Running a successful business
Learning Intentions:
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I will learn that business and enterprise are two separate, yet connected ideas
I will learn about the role that SME’s play in Australia’s economy
I will learn how to evaluate the impacts of economic decisions and policy on business
I will learn that successful business owners tend to display similar characteristics
I will learn that business success is heavily reliant on economic performance
I will learn how to analyse the factors for business success
I will learn that the structures businesses employ (ownership, management, financial etc…) can be crucial to their
success
I will learn how to write a business plan
I will learn how to write a formal business report
I will learn about the SACE word Count Policy and how to increase my sentence density to remain within it
Remembering
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Define the internal and external environments of business
Describe what a business plan is
Draw the five sector circular flow model
Add the following words/concepts and definitions into your Academic Vocabulary list
 Socially responsible
 Business
 Mission statement
objectives
 Enterprise
 Vision
 Ethics
 Business cycle
 Business Plan
 Business plan
 Prime function
Comprehension/understanding
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Describe how economic performance will affect business performance
Explain how a business might go through a ‘business lifecycle’ and what you’d be likely to find at each
stage
 Explain why business planning is crucial for business success
 Classify the following businesses into their likely ownership structure
 Electrical business
 Bob Jones painting
 VIP lawn mowing
 A McDonalds franchise
 Picture framer
 Dan and John’s air
conditioning
 The local bakery
 Brad’s lawn mowing
Application
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How would you apply the theory of fiscal policy, monetary policy, $A and FTA’s to help struggling SME’s in
Australia. In groups of 4, create an RSA style presentation to demonstrate this.
Apply the theory of the business life cycle to Eastbrook Farm.
Analysis
Look at the following websites on the success and challenges that ‘The Iconic’ has faced since starting
in 2011.
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http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/the-success-of-online-fashion-retailericonic/story-fnda1lbo-1226622225366
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/the-iconic-online-retailer-laying-off-staff-to-cutoverheads/story-fni0cx12-1226660629536
http://www.smh.com.au/business/cracks-begin-to-emerge-in-iconic-model-20130628-2p26c.html
http://www.powerretail.com.au/insights/the-iconic-ceo-path-to-success/
Using 2 fishbone diagrams, analyse the factors for the success and challenges ‘The Iconic’ faced.
Elaborate on the reasons for these successes/challenges (1 fishbone for success, 1 fishbone for
challenges)
Deduce what would be the motivating factor in laying off 10-20% of staff?
Discuss what consequences would follow from ‘The Iconic’ laying off 10-20% of their staff?
At what point did things start to change for ‘The Iconic’?
Determine whether there are any major factors contributing to ‘The Iconic’s’ challenges?
Discuss the positive outcomes that have resulted from these challenges?
Compare the competitive advantage of ‘The iconic’ with the competitive advantage of ‘Asos’. Why do
you think ‘The Iconic’ is so much more successful?
Consider the following graphs on the $A, consumer sentiment and retail spending. Analyse the
impact of the trends in these for both importing and exporting businesses in Australia.
$A trend – previous 12 months
The Consumer Sentiment Index is based on a survey of over 1,200 Australian households. The Index is an average of
five component indexes which reflect consumers' evaluations of their household financial situation over the past year
and the coming year, anticipated economic conditions over the coming year and the next five years, and buying
conditions for major household items. The index scores above 100 indicate that optimists outweigh pessimists. This
page provides - Australia Consumer Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic
calendar and news. Content for - Australia Consumer Confidence - was last refreshed on Sunday, December 7, 2014.
Conduct an investigation into a business of your choice (someone you know who owns a business –
speak with U. Evan before you approach them) and develop a situation analysis of no more than 800
words outlining the following.
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Ownership structure – including reasons for this
Organisation of accounting information – internal/external sources of finance
Marketing operations
Management structure and reasons for doing it this way
How the business operates efficiently
The importance of planning for this business
Write this report in formal business format, referencing primary and secondary sources of
information. Treat this like a major assignment (even though it is formative)
Evaluation
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Considering the business you studied above, outline 3 recommendations would you give to ensure the
business success. Evaluate these recommendations using a PMI for each.
“Innovation is the most important factor to business success.” Evaluate this statement with reference
to examples. (Typed 1 ½ pages)
To what extent is the Business Life Cycle an accurate representation of a businesses life? (1/2 page)
Creating
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Creativity Questivities
 What would happen to Australian importers if the $A reached US$1.50?
 Would you rather own your own business or work for an employer? Explain your decision.
 How would you feel if you were the owners of ‘The Iconic’?
 In your opinion, what is the greatest reasons for business success?
 How is business success like a possum?
 Active question – Make a list of questions that a person starting up their own business might ask
the owners of ‘The Iconic’.
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Using Synectics, in a group of 4, create a character profile of the ideal business person.
In order to complete this task you must each come up with a direct analogy of what you think a successful
business owner should be. (Look at a few people online E.g. Frank Lowy, Greg Norman, Richard Branson,
Gail Kelly, Anita Roddick to get ideas). Write this as a paragraph.
For each persons direct analogy, as a group, go through the following processes. You will need to do this
4 times (once per analogy)
 List of attributes – use a thesaurus to look for other words that have similar meanings
 Describe personal analogies – how would it feel to have these character traits or personality
 Identify compressed conflicts – what words have the opposite meaning or characteristics from
the ideas above?
Once you have completed this for each persons list, as a group, create a new direct analogy. What does a
successful business person look like? Synthesise the main themes of your discussion into one succinct
paragraph.
Reflection
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Complete the following reflection stem questions:
 Looking back
 I enjoyed learning this because…
 One thing I didn’t expect was…
 Before this I did not know that…
 Doing this made me wonder about…
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Looking forward
 This has inspired me to look into…
 I need to understand this because…
 I want to find out why ________ happens so that I can…
Extension Activity
Investigative task. What does the bible say about business ownership and success? To what extent do
successful business owners display these characteristics? Choose one successful business person to complete
this task.