Business Plan Finalization

OL 630: Business Plan Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a business plan. You will use your Journal space to develop various elements of the business plan, then submit a final version of your business plan separately as a Word document in Module Ten. Your Journal is a vehicle for receiving formative feedback from your instructor on your Course Project. This will provide your instructor an opportunity to evaluate the depth and breadth of your work on your business plan and make recommendations as needed so that you have the opportunity to improve upon your content prior to submitting the final draft of your business plan. The project is divided into 6 milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Ten. At the conclusion of this course, the business plan can be included in your academic portfolio and used as a foundation for creating other business plans.

Main Elements

Your final Business Plan Project should include the following elements:

· Introduction

· Feasibility Analysis

· Mission and Vision Statement

· SWOT Analysis

· Business Entity Description and Justification

· Break Even Analysis

· Startup Cost Projection

· Cash Flow Projection

· Conclusion

Format

Milestone One: Feasibility Analysis

In 3-3 Course Project: Journal post, you will submit a feasibility analysis to your Journal. The analysis will enable you to determine the viability of a business and it should include the following components:

· Concept Statement

· A detailed description

· Intended target market

· Includes: age range, geographical location, income, etc.

· Benefits – Why would someone want to buy this product or service

· Positioning – What is the niche? How will the product or service be different from what is on the market now?

· Description of how the idea will be sold – Briefly describe how this product or service will be sold and marketed.

· Concept Test

· Survey or Focus group - Conduct a survey ( website: Survey Design ). Distribute surveys to the target market. The results will help to determine if the idea is viable.

· Trend Research - Which force/trend is being capitalized upon and why?

· When did the trend start?

· Financial Start-Up Cost

· Overview of capital requirements

· What are the major start-up costs?

· Is this an opportunity or an idea, why?

You should title your Journal page to match the Module Number and Business Plan component (example: M03 Feasibility Analysis). In the instances where your data does not lend itself easily to the journal format, such as financial analysis and projects, you may attach a spreadsheet to the Journal page. Your instructor, however, will provide formative feedback through the comment section in the Journal and not on the attachment you upload. Be sure to review your comments section and apply the instructor feedback to your business plan before the final submission of the completed project in module 10. This milestone will be graded separately using the rubric located in the Blog/Journal Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. You may periodically revisit this Journal topic and edit as needed to meet the needs of your business plan.

Milestone Two: Mission and Vision Statement/SWOT Analysis

In 4-2 Course Project: Journal Post, you will submit a mission and vision statement to your Journal and in 4-3 Course Project: Journal Post, you will submit a SWOT Analysis to your Journal. You should create one Journal page for the mission and vision statement, and create a separate page for the SWOT Analysis, placing the Module Number and Business Plan component on each page. In the instances where your data does not lend itself easily to the journal format, you may attach a spreadsheet to the Journal page. Your instructor, however, will provide formative feedback through the comment section in the Journal and not on the attachment you upload. Be sure to review your comments section and apply the instructor feedback to your business plan before the final submission of the completed project in module 10. This milestone will be graded separately using the rubric located in the Blog/Journal Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. You may periodically revisit this Journal topic and edit as needed to meet the needs of your business plan.

Milestone Three: Business Entity Description and Justification

In 5-2 Course Project: Journal Post, you will submit to your Journal a description of the entity you will utilize and an explanation of your decision. You should create a new Journal page for this topic and place the Module Number and Business Plan component on the page. Your instructor will provide formative feedback through the comment section in the Journal. Be sure to review your comments section and apply the instructor feedback to your business plan before the final submission of the completed project in module 10. This milestone will be graded separately using the rubric located in the Blog/Journal Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. You may periodically revisit this Journal topic and edit as needed to meet the needs of your business plan.

Milestone Four: Break Even Analysis/Start up Costs

In 6-2 Course Project: Journal Post, you will begin developing your financing plan and submit it to your Journal. Develop an outline of a break-even analysis by unit and month achieved, and expand on the start up costs you listed in your feasibility analysis by preparing a preliminary list of start up costs. Submit this information to a new page of your Journal and place the Module Number and Business Plan components on the page. If your data does not lend itself easily to the journal format, you may attach a spreadsheet to the Journal page. Your instructor, however, will provide formative feedback through the comment section in the Journal and not on the attachment you upload. Be sure to review your comments section and apply the instructor feedback to your business plan before the final submission of the completed project in module 10. This milestone will be graded separately using the rubric located in the Blog/Journal Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. You may periodically revisit this Journal topic and edit as needed to meet the needs of your business plan.

