Friday Sept 27

 LINK to Video:Intro to marketing review

Spend time on First Review for test next Thurs.

Wed Sept 24

 Reminder: Test #1 Thurs Oct 3: Make sure you complete the review.

"In the spirit of understanding and learning more about Indigineous ways."

The Bear's Lair LINK:mission,visionect

Complete the worksheet after watching the film and checking out the website.

A Product Life Cycle is the length of time from a product first being introduced to consumers until it is removed from the market. A product's life cycle is usually broken down into four stages; introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Link to further Information:    Product Life Cycle 

Another link to Product Life Cycle...gaining an understanding Product Life Cycle

You are going to get into groups of 4 and brainstorm/research 4 products that would fall under each category of the product life cycle. make sure you copy the product life cycle into your notes.

Week of Sept 23

Presentations Chopstick Assignment

           Dragon's Den: Odd Sock Project

1. What problem is being solved?

2. How old are the young entrepreneurs?

3. What is the cost to produce their product?

4. What is the wholesale cost of the product.

5. Retail cost of product.

6. Profit on $5,000 in retail sales.

7. Profit on $5,000 in online sales.

8. Why is the profit higher on online sales?

9. What is the investment ask?

10. What is the valuation of the company?

11. The girls invested how much initially in their business.

Hand in individually.

Chop Value

VIDEO on how Chopsticks are recycled into new products. 

Chop Value's first micro factory is located in Vancouver.

LINK to Chop Value products

chopstick ideas

More chopstick ideas Instructables

Show examples of products created from past years.

Understanding How a Franchise works

Franchise: A franchise is a business whereby the owner licenses its operations—along with its products, branding, and knowledge—in exchange for a franchise fee. The franchisor is the business that grants licenses to franchisees.

Video on How Franchising works

Link to Franchishing Video (5 min)

Creative Chopstick Challenge

Ceative Chopstick Challenge

You live in a big city and you realize that there are a lot of Asian restaurants that are throwing out bamboo chopsticks creating an immense amount of unnecessary waste. Being concerned about the environment, you decide to recycle them. Let's say you have a partner who has machinery that can clean them and have them ready to create new products.

As a group I would like you to brainstorm 5 ideas for creating new products from the recycled chopsticks. One idea has to be a kids game and one idea has to be a houseware item. You will flesh out both ideas and present a pitch to the class for tomorrow.

Make sure you let us know: creative name for your products, target market, price point, drawings of your prototype, any promotions you might offer. Two members of the group will present, and this time things need to be typed up, with all group members names on the sheet.

NO PHONE USE for this assignment.

Understanding a few business definitions

 1. Presentation and hand in your new product from Indiegogo or Kickstarter

Purpose: to learn about new products, new businesses, how entrepreneurship works, understanding the pitch and how to find investments for your business. What works, what doesn't work in business

Here’s a list of terms/definitions that are frequently used on Shark Tank/Dragon's Den and in business. You should not memorize but attempt to understand them and how they apply to business.

Equity: when participants present their businesses to the sharks, they start by saying something like “I’m looking for $250,000 for a 25% stake in my business”. The 25% stake is the equity that the shark would get if they agreed to that deal. Equity represents ownership of the company. So in this example, 25% equity means that the shark would own 25% of the business, and the business owner would have 75% of the business.

