Course Syllabus

You can find the detailed class schedule at: Course sched MGMT 586-01 W14 31202.xlsx

Winter 2014

 

MGMT 586-01 – Business Plan Development

Seattle University – Albers School of Business & Economics

 

LPRC-320 – Law Firm Business Planning

Seattle University School of Law

 

Instructors:

 

John R. Castle, Sc.D., Management Dept.

 

Contact:

 

Office: Pigott 433                              Hours: Monday 4-6 PM, by appointment only

Phone: 425-503-1079                        Email: castlejohn@gmail.com

 

All assignments should be submitted via email or posted on Canvas.

 

Class Web site: On Canvas. 

 

Time/Location:

 

586-01   Monday, 6 – 9 PM, Piggott 202

 

As a student in MGMT 586 you acknowledge that you are a member of a learning community at Seattle University that is committed to the highest academic standards. As a member of this community, you agree to uphold the fundamental standards of honesty, respect, and integrity, and you accept the responsibility to encourage others to adhere to these standards.

 

Introduction

 

You should have a business concept or technology to develop or otherwise demonstrate to the instructor that you are sufficiently experienced and motivated to meet the standards of this rigorous business planning process.  If you do not have a business idea in mind, you may form a team with others in the class who have an idea you like.  You may also be introduced to outside companies that are seeking help with their business plan and may choose one of them.  For students already involved in a business, this course offers a good opportunity to refine your business model and increase the chances for success.

 

This is not a theory class.  Many parts of this class are non-structured, and will require extensive contact with the outside business world.  Occasional lectures and guest speakers on important topics will supplement the independent preparation of a business plan suitable for presentation to investors.   Students must be self-motivated and willing to work in small teams or on their own.

 

Texts:

 

      A) The Successful Business Plan:  (Secrets & Strategies) by Rhonda Abrams, 4th  or 5th Edition

 

      B) Financial Statements, Thomas Ittelson

 

      C) Selected readings

 

Course Description

 

This course teaches students how to estimate the market potential for their technologies and business ideas and learn how to build successful companies around them.  It provides a rigorous and realistic experience in the process necessary to prepare a business plan that will attract investors to a venture. 

 

The course will emphasize collection and organization of the fundamental information necessary to prove the viability of your business idea and establish that it can become a self-sustaining company.  There will be heavy emphasis on knowing the customers intimately; on careful analysis of all the potential competitors; and on understanding the external environment and how it can affect your business.  Your products and support services should be designed around the customers’ needs and should use your strengths to develop a convincing competitive advantage.  The plan must thoroughly explain how all these factors have been taken into consideration in designing your business strategy.  Finally all these elements must be reflected in your financial projections.

 

During the quarter students are expected to repeatedly defend their ideas to their peers, management, invited investors, and business analysts. The development of a sound business plan is the finished product.  

 

In this course students may develop ideas that could become successful companies, or they may write plans for expanding or reorganizing existing companies. When possible, proposals from outside companies needing business planning help will be offered as choices. Students are encouraged to work in small teams of 2 or 3 people, but may work alone if they wish.

 

Course Objectives

 

Upon successful completion of this course students should have acquired:

 

¨     A working knowledge of all the components of a business plan and how they should fit together to tell a compelling story.

¨     An understanding of basic financial statements, how to prepare them, and how to use them to project future cash needs.

¨     A very clear understanding of the process for planning a business and what is necessary to obtain funding for it.

¨     The skills and confidence needed to present the plan to investors.

 

Method of Instruction

 

This will be a highly interactive class, involving frequent presentation of findings to stimulate discussion and elicit constructive criticism from other students. Students will be graded on the contributions they make to other teams and plans during class.  In addition to the independent research on the students’ own plans, there will be assigned readings to develop perspective on entrepreneurship, supplemented by guest speakers.  Students will frequently present elements of their plans to the class and guest observers. 

 

Grading and Evaluation

 

 

 

You will be required to develop and present the stages of your business plan to the class throughout the quarter.   The written plan should be of sufficient quality to enter the business plan competition.  Grades are determined on the following basis.

 

 

 

Written business Plan Content and Form *                     65%

 

Meaningful class participation                                        35%

 

 

 

*  Description and Weighting of Business Plan Sections:

 

 

 

Organization and telling your story well – Information should be presented in a logical order that shows how the elements of the plan fit together and helps the reader to accept your conclusions.

 

 

 

Industry Analysis – Explains what industry you are in, what the important trends are, and who the leading companies are and why they are successful.

 

 

 

Market and Customers – Explain who your important customers are, how they behave and how they make decisions.  Describe how the market is segmented, which segments you are targeting, and how big those target market segments are.  Describe the market research you have done to know these things and how you have drawn your conclusions.  Summary tables and graphs are helpful, but the detailed data can be put in the Appendix.

 

 

 

Sales Plan – Tell how you are going to find, reach and convince your target market customers to buy your product or service.  Describe your sales and distribution channels and how productive will they be during the first few critical years.  The detailed sales projections can be put into the Appendix.