Milestone Five: Cash Flow/Cash Flow Project/Startup Costs

In 7-2 Course Project: Journal Post, you will submit cash flow and startup cost projections to your Journal. The analysis should include the following components:

· A twelve month itemized cash flow

· A three year cash flow projection

· A finalized list of startup costs

Submit all of this information to one new page of your Journal and place the Module Number and Business Plan components on the page. If your data does not lend itself easily to the journal format, you may attach a spreadsheet to the Journal page. Your instructor, however, will provide formative feedback through the comment section in the Journal and not on the attachment you upload. Be sure to review your comments section and apply the instructor feedback to your business plan before the final submission of the completed project in module 10. This milestone will be graded separately using the rubric located in the Blog/Journal Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. You may periodically revisit this Journal topic and edit as needed to meet the needs of your business plan.

Milestone Six: Final Business Plan

In 10-3 Course Project: Business Plan, you will submit your completed Business Plan Project. The project should include all of the deliverables from each milestone, as well as the following items:

· A title page

· A table of contents

· Resources, formatted in APA style

The project should be 10-15 pages in length, exclusive of the title page, table of contents, and resources. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the main elements of the final product and reflecting the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Project Rubric.

Deliverable Milestones

Milestone	Deliverables	Module Due	Grading
1	3-3 Course Project: Journal Post Feasibility Analysis	Three	Graded separately; use Blog/Journal Rubric Update and revise Journal as necessary; apply feedback to the final project
2	4-3, 4-4 Course Project: Journal Post Mission and Vision Statement and SWOT Analysis	Four	Graded separately; use Blog/Journal Rubric Update and revise Journal as necessary; apply feedback to the final project
3	5-2 Course Project: Journal Post Business Entity Description and Justification	Five	Graded separately; use Blog/Journal Rubric Update and revise Journal as necessary; apply feedback to the final project
4	6-2 Course Project: Journal Post Break Even Analysis/Startup Costs	Six	Graded separately; use Blog/Journal Rubric Update and revise Journal as necessary; apply feedback to the final project
5	7-2 Course Project: Journal Post Cash Flow/Cash Flow Project/Startup Costs	Seven	Graded separately; use Blog/Journal Rubric Update and revise Journal as necessary; apply feedback to the final project
6	10-3 Course Project: Business Plan Submit final Business Plan project	Ten	Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

Rubric

Requirements of submission: Written components of projects must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable: double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations. The project should be 10-15 pages, not including the title page, table of contents, and resources.

Instructor Feedback : Students can find their feedback in the grade book as an attachment.

Critical Elements	Distinguished	Proficient	Emerging	Not Evident	Value
Main Elements	Includes almost all of the main elements and requirements and cites multiple examples to illustrate each element (23-25)	Includes most of the main elements and requirements and cites many examples to illustrate each element (20-22)	Includes some of the main elements and requirements (18-19)	Does not include any of the main elements and requirements (0-17)	25
Inquiry and Analysis	Explores multiple issues through extensive collection and in-depth analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions (18-20)	Explores some issues through collection and in-depth analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions (16-17)	Explores minimal issues through collection and analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions (14-15)	Does not explore issues through collection and analysis of evidence and does not make informed conclusions (0-13)	20
Milestone submission and incorporation of feedback (10)	Meets Emerging requirements and addresses all instructor feedback through incorporation or clarifying questions/dialogue with instructor (9-10)	Meets Emerging requirements and incorporates some of the instructor’s feedback throughout the progression of the project (8)	Student completes and submits all milestones by the due date (7)	Student submits incomplete milestones or does not submit by the due date (0-6)	10
Critical Thinking	Demonstrates comprehensive exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion (18-20)	Demonstrates moderate exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion (16-17)	Demonstrates minimal exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion (14-15)	Does not demonstrate exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion (0-13)	20
Research	Incorporates many scholarly resources effectively that reflect depth and breadth of research (14-15)	Incorporates some scholarly resources effectively that reflect depth and breadth of research (12-13)	Incorporates very few scholarly resources that reflect depth and breadth of research (11)	Does not incorporate scholarly resources that reflect depth and breadth of research (0-10)	15
Writing (Mechanics/Citations)	No errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations (9-10)	Minor errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations (8)	Some errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations (7)	Major errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations (0-6)	10
Comments:	Earned Total:	100