• VALUATION: THE EQUITY STAKE HELPS TO FIND THE VALUATION OF THE COMPANY. THE VALUATION OF THE COMPANY TELLS YOU HOW MUCH THE COMPANY AS A WHOLE IS WORTH. YOU CAN FIND THIS VALUE BY DIVIDING THE INVESTMENT BY THE EQUITY STAKE. GOING ALONG WITH THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLE, DIVIDE $250,000 BY 25%. THIS WOULD GIVE THE COMPANY A $1 MILLION VALUATION (BECAUSE $250,000 DIVIDED BY 25% EQUALS $1 MILLION). IN OTHER WORDS, THIS MEANS THAT THE COMPANY IS WORTH $1 MILLION.
• GROSS SALES: THIS IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY EARNED FROM A COMPANY BY SELLING THEIR PRODUCT/SERVICE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF A COMPANY SELLS 1000 UNITS OF ITS PRODUCT AT $5 APIECE, THEIR GROSS SALES WOULD BE $5,000.
• NET SALES: THIS IS THE GROSS SALES MINUS RETURNS, ALLOWANCES, AND DISCOUNTS (SEE WHAT THESE DEDUCTIONS MEAN BELOW). NET SALES ARE USUALLY COMPARED TO GROSS SALES TO DETERMINE THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS (I.E. A LARGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROSS AND NET SALES COULD MEAN A QUALITY ISSUE SINCE MANY PEOPLE MAY BE RETURNING THE PRODUCT).
• ALLOWANCES: PRICE REDUCTIONS FOR DEFECTIVE/DAMAGED GOODS (PARTIAL REFUND)
• DISCOUNTS: A PRICE REDUCTION FOR CUSTOMERS 
• REVENUE: ANY INCOME SOURCE FROM A COMPANY’S BUSINESS.
• PRE-REVENUE: THIS IS A FANCY TERM THAT MEANS THAT A BUSINESS HASN’T STARTED SELLING OR HASN’T made any money in their  BUSINESS YET. 
• MARGIN: THIS IS A MEASURE OF HOW PROFITABLE A PRODUCT IS (IT’S ALSO REFERRED TO AS “PROFIT MARGIN”). IN OTHER WORDS, IT SHOWS HOW MUCH MONEY FROM EVERY SALE OF A PRODUCT THAT THE BUSINESS KEEPS. THE MARGIN IS EXPRESSED AS A PERCENTAGE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF A PRODUCT SELLS FOR $5 AND COSTS $1 TO MAKE, THE PROFIT MARGIN WOULD BE 80%. THIS IS FOUND BY SUBTRACTING $1 FROM $5, THEN DIVIDING BY $5. THIS MEANS THAT THE BUSINESS MAKES $4 FROM EACH SALE (SO 80% OF THE SALE GOES BACK TO THE COMPANY).
• OVERHEAD: THESE ARE COSTS THAT AREN’T DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PRODUCTION OF THE PRODUCT (I.E. OVERHEAD DOESN’T INCLUDE LABOR, MATERIALS, ETC. RELATED TO THE PRODUCT). I SPECIFICALLY USED THE WORD “DIRECTLY” BECAUSE SOME OVERHEAD COSTS ARE ALSO REFERRED TO AS INDIRECT COSTS. EXAMPLES OF OVERHEAD COSTS INCLUDE RENT, UTILITIES, INSURANCE, LEGAL FEES, ETC.
• ROYALTY: PAYMENTS MADE TO AN INVESTOR/OWNER OF A PRODUCT OR PROPERTY IN ORDER FOR ANOTHER PARTY TO USE/SELL IT. THE PROPERTY COULD BE IN THE FORM OF A PATENT, COPYRIGHT, OR TRADEMARK. FOR EXAMPLE, THE INVESTOR MAY BE PAID A ROYALTY OF $2 PER PRODUCT SOLD. IF THE PRODUCT SELLS FOR $10, THEN THE INVESTOR WOULD RECEIVE $2 EACH TIME SOMEONE BUYS the product.
• CONTINGENCY: AN AGREEMENT TO DO SOMETHING AS LONG AS ANOTHER THING HAPPENS. FOR EXAMPLE, IT’S COMMON TO HEAR THAT A “DEAL IS CONTINGENT ON ABC HAPPENING”. THIS MEANS THAT THE DEAL WILL NOT HAPPEN UNLESS ABC HAPPENS. IF ABC DOES NOT WORK OUT, THE DEAL WILL FALL THROUGH.
• SCALABILITY: THE ABILITY FOR A COMPANY TO GROW. REFERS TO A BUSINESS’S ABILITY TO HANDLE INCREASING SALES VOLUMES, MAINTAINING PROFITABILITY, MEETING MARKET DEMANDS, ETC.
• PURCHASE ORDER (PO): A DOCUMENT FROM A BUYER AGREEING TO PURCHASE a certain NUMBER OF PRODUCTS FROM A SUPPLIER.
• PATENT: A FORM OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ON AN INVENTION. THIS MEANS THAT THE OWNER OF THE PATENT CAN EXCLUDE ANYONE ELSE FROM MAKING, USING, SELLING, AND IMPORTING THAT INVENTION. if there is a patent on a product or graphic or design someone who uses it could be taken to court.
• TRADEMARK: ANOTHER FORM OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BUT FOR A RECOGNIZABLE WORD, SYMBOL, SIGN, OR DESIGN THAT IDENTIFIES A PRODUCT OR SERVICE. THESE COULD BE A BRAND NAME LIKE APPLE OR MCDONALDS, A PRODUCT NAME LIKE IPOD OR BIG MAC, A COMPANY LOGO LIKE A BITTEN APPLE OR GOLDEN ARCHES, OR A SLOGAN LIKE “THINK DIFFERENT.” OR “I’M LOVIN’ IT”. WITH A TRADEMARK, NO OTHER COMPANY CAN USE YOUR BRAND NAME, LOGO, PRODUCT NAME, SLOGAN, ETC.
• COPYRIGHT: ANOTHER FORM OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BUT FOR BOOKS, MOVIES, PICTURES, SONGS, WEBSITES, ETC.
• PROPRIETARY: A TERM REFERRING TO OWNERSHIP of AN IDEA AND THE FACT THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN COPY YOU. IF YOU HAVE A PATENT, TRADEMARK, OR SOME OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, YOUR IDEA IS PROPRIETARY BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN COPY YOU.

