· Clarity on options and assignments
· Understanding of break-even analysis
· Comfort with finding sources for your senior project
Today we'll finish up our study of business and make sure you're clear on what the business proposal option entails. We'll start with a short survey on the activities for the last two weeks. I want to get a better sense of what types of activities are and are not working for you.
Then we'll review the business proposal overview that I passed out yesterday. Questions? Concerns? Needs? Let's get them out in the center of the room and talk. I want to emphasize how important it is for you to have a strong interest in the business idea you develop. Each business poses unique challenges to get off the grounds. It really helps to feel committed to the idea. Think about the business proposal as an opportunity to try out an idea that you're excited about. We've seen videos of young people turning their passion into profit by starting businesses right out of college. That could be you. I'll try to check in with you about your idea and where you're at during class today.
The last thing you need to get some experience with is financial planning. This is the last piece of the business proposal. You can go wild with the numbers and projections for your business. For start-ups, I think the most useful is a "break-even analysis." This tells you how much you need to sell to cover your costs (or to earn a certain amount of profit). You'll break into small groups and use this worksheet some experience with doing this math. It's not hard, but it helps to go through it once.
Once we're solid with this, the rest of class will be devoted to senior project.
You'll draft a short description of your research question for the faculty to review. Follow the prompts on this Google Doc from Matt.
You'll also watch this video that Matt put together on how to access the Academic Premier database from off-campus. You'll need your Durango Public Library card. Don't have one? Now's the time to get one.
The rest of the day you can work on Outline Assignment #2 to get it out of the way or you can start collecting articles related to Senior Project. In two weeks, we'll expect you to have 3-5 academic articles that you're working on.
Homework due Monday, February 2nd
Finish Outline Assignment # 2