Business Management 413 Fall,
2001
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
Ripon College Mary Avery,CMC
Assistant Professor and
Director of the Business Management Program
COURSE INFORMATION
Course
Objective:
To
discover the opportunities, risks and rewards found in the creation and
ownership of small businesses, and to provide hands-on experience in the
business planning process.
Textbook: Kathleen Allen, Growing and Managing
Entrepreneurial Businesses, 1999.
The entire text is useful; we will spend more time on some topics than
others.
Instructor’s Office:
315 Todd Wehr Phone: 748-8392 (college) or 748-8405 (business)
Hours:
Monday-4:30-6:00pm; Tuesdays-10:00am-noon; Thursdays: 10:00am-noon
By appointment at other times - I am pretty accessible if
you leave messages.
Because
I have "another life" in the private sector, it is often necessary
for me to change my office hours.
Changes will be posted outside of my office by Monday of each week. I am happy to schedule appointments,
especially when I am unable to keep my office hours.
The
"business office" phone number is the best place to leave voice
mail. The phone number provided rings
in my office and in my home. Feel free
to call any time after 8:00 am and before 9:00 pm.
Office
Policy: I encourage you to see me to discuss your
ideas, especially if you need technical assistance on any aspect of the primary
course assignment. There will be class
time for questions and group discussion of your project. I encourage you to bring questions to class,
since others may benefit from the ensuing discussions.
Attendance
Policy: I strongly recommend that you attend all
classes. Because the class meets only
once per week, a missed class will be difficult to make up. Beyond "officially reported
absences" (medical problems, travel with College groups, etc.), try hard
to attend each class meeting.
Business
Planning Project:
Your primary written assignment for the semester will be a complete and
comprehensive business plan for a business idea of your choice. Because this is a large project, which will
encompass 50% of your grade, it must be started early and developed in stages. Your classmates will be giving you valuable
feedback on your plan, so you will need to develop various sections as they are
covered in class.
It
will be impossible for you to complete this task well if it is done only in the
final weeks of the class. We will
utilize teams in class to provide feedback to you on various sections of your
plan, in order to keep everyone on track.
Other
Assignments
Chapter
Reviews: Each
time you see a chapter assigned in the Class Schedule below, you will be
expected to provide a brief chapter review.
This assignment is in place of extensive lecture on the chapters - I
hope you find that acceptable! Forms
will be provided for your use in summarizing key points of the chapters. THESE MUST BE HANDED IN EACH WEEK. Timely completion of these will count for
10% of your grade.
Mid-term
and Final Exams:
Each 15% of your grade. These
will be based on the reading, and probably short essay.
Class
Participation: The
other 10% of your grade will be class participation and the degree to which you
are able to share segments of your business plan as we discuss the appropriate
topics. I will use Power Point to
share the important parts of your reading.
IT WILL ONLY BE INTERESTING IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION.
Grading
Procedures: A
comprehensive and complete business plan receives a score of 100%. Points will be awarded to each section of
the plan
The
+/- grading system adopted by faculty vote in 1978 will be used in this course.
The
following table will serve as my guide when deciding your overall grade:
A 92%
and above C 72 to 78
A- 90
to 92 C- 70 to 72
B + 88
to 90 D+ 68 to 70
B 82
to 88 D 62 to 68
B- 80
to 82 D- 60 to 62
C+ 78
to 80 F Below 60%
Suggested
Method of Study: 1) Read the assigned text. 2)
Develop sections of your business plan that pertain to the assigned
reading. 3) During class, relate your business plan ideas to the discussion
topic(s) and ask the class for feedback on your ideas.
Tentative Class Schedule
August 27 Entrepreneurship and the
Dynamic Environment
Introductions
and Student expectations
Overview of Course
Entrepreneur’s Quiz
Creativity Exercise
Reading: GMEB Chapters 1 & 2
Handout: Questions
for guest speakers
Assignment: Identify and Interview an Entrepreneur
September 3 Planning the Business
Speaker: Beth Nemecek - Ameriprint Graphics
Reading: GMEB Chapters 4 & 5
Assignment: Prepare Executive Summary for business plan
September 10 Assembling the "Team"
Speaker: Panel Discussion: Legal/Accounting/Insurance
Students sharing tentative ideas for business
plans - feasibility discussion
Reading: GMEB
Chapter 3 & 6
September 17 Management and Human Resources
Reading GMEB Chapter 7 & 8
Present entrepreneur
interviews
September 24 Market
Research/Marketing
Market
Research Methods - primary and secondary
Lab:
Hands on Market Research Time
Reading: Chapter 9 & 10
Assignment: Team Market Research
October 1
Marketing and Sales
Speaker: Tom Avery - Guerilla Marketing
Small group presentation of market
research results
Reading: GMEB Chapter 11 & 12
Assignment: Prepare Marketing Plan
October 8 Short Essay Exam - Growing
and Managing an Entrepreneurial Business -
Covers Chapter 1-12
October 15 FALL BREAK
October 22 Process Management in Entrepreneurial Companies
Al Shraeder - "Social
Entrepreneurship"
Be prepared to share marketing plan with class
Reading: GMEB
Chapter 13, 14 & 15
October 29 Managing
Finances for Growth
Speaker: Tom Avery – Consultant and compulsive entrepreneur
Tool:
Financial Projections (computer lab)
Reading: Chapter 16 & 17
November 5 Financing Growth
Speaker:
Ken Pinckney, US Bank
Assignment: Informal Bank Interview
Reading: GMEB Chapter 18
November 12 Building
a Business With Character
Speaker: Doug/Audrey Lyke
Reading: GMEB Chapter 19
November 19 Crafting a Personal
Entrepreneurial Strategy
Block's Nursery - Sue Ellen Block
Reading: None
November 26 Oral Presentations of Business Plans
December 3 Business Plans Due
Short Essay Exam - Growing and Managing
an Entrepreneurial Business -
Covers Chapter 13-19
I
know that a three hour class is pretty brutal but I'll work hard to make it as
interesting and lively as possible. You
will notice that many sessions contain an outside speaker, and most contain
some sort of class hands-on activity. I
hope this breaks things up a bit during a long class. Please count on speaking yourselves often!
Final
Note: If you
let it, this class can provide you with a highly enjoyable creative
process. While I expect many of you
will refine your skills with further education or work experience, the business
plans you create in this class could be the enterprises of the future. I hope you find that as exciting as I do.