Tues Sept 17 Kickstarter/Indiegogo

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/

Example: It's a bag!

https://www.indiegogo.com/

Indiegogo/Kickstarter Assignment ( individually or in pairs) 

Presentation project

1.Choose and describe your product. Include a photo of your product.

2.What problem is your product solving?

3. Who do you think is your target market?

4. List the positives of the product and explain why you think it would be successful.

5. You will present this info to the class on Wed. and hand this in on Wed.

THIS ASSIGNMENT MUST BE TYPED ON THE COMPUTER

Facebook Marketplace Challenge

 Joe Dispenza Video : 3 takeaways from the video. Answer how this video applies to the field of Entrepreneurship?

New Product Development 

The small business environment today is very dynamic and competitive, and new product development is a crucial process if you want to survive. For small enterprises to withstand competition from multinationals, they have to continuously update their products to conform to current trends. The new product development process is the cycle that a new product has to undergo from conceptualization to the final introduction into the market.

Phase One: Idea Generation
Phase Two: Screening
Phase Three: Concept Development
Phase Four: Product Development
Phase Five: Commercialization and Rollout

Facebook Challenge (10 marks due Mon Sept 23) 

• Criteria: 
• take 3 good quality photos of your product
• Write a good, detailed description of your product
• create a bit of a pitch trying to elicit a buyer
• determine a fair price
• Bonus marks will be given to anyone who sells their product within a week
• post on Facebook Marketplace

Week ending Sept 13

 What have we learned about  marketing so far in the class?

Facebook Marketplace Challenge

Dragon's Den: student special.

Thurs Sept 12

 1. Quiz

2. Frisbee Pitch Presentations

3. Guys/Girls Buy

4. Maslow's Needs

5. Marketing Mix

A marketing mix includes multiple areas of focus as part of a comprehensive marketing plan. The term often refers to a common classification that began as the four Ps: product, price, placement, and promotion. Effective marketing touches on a broad range of areas as opposed to fixating on one message.

Sept 11 Frisbee Creative Challenge

 

The Frisbee Challenge

 

The format of this challenge is the same as the bubblegum challenge. You need to get into groups of 4 this time, try to move around and work with at least 2 different people.

Step 1: make sure you understand the challenge

Step 2: brainstorm 20 minutes

Step 3: as a group make a decision weighing out the pros/cons

Step 4: determine your target market and create pitch for the idea like the young girl did on the Sock Pocket video. You will pitch to Ms Larizza and again to me on Thursday

Creative Challenge: Come up with as many ideas as you can for new product ideas for 100,000 frisbees that will not fly. You can transform in any way you like but it may be more costly to trasform the product. Remember you are trying to save your company money.

When finished review the following definitions, be able to give examples of these definitions.

• target market
• prototype
• marketing
• wholesale
• retail
• direct to consumer
• pitch
• margin

You will have a quiz on Thurs. worth 10 marks. 

Marketing Mix

 Understanding the Marketing Mix.

Why people Buy

Review of what you buy/Girls/Guys. Why marketer's love the teenage market.

Article Read and make notes $ Reasons People Buy

The Science Behind Buying: Buying Science

Anthony Robins take on why people buy

Anthony Robins

Maslow's Triangle: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ( spend some time understanding this model)

Today: List at least 3 products that people buy for each section under Maslow's chart.

Knowledge/Skills/Transferable Skills

 A look at an Entrepreneur

https://wisepocketproducts.com/

Questions for Sock Pocket

1. How old is this entrepreneur?

2. What is a prototype?

3. What is the wholesale cost of the product?  What is she selling the product to the customer for?

4. The Sharks made an offer to be a partner in the company, and offered $30,000 for 33.3% of the company. But Sohie did a counter offer which was:

5. What new product does this company have coming soon?

6. What problem did Sophie solve?

7. What knowledge/skills and attitude does she have as an entrepreneur?

 Creative Challenge Bubblegum: You work for a company who made a very big mistake when they produced 1million pieces of stale, hard bubblegum. As a group think of as many ways you can salvage the bubblegum to help the company save money.

• transform the product into something new
• create something from the original product
• repackage the product to sell it somehow
• combine it with something to resell

Be creative, think outside the box. do not judge ideas, no idea is a bad idea.

As a group decide on your top idea and explain why you chose the product you did.

As a group decide the following:

Which idea is the group going to go with and why did you choose this?

How would you pitch/present this idea to the company so they would go with your idea. Someone in the group will have to do this.

Who is your target market for this product?

What price if this pertains to your idea would you sell the product for?

If you were the company CEO how would you evaluate the idea?

Link to uses for bubblegum

Bubblegum sculptures

Towards a Definition of Marketing 

From the video: Marketing is communicating value to the customer!

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits and sells itself.”~ Peter F. Drucker

Marketing is about deep psychological understanding of customer needs. Steve Jobs had this gift better than almost any. Every innovation in the history of the world combined an uncanny understanding of human needs and the innovative vision to deliver it.

If business is composed of marketing and innovation, and marketing is about deep customer insights, then marketing is the job of every employee.

The brands who win more customers are the ones who put their customers ahead of their desire to sell more stuff.

When given a choice, we only buy from brands we know, like and trust!

Marketing Yourself: First assignment

Marketing Yourself....WHY? 

Knowledge    Skills and Attitudes   transferable skills

On your own....reflect on your knowledge, skills and attitudes. What skills do you have that are transferable? Make a list of how you can market yourself. Start promoting you!

What are transferable skills?

Transferable skills are an employee’s abilities that can be used in a number of jobs. These skills are important to have as they can keep your workplace running smoothly. So, when looking for new employees, you want to hire people who have a lot of transferable skills. Transferable skills will show you their ability to grow into the role and possibly become a leader. This means that you can hire someone who will be with the company for a long time, which is good for the company. It is also important to look at what type of transferable skills they have so you can determine if the candidate is the right choice for your company to hire. 

Moreover, finding new employees can be a long and expensive process, so when you look at a candidate’s transferable skills, what you are really doing is seeing what type of potential they have.

15 examples of transferable skills

Certain transferable skills are more sought after than others, so it is important to know what you are looking for before seeking candidates for a new or open position. By looking through the following examples, you will have a better idea of which transferable skills you should be looking for in your next employee:

1. Problem Solving

Problem-solving is a transferable skill that can be used in any type of working environment, no matter what industry you work in, which is why it’s so valuable. So, being able to recognize a problem and having innovative ideas about how to solve it can make a candidate a valuable asset to your team.

