Contemplating Starting a Business

The Project is a cumulative project. The paper is an opportunity for students to demonstrate how well he or she comprehends the course materials/concepts. Students will apply various concepts learned throughout the course to the presented situation.

Outcomes Met with This Project:

Discuss the financial, economic, regulatory, sociopolitical and technological factors as they relate to a dynamic business environment.
Identify the critical business functions and how they interact in order to position the organization to be effective in the current business environment.
Case Scenario:

Carlos Rodriguez is retiring early from his management job in publishing due to a business consolidation in his industry. Because readers are moving to online formats for purchasing books and magazines, Carlos is not interested in staying in that industry. Since Carlos is only 53 years old, he is not ready to retire. He and his brother, Julio, enjoy cycling, running and occasionally entering triathlons together and train together frequently. Carlos has noted that it is difficult finding affordable quality equipment for his hobbies and believes that if he opened a brick and mortar store, he could have a successful business.

Julio has also expressed some interest in being a part of this new business, but he and Carlos have not discussed the arrangement in detail. Julio expressed concern about the role he would play in the business and admits to being hesitant about being an owner. In addition, Carlos is not sure he wants to go back to work full-time and thinks he could run this business without it encroaching on his training time.

Carlos was given a severance package of $50,000 and other than a $1800 house payment, does not have any other personal financial obligations. He is single and his only child is grown and lives away from home.

How to Set Up the Memo

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is single-spaced with a space between paragraphs, Times New Roman 12-point font. The final product will be in business memo format no longer than three (3) pages in length. Write clearly and concisely.

Create a Title page with a title for the paper, course number and section, your name and the instructor’s name.

Instructions:

You are a consultant that Carlos Rodriguez is considering hiring to guide him through the process of starting his business. Since you have a broad business background, you are going to write a business memo to Carlos Rodriquez outlining the different areas of business that he would need to consider to successfully open the business. Use the following business memo format to Carlos and not about Carlos. Thoroughly answer the ten (10) elements below the format using the course materials and the case scenario facts. Do not use external sources to complete this project.

Business Format:

To:

From:

Date:

Subject:

Business Summary- This is a one paragraph overview of the current situation of the client as you see it. This is the foundation of the memo to make sure you and your client are both viewing the situation the same. Make sure to provide an overview of the main topics.

Situation Analysis and Recommendations – This is where you address the following requirements using the course materials and the information from the case scenario. No external sources can be used.

Discuss how Carlos can determine if he is an entrepreneur or should be a small business owner.
Explain how Carlos should decide how much capital is needed to start the business.
Assuming Carlos will eventually need financing, discuss the financial statements Carlos will need.
Discuss the best form of business Carlos should set up and explain why.
Explain why the other business forms would not work well.
Discuss the role Julio should assume in the business and explain whether this decision affects the form of business Carlos sets up and explain how so.
Explain specific types of marketing the business should pursue.
Discuss whether Carlos should hire help and if so, what position(s).
If help is hired, explain who will manage them.
Explain the best ways for Carlos to motivate his employees if he chooses to hire employees.
Review the Paper

Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.

The following are specific requirements that you will follow. Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each specific requirement.

Checklist

Specific Project Requirements

Proofread your paper

Read and use the grading rubric while completing the paper to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade.

Third person writing is required. Third person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person.

Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.

Paraphrase and do not use direct quotations. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. Removing quotation marks and citing is inappropriate. Instead put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document. There should be no passages with quotation marks. Using more than four consecutive words from a source document would require direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade.

You are expected to use the research and weekly course materials to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. There should be a robust use of the course material. Material used from a source document must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks.

Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.

You may not use books in completing this problem set unless part of the course material. Also, do not use a dictionary, Wikipedia or Investopedia or similar sources.

Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation presented. Since the eBook does not have page numbers, include the chapter title and topic heading. If using a video, provide the minutes and second of the cited material.