 10
2.2 Company/venture history
2.3 Business goals
3.0 Marketing 3.1 Market research Ensure a comprehensive treatment of this section, with all relevant topics adequately covered. The plan is logically laid out and appears achievable. The four P’s have been given insightful treatment, with clear evidence of a well thought out and structured marketing approach 10
3.2 Market analysis
3.3 Marketing plan
3.3.1 Products/services and target markets
3.3.2 Placement
3.3.3 Promotion and advertising
3.3.4 Pricing policy
3.4 Evaluation of marketing
4.0 Operations 4.1 Legal and licensing requirements Ensure a comprehensive treatment of the section with all relevant topics adequately covered. The section should be logically laid out, with all areas clearly considered for the relevance and application for the chosen business 10
4.2 Management details
4.3 Organisation and structure and staffing
4.4 Professional advisors
4.5 Insurance and security issues
4.6 Business premises
4.7 Equipment required
4.8 Production process
4.9 Critical risk/contingency plans
Conclusion and future Wrap up the plan with a positive ‘spin’ leaving the reader feeling upbeat and confident about the success of the business. Interesting ‘crystal ball gazing’ for the future – ambitious perhaps, but still feasible 2
6.0 Timetable Comprehensive timeline of significant events and activities that need to be completed from three months prior to the start of the business. Easiest is to use a table of dates plotted against ‘tasks to be achieved’. Do not spend time compiling complex Gantt charts etc 2
7.0 Appendices Quality of appendices and their usage 2
Additional marking criteria
Viability of business plan Business plan presents a persuasive case as to the likelihood of the business flourishing, well integrated and comprehensive overall strategy 10
Writing style grammar /overall presentation Professional and well-constructed document, no grammatical and spelling errors, excellent presentation 10
Group Section of the Assignment 5
Total marks available before any applied penalties
Final total marks 100/2 = 50 Weighting of this assignment is 50% of the course 100/2 = 50
Penalties
A 10% penalty of the available marks applies where the word length is exceeded by more than 10% of the required length
MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT ONLY TO BE SUBMITTED
The report should be referenced in accordance with the Harvard referencing style. Please note that there are multiple variations of the Harvard referencing style and participants MUST use the variation as presented in the USQ Library pages on referencing available at: http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide