Year 9 Tenner Tycoon!
Lesson 1:
Your Great Business Idea! In this lesson students will be introduced to the project. They will spend time
generating ideas for their business, and then go about planning their business in detail.
Lesson 2:
Marketing & Finance: Student will focus on marketing their business and learn how to manage their business’
finances
Lesson 3:
The Business Tycoon Game: students will play a business simulation game
Lesson 4:
Assessment & Reflection
Formal Assessment: teacher assessment of students’ overall participation in the project – see Lesson 4.
Lesson 1:
Learning
Question
What is a social
enterprise?
Learning Steps
What are the
basics of a
successful
business?
*NB Getting student groupings right is very important. I would recommend groups of no
PowerPoint (in
less than 3 and definitely no more than 4. You may want to do this right at the start of the shared area)
lesson, or wait till you have introduced the project fully.
Student Declaration
Introduce the project (using the PowerPoint if it helps):
Form
What do we have
to do to succeed
as a team?
Introduction:
When students have settled*, explain that they are about to start a brand new project.



every student (not every group) will be given £10;
students must work in a teams (‘companies’), and combine their money, to make
as much money / profit as possible in 4 weeks;
the teams which make the most profit will win a big reward.
There are 3 rules and 2 awards (see PowerPoint)
Explain that the purpose of the project is to set up a social enterprise (see PowerPoint).
A social enterprise is a business which makes money and makes a difference. There
are three examples of social enterprises on the PowerPoint. The Big Issue newspaper is
a good example of a social enterprise.
NB Some students may find it difficult to think up a social enterprise, so rather than
make this a compulsory part of the project, there is an award for the company that has
the most social impact, as an incentive!
Go through the Success Criteria so they know what they are aiming for.
Ideas Generation:
The next step is for students to come up with an outstanding business idea. Depending
Learning
Resources
Tenner Tycoon
student packs
on time you could do one or both of these.
1. Love To Do / Hate To Do:
Explain that good business address real needs. To help think up what these needs might
be, ask students to think of things that everyone:
 has to do everyday?
 hates to do / wants to avoid doing?
Give every table a few post-its and ask them to write down a few ideas under each
heading and stick them up. Group and then summarise the ideas. This will be a good
starting point for a business idea.
2. Think the opposite:
Give each student (or each group) the ‘Think the opposite’ sheet (or explain it first using
the PowerPoint). Explain that good business ideas often come from doing something
that is the opposite to how things are normally done, for example:
 Normal = people shop at Tesco
 Opposite = people shop from home
 Opposite Business = home shopping delivery service
Ask students to follow the same thinking process with three other examples.
Planning:
Students must now start planning their business idea in their business teams. Give a
short introduction emphasising:
 The basics of a good business (see PowerPoint slide 12)
 Your team must be PoPuLaR
Start with the ‘Business Brainstorm’, then get them to rank their ideas according to
whether they love, like or loathe them.
Once they have agreed on a business idea, they must complete the Business Planning
packs, and answer these questions:



What is your idea?
What are you good at?
What role will each of you take?
Pitch:
If there is time, each group can pitch their business idea to the rest of the class and get
feedback. They might however be understandably reluctant to share their idea with the
class! If you announce that they will be doing this at the beginning of the lesson, they
should be happier to do it!
Hand out the Student Declaration Forms, which student must get signed by their parents
/ carers in order to receive their £10. They can do this as soon as they want – they don’t
have to wait until next lesson.
Lesson 2: Marketing & Finance
Learning
Learning Activities
Resources
Questions
How do I make a
budget for my
business?
How can I market
my business?
How can I work
successful as a
team?
Remind students of the Tenner Tycoon project. Emphasise that:


They must take responsibility for managing their business in their own time
There will be two Blackfen awards winners
In case any groups have not yet come up with a business idea, run through some of the
best ideas from Year 9 so far (see PowerPoint).
By the end of this lesson, students should have:
 Finalised the initial planning for their business (ie finished off what they should
have done in lesson 1!);
 Planned their marketing strategy, and produced posters, a TV advert, leaflets
accordingly;
 Analysed their finances, and made sure they can make a projected profit based on
income and outgoings;
 Written up their log for Week 1;
 Given a brief progress update to the whole class.
Use the PowerPoint slides to explain exactly what students need to do to get their
marketing and finances in order.
Progress Update:
About 15 minutes before the end of the lesson, each group should in turn come to the
front of the classroom, and give a brief progress update to the rest of the class. They
could use the ‘Week 1 Progress Update’ as a template.
Homework:
Students must begin to run their businesses in their own time.
Lesson 3: The Business Tycoon Game!
Lesson 2
PowerPoint
Tenner Tycoon
student packs
Resources for
making marketing
materials – paper,
pens, Flip
cameras etc.
Learning
Questions
How can you
succeed in
business?
Learning Steps
Resources
This is a simulation game to give students a reality check about the world of business.
Split the class into teams of no more than 4, and ask two students to help you by taking
on the role of the bank / market.
Aim of the Game:
To make as much money as possible!
Step 1:
Students must choose what business you would like to start. You can choose ONE, TWO
or ALL THREE of the following businesses:
Run an airline
business
Run a chain of
petrol
stations
Run a coach
service to help
older people get
out and about

To start their business they must borrow money from the bank.

To start an airline business you must borrow: £100,000

To start a chain of petrol stations you must borrow: £80,000

To start a coach service for older people you must borrow: £60,000
Game Packs and
PowerPoint
Step 2:
When they have borrowed the money they need, they must start making money. To do
this you must draw round the templates of your business product (airplanes, petrol pumps
or coaches) on to plain paper. Then cut them out.
You can then sell them to the market at the following rates:

10 airplanes = £20,000

10 petrol pumps = £15,000

10 coaches = £10,000
Your challenge as the game facilitator, is to stop the game at various points and
announce two or three of these scenarios (choose they ones you think will work best):
“To kick start the economy, the government has announced that the first two companies
that sell their product will get double the normal market price.” NB This is one you could
announce right at the start of the game.
“Due to wars in the Middle East, there is a shortage of oil, therefore the price of oil/petrol
has risen. Everyone with a business dependant on oil (all of them!) must pay £10,000 to
the bank.”
“(For the next 5 minutes), there are no more fixed prices. Each company must negotiate
the price of their product with the market.”
“If you do not pay back your bank loan in the next 5 minutes, the bank will charge you
10% interest.”
“The Government has increased tax on petrol. The airplane and petrol companies must
pay £20,000 to the bank. However, because the coach company is providing a service for
older people, they do not have to pay the tax.”
“Environmental protesters have complained about the damage caused by these oil
companies to the environment. Each team must now pay for anymore paper they need to
use.”
Stop the game with 15 minutes to go, and ‘bribe’ students to be the first to clear up, using
the money as an incentive. Then lead a class discussion by posing the following
questions. Ask each team to discuss the questions in a group and then share their
answers. If you think they can’t do this without motivation, offer more ‘money’ for the best
answer!
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How similar is this game to the real world of business?
What have you learnt about the world of business by playing this game?
Lesson 4: Assessment & Reflection
Learning
Questions
Learning Steps
Resources
What did I learn
about running a
business?
Congratulate students on the progress they have made!
Explain that the project has now finished, and that today’s lesson is to:
 Assess what students have achieved and learnt
 Decide who will win the Blackfen School Tenner Tycoon Awards
The decisions about these two things will be made by:
 An individual written progress report
 A presentation in today’s lesson
 Teacher observation of the whole project both in and out of lessons
Individual written progress report:
Ask students to complete the Final Progress Report and ask them to complete it in detail.
Presentation:
Using their written reports as a guide, students must make a presentation in their
business teams.
You will then use their written reports, presentations and observation of their progress to
give each student a level, based on the success criteria (in resources). You will also use
this information to help us decide who will win the Blackfen Tenner Tycoon Awards.
PLEASE REMIND STUDENTS THAT THEY MUST RETURN THEIR £10 LOAN
BEFORE THE END OF TERM!
Success criteria
for Tenner
Tycoon