 

 

 

Operations – Explain briefly how you will be organized and staffed to achieve the success you are projecting.

 

 

 

Financial Projections – quantify all the elements of the business and show how much capital you will need during the first two years.  Include your summary income statement and balance sheet.  The detailed projection can be put into the Appendix.

 

 

 

           Organization and story telling                                                            25 %

 

            Industry Analysis                                                                    10 %

 

            Market and Customers                                                           30 %

 

            Sales Plan                                                                               15 %

 

            Operations                                                                              5 %

 

            Financial Projections                                                             10 %

 

            Appendix                                                                                5 %     

 

 

Course Schedule

 

Much of the learning occurs as students share their experiences in collecting and analyzing customer feedback. The individual plans often develop at different rates due to the availability of customers and their  willingness to describe their needs and behaviors.  As a result the time necessary to complete each module will vary with class size and the business opportunities selected by the students. 

 

Course Modules: (estimated number of class sessions)

 

Week 1:  Getting to know your business and yourself

 

Guest Speaker – Mark Sachnoff, ModernWisdom.com, Making Good Decisions

 

Lecture: What is in a Good Business Plan.  What is important in the business plan for the company?  For investors? What is the best way to tell your story?

 

Read Chapters 1& 2 in the text, and fill out the Basic Business Concept outline (p3) and the 4C's worksheet (p12) to help you organize your thoughts for class discussions.

 

Write a short paragraph describing the business you will be planning this quarter, and post it on Canvas under Business Plan Ideas so others can consider joining your team.

 

Additional reading:  “How to Write a Great Business Plan”, William Sahlman, HBS July, 1997

 

Week 2:  Guest Speaker – Lindsay Andreotti, Brilliance Enterprises.  What is your personal brand?  What are you good at?  What do you enjoy doing?

 

Lecture:  Benefits vs Features.   Choosing the right customers and getting to know them. Focus on market research and customer identification.

 

Read Chapter 7, Target Market.

 

Additional reading:  “How Do They Know Their Customer So Well?”,  Thomas Davenport, MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2001.

 

Read:  “Roll Out the Blue Carpet”, Duff McDonald, Business 2.0, May 2004

 

 

 

 

Week 3:  NO CLASS – MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY – Use this week to talk to customers to determine what their needs are and what benefits you must deliver to satisfy those needs.

 

Read:  “Roll Out the Blue Carpet”, Duff McDonald, Business 2.0, May 2004

 

 

Week 4:  Industry Analysis.  Defining your industry and what is missing from it.  Knowing  what your competitors do right and wrong. Anticipating trends and external changes in that environment.

 

Read Chapter 6, Industry Analysis.  Complete the Chart on p77, Industry Maturity

 

Additional reading:  “Reaching for Success but Not Too Much of It”, Glenn Rifkin, NY Times Sept 1, 2005

 

Week 5:  Branding and Positioning. Define the message that will attract customers.  Interview several to learn what is important to them.

 

Read       “A Brand is Born”, Mike Hofman, Inc. Magazine, December, 2001

                        “Profile Thy Shopper”, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Seattle, Times, August 18, 2005

               “BMW’s CEO Just Says ‘No” to Protect Brand”, Neal Boudette, WSJ, November 26, 2003

 

Week 6   Guest Speaker – Richard Jacroux, Introduction to Financial Projections.

 

Sales Forecasting and financial projections.  Describe the steps required to find, reach and convince customers.  Estimate how customers will respond to each company activity and use that information to prepare a sales forecast.

 

         Read Chapter 10, Marketing and Sales Strategy.

 

. 

Week 7:  NO CLASS – PRESIDENTS DAY

              

Work on the Marketing and Sales sections of your business plan.  Spend more time talking to customers to validate your assumptions about them.

 

Week 8: :   Understanding Strategy.  Deciding what your company will do and will not do

 

Read Chapters 8 & 9, Competition & Strategic Position.  Complete SWOT on p 129.

 

Additional reading:  “What is Strategy”, Michael Porter, HBR November 1996 

“Unbundling the Corporation” John Hagel III, HBR March 1999

 

Week 9:   The Elevator Pitch - Telling your story quickly and simply.  Knowing what is most important about your business and getting that point across to investors.

 

Learn how to summarize your company business in a one minute oral presentation.

 

Week 10: Putting your story together and presenting it effectively in a business plan.  Start fitting the pieces of the plan together.  What story do you want to tell investors, employees and suppliers?

 

               Read: “Storytelling That Moves People”, Robert McKee, HBR March 2003

 

Week 11:  Why do you (or not) want to invest in your business?  What are the biggest risks?  How will you mitigate those risks?

 

               Q&A – What are your questions about Business Plans, Financing, Investors and Relationships?

 

               What has this course taught you that will help you advance your career?

 

 

 

There will be no Final Exam.  Finished Business Plans to be handed in on last day of class unless other arrangements have been made with the instructor.