2. Analyse your Resource Assessment
3. Brainstorming Business Ideas
3.a) People, Profit, Planet
3.b) 3 simple steps to come up with some great business ideas for
your school
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This is the second in a series of Weekly Guides designed to support your school through The School Enterprise
Challenge.
This week you will think about what kind of resources your school already has and how you could use those resources to start a business. You will also start brainstorming some initial business ideas! When you have finished these activities you will be able to fill in Sections C and D on the Business Idea template.
You will receive your Weekly Guide by email. However, you can also find copies of these guides and the Business
Idea template in the ‘Members Area’ of our website. Log in to the website at http://www.schoolenterprisechallenge.org/login and go to the ‘My Resources’ menu. Please remember to use the
‘New Business Idea’ Template. You will need to complete and submit this template to us in Week 4 to enter the
competition!
1.
A resource assessment allows you to identify the resources that your school already has available, and students’
capacity to run a business. By thinking about what items and skills are already at your school, you may find you come up with ideas for businesses that you can start with little or no money. This means that all of the money you make will be profit!
Case Study: Rock Community School, Uganda.
Students at Rock Community School in Uganda had little spare capital to start a school enterprise, so they had to use resources they had freely available. They used reeds from their local swamp to make baskets, mats and purses! With their profits, the school have been able to purchase school books and uniforms for several orphaned students.
A resource assessment also allows you to think about what skills you already have that you can use to make the business successful.
Case Study: Beaconhouse School North Nazimabad, Pakistan
Through their resource assessment, Beaconhouse School in
Pakistan identified that their students had skills in Art and event organisation. The school now run a party planning business, organising birthday parties for students at the school. They also charge for extra services such as henna painting and face painting, which are done by artistic students in the group.
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A resource assessment is important because:-
1.
It helps to identify what resources you already have and can use for free!
2.
It can give you ideas for your business!
3.
The results can help you to keep your business start-up costs low (and therefore help you to make a bigger profit!)
It is easy to complete a resource assessment! Work through the Resource Assessment template below and ask students the questions. Add any new questions you think are relevant.
Some important definitions before you begin:-
Natural resource - anything that you can use that is natural. For example, plants, trees, land, water or a river.
Physical resource – anything that is manmade. For example, a bike, school buildings or brick.
Water
Yes We are having sufficient water resources through nearby lake
Land or farmland
Anything else e.g. beach, palm-trees, orchard
Rubbish that can be recycled
No
Yes We recycle daily news papers to wrap the books and notes.
Machinery or equipment e.g. a paper recycling machine
Buildings e.g. school hall
Yes
No
Yes
Around our school we have enough land for our project.
We have training hall to do train all activities.
Electricity or a generator
Internet
Computers
Printer
Anything else e.g. sewing machine, motorbike
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Main connection from government.
We have 24 hours wi fi connection exclusively for our students.
We have around 10 computers for educational purpose.
We have one printer
We have one sewing machine
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Near a big town or city Yes Our school is located 10 Kms away from city.
Near a Tourist Attraction e.g. Safari Park Yes We have a hill station around 45 Kms away from city.
Near industry e.g. a textile mill No
In an area with fertile land
Anything else e.g. near a market
Yes
Yes
Around our school there are fertile land surrounded.
Daily market nearby.
Arts, Crafts or Tailoring Skills
Computer, Internet or Media skills
Farming or Cooking skills
Maths and accounting skills
Sports skills
Music or Dance skills
Language or Teaching skills
Yes
Yes
Our students are trained in Arts and Crafts.
Our students know to internet and Photoshop and animations.
Our students have farming skills Yes
Yes As it is in academy they have Maths skills
Yes Our students are skilled in Athletes, Cricket, Shuttle, Carrom, and Chess.
Yes Our students conduct cultural in school and they themselves practice in dance.
Yes Our students are good in regional languages and in English.
Anything else Yes Our student has story writing skills
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At the end of the Business Idea Template, you will see an ‘Appendix’. Copy and paste your completed
resource assessment into this section and you could earn bonus points for your school!
2.
After finishing the resource assessment, it is important to analyse the results. Discuss the following questions with your class:-

What school natural/physical resources could you use to start a business?
E.g. ‘We have internet at school and 3 computers so we could start an internet café.’

How could you use your school’s location as a business opportunity?
E.g. ‘Our school is near a tourist attraction, so we could sell handicrafts to local tourists.’
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
How could you use your existing skills to start a business?
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E.g. ‘Six students have cooking skills, so they could help other students to start a café.’
Now go to ‘Section C: Your Resources’ on the Business Idea Template. You have just answered
Questions 2, 3 and 4! Simply transfer your answers onto the template.
In Section C, you can score up to 6 points!
This is an opportunity to show us that you have really analysed your existing resources and thought about how you could use them in a business. It is also a chance to demonstrate innovative ideas!
Refer to your completed
Resource Assessment and include it in the Appendix to score top marks!
3.
After conducting and analysing your resource assessment, it’s time to work together to think of some great
business ideas, but before you do that, we need to introduce you to our ‘People, Profit, Planet’ criteria. It’s really important to read and understand what People, Profit, Planet means, as your business idea must meet one or
more of these criteria to win our top prizes!
3.a) People, Profit, Planet
We want to inspire a generation of young people to become socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurs – to think about the problems that people in their local community face, and how they can help to solve these problems through business! To compete in the School
Enterprise Challenge, it’s important that businesses meet one or more
of our People, Profit, Planet, criteria. We award prizes to recognise the best business in each of the categories from schools around the world!
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A social enterprise is a business that has a positive impact on its local community. You can create a social enterprise in three ways:
1.
Solve a problem – find a problem that exists in your local community and create a business that helps to solve it.
2.
Have a positive impact on the local community – There are lots of ways that your business might have a positive impact in your local community. You might employ local people, purchase the things to need to run your business from other local traders, or even provide training courses for community members.
3.
Use your profits to help your community – You might wish to donate some of your profits to a local cause.
Example: ‘People’ Prize Winner: Indeco Community School, Zambia
School Business: Uniform & Bag Making.
Students at Indeco Community School in Zambia set up a business making bags and school uniforms to be sold to local schools. By keeping their production costs low, they are able to sell the uniforms at a much cheaper price than any of their competitors. This is a huge benefit to local parents as the cost of uniforms was a real problem for them. Their business has also employed four local people which is a very positive thing for the community.
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A green enterprise is a business that has a positive impact on the local environment. You can create a green enterprise in three ways:
1.
Solve an environmental problem – start a business that helps to solve an environmental problem
2.
Make your business environmentally friendly – make sure that the running of your business does not have any harmful effects on the local environment.
3.
Use your profits to help the environment – give some of your profits to a local environmental cause.
Example: ‘Planet’ Prize Winner: The Heritage School, India
School Business: Mushroom Cultivation.
The Heritage School set up a mushroom growing business, called
THS Mushroom, as a way of generating a cheap, healthy food source in an ecologically friendly way. They grew the mushrooms on waste material from farms, such as straw and sawdust that is usually burnt, causing air pollution. The waste material from their production was then recycled, providing a more fertile base from which to grow their mushrooms. A very green enterprise!
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The main aim of any business is to make a profit. We will be looking for businesses that aim to generate the greatest profit. This will be measured relative to your original investment – so if a
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school invests $1 and makes $100, they have a better profit margin than a school that invests $1,000 and makes
$1,010.
In general, there are some types of businesses that tend to be more profitable than others. Our experience shows that value added products (where you take a basic item and add something to it), niche market products (a very specific product for a very specific market) and service businesses are usually more profitable than other types of businesses like primary production.
Example: Profit: Gymnasium N4 School, Belarus
School Business: Furniture Repair
The students at Gymnasium N4 in Belarus set up a business repainting and repairing school furniture, including tables and chairs. They offered their services to 37 secondary schools with over 10,000 students in total.
By working together with the Education Department and local Job Centre they have been able to create a very successful business, generating over USD $3,000 in their first three months of operation.
Most of our top prize winners in the past have considered all three of the People, Profit, Planet criteria in some way, even if they have focussed particularly on one aspect. For example; It is important that even if your business is great for the community, it is not damaging your local environment. Similarly you may think up a fantastic way to solve an environmental issue, but it must still make some profit in order to be considered for the top prize.
Now that your students have discussed the resources available to them AND understood our key People, Profit,
Planet criteria, it’s time to help them come up with a great business idea!
Step 1: Ask the students to answer these questions:

What are the problems in your community?

How could you use your business to solve the problems in your community?

What could you make that people would like to buy in your community?

Who are your customers and how can you reach them?

Could you update or modernize a traditional business idea?

Are there any gaps in the local market for goods and services?

Could you combine existing products and services to make something new?
Step 2: Get inspiration from other schools!

Read back through the school business examples in this guide, or check out our website for more!
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You can find ’15 Business Ideas’ here: http://www.schoolenterprisechallenge.org/inspiration/15-businessideas/
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You can also read about last year’s winners here: http://www.schoolenterprisechallenge.org/inspiration/winners-2014/
Step 3: Start brainstorming as a class or in groups! A brainstorm is a way of showing ideas and information. You can see an example of a brainstorm on the next page. Bigger categories (e.g. crafts) lead to smaller categories (e.g.
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jewellery and bags). Brainstorms can be different colours with pictures and diagrams. Think of all the ideas for a new business that you can!
Brainstorming example:
Bracelets
Bags
Neckla ce s
Jeweller y
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Now go to ‘Section D: Brainstorming’ on the Business Idea Template. As a class, you need to choose the 5 ideas you like the best and write them here.
In Section D, you can score 2 points by telling us your top 5 business ideas. We can’t wait to see what you came up with!
Well done! You have successfully completed Week 2!
Next week, we will help you carry out a Feasibility Study and choose your final business idea! In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact our team at info@schoolenterprisechallenge.org
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