2. Analytical Reasoning

Analytical reasoning is when you can take complex ideas and break them down into smaller facts that can help you solve a complex issue. This is a transferable skill you should look for in a candidate as it can help you look at the big picture for your business and figure out how it pertains to a particular project.

3. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the evaluation and interpretation of information to make a judgment, come to a conclusion, or choose a course of action. Being able to think critically about things means you can question ideas and decide on the best course of action based on all the facts. This also means that change is easier for critical thinkers as they can question why your business does certain things and may suggest better changes regardless of how things may have been done in the past.

4. Leadership

Leadership is a combination of a candidate’s ability to lead a team, see ways in which they can motivate others and the ability to accomplish goals. Being a good leader means the new hire can communicate well with your team and motivate them to work hard when needed. This transferable skill is needed in all companies and is why it is so sought after in employees.

5. Adaptability

Being able to adapt is incredibly important for any employee. Things can change when working on projects, and you may need to be able to pivot to a new direction or new goal. Adaptability can help any worker become better at their job as they will know how to change how they do things in order to fit the new goal. Having this transferable skill can make work easier, which is why it is something most employers notice, and you would want to see in your employees.

6. Teamwork

Teamwork means working together as a group to achieve a common goal. It is important when working with a team to be able to relate to others and work hard at making a contribution to the overall goal. Those who have this essential skill are able to collaborate with others and make sure that projects are done efficiently and effectively.

7. Communication

This transferable skill is one that is important for any job. Being able to communicate clearly means that the candidate can get their point across without confusion or an abundance of questions. Those who are good communicators can help lead teams, clarify the goals of a project and help if conflicts were to arise.

Related: How to Create Effective Communication at the Workplace

8. Writing

Though writing is part of communication, it is worth mentioning on its own. Writing is an essential skill for an employee to have as it is important to be able to convey a message through written words. This is especially true with email being one of the primary ways we communicate in business. If your employees can write in a way that people understand without confusion, it can help make your business communication become more efficient.

9. Listening

Having good listening skills is good for any employee and is especially important for managers. Being able to listen to someone and understand what their main point was is an essential skill for employees to have as it means they can relay the message easily. Also, managers who have good listening skills will be able to connect well with employees and allow them to feel heard. 

10. Creativity

Creativity is about how you approach tasks and solve problems. Being an “out of the box” thinker can mean that the candidate can bring innovation to your work, which can be helpful to your company. Having employees with this skill is important to develop as it can mean that you have a step up on the competition or can solve problems in a unique way.

11. Attention to Detail

Having this transferable skill means that the candidate pays close attention to small details and can point out small mistakes. This is important for any business as no one wants to make mistakes, no matter how small they are. If your employees have attention to detail, it means the small things in a project won’t go overlooked, and you will be able to find ways to improve successfully.

12. Project Management

Project management skills help you manage tasks from start to finish. Being able to organize a timeline for duties and staying on top of your work is part of project management. Project management can also be combined with leadership roles when collaborating with others so everyone can finish their tasks on time. Having this transferable skill means your new hire would be a great asset to any team.

13. Relationship Building

Being able to build relationships easily means that you can have good working relationships with colleagues that are based on trust and respect. This is an important transferable skill to look for in your employees to keep harmony in the workplace and build better customer relationships.

14. Computer Skills

Though having computer skills might have been a technical skill in the past, it is now an essential skill for any employee. Almost everything we do is now either done on computers or has an aspect of computer technology built into the tasks being performed. Having the ability to use computers easily makes an employee a valuable asset to any team as they will need less training and can also help others learn this essential skill.

15. Quick Learner

Being a quick learner means you are able to take in information and then use it quickly to help your performance. No matter what position you are in or what type of job you have, being able to learn quickly is an important skill to have. This is especially important with technology as things are constantly changing. So, this transferable skill will make a candidate a valuable asset to any team.

The above examples of transferable skills can be used by anyone looking to hire a new employee as to what to look for in the candidates.