Visualize Your Future - Activity

All students should have an opportunity to dream about their future while they are still
preparing for it. This activity can be used with youth of any age, but will need some
modification regarding the number of years from now they are to think about for their
future.

PROCEDURES:
1. Students will sit with their eyes closed and visualize themselves as a grown person
in response to questions asked by the teacher.
2.. After visualizing the future students should take 5 - 10 minutes to write down the
answers to the "Questions About My Dream". Encourage them to think seriously
about their ideas.
3.. Now divide the students into groups of about 5 and ask them to compare their ideas
about the future. Each group should identify one person to report to the whole class in
a summary of what the group as a whole learned in the process of visualizing their
futures.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE STUDENTS:

As students will be asked to listen and to dream in the first part of the activity. Then
you will write your ideas on a form I will give you that will help you analyze your
ideas. Finally you will get together with a group of students to talk about what you
each learned from this activity.
1. You must listen carefully to others and not talk until told to do so later.
2. Your dream can be as big as you wish.
3. Please think about as many details as possible in answer to my questions.
INSTRUCTOR reads the FOLLOWING SCRIPT SLOWLY, ALLOWING TIME
FOR THINKING:
"Let us close our eyes and picture a relaxing scene and remain quiet for a few
moments."

PAUSE
"Now you will imagine your life as you would like it to be 10 years from now when
you are grown up and out of school"
PAUSE
"Now it is morning and you have just awakened. What do you see?
PAUSE
"Now you go to your closet to get dressed. What do you see in your closet? What do
you choose to wear to work today?
PAUSE
Now you are eating breakfast. What do you see?
PAUSE
You are now ready to leave for work. Where do you go? How do you get there?
PAUSE
Who do you see in your workplace? What are they doing?
PAUSE
What are your feelings about the work you are doing?
PAUSE
It is now lunchtime. What are you doing? How long do you take for lunch?
PAUSE
You are now at work and it is close to the end of the day. What are you doing? What
time is it?
PAUSE
Where are you going now that work is finished? How do you feel about the day?

PAUSE
Now let's take a few minutes to review the day. What were your most important
thoughts and ideas during this dream?

QUESTIONS ABOUT MY DREAM

1. What were my most important feelings about this day?
2. What type of work did I choose for myself? Why?
3. Did I work with people, ideas or things?
4. Did I use interests/hobbies/skills that I am developing now?
5. Did I work for someone else, or was I in charge of the business?
6. Was I satisfied with the job I chose? Why or why not?
Notes: As the students discuss this activity some of the types of information they will
want to include are these questions. How many of them owned their own business?
How many drove a fancy car? How many owned their own house or apartment? What
does this mean about the amount of money they are earning? How many used skills or
aptitudes that they have already started to develop? Were they happy with this life?
What did they learn about themselves in this activity?
Adapted from: Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship, Consortium for
Entrepreneurship Education

Business Start-up Simulation

BACKGROUND
This simulation is designed to involve all participants in the Entrepreneurship program in the activities of
setting up a business. It can be used for instructor training workshops or for actual students in the
entrepreneurship program. It uses the knowledge presented in the National Content Standards for
Entrepreneurship Education and organizes the content into tasks to be accomplished in setting up and
running a business.
The tasks can be divided into work for three teams (Management Team, Marketing Team, and Finance
Team). Also there are tasks for the entire class that will integrate the decisions of the whole business team.

Depending on the number of students in your class you could have them organize one, two, or three
businesses. It is more competitive if there is more than one business.
This activity is designed to give students a real experience in starting a business while they are learning
about the skills and planning their own business. We recommend that the simulation be scheduled as a
learning experience for the whole group after the class has studied some of the elements of starting a
business. By then they will have spent time on planning their own business and learning about marketing,
finance, and legal issues. At the same time they will also work on the unit on record keeping and continue to
develop their own business plans during this period.
You may have identified a few of your students who are having trouble getting a real business idea that they
can start. You may consider putting them together in one group with the idea of using the simulation, and
group thinking, to come up with an idea they can continue after the simulation.
The instructor acts as banker or potential investor for the companies, approving or not approving their
cisions. You may wish to provide a small amount of seed capital for each company that should be repaid
after the grand opening. Develop an appropriate contract with the group for repayment of this investment.
You may want to have a supply of colored markers and poster paper for the groups to use as well as access to
a copy machine and perhaps computers. It is your option to charge the groups for use of these materials.
Having them handy will facilitate the activity.
The Grand Opening of each business should be scheduled for the last day of the simulation. You will need to
think about getting permission to use other teachers or students in the school as your potential ustomers. Of
course, anyone in the community could also be the target audience. They will actually prepare for only one
day of operation, but their plans will represent what the business would do for at least a year.
Each business will be expected to make a 20-minute presentation to the "potential investors" in a group
session on the last day. This should be seen as a role-playing demonstration of the group presenting their
business plan to a real banker or investor. Actually the instructor, other teachers or community advisors will
serve in this role. They should be prepared to ask the business teams some questions about their plans.
You may want to think about this simulation as an opportunity to promote your program with the local news
media or with others in your school or community.

BUSINESS STARTUP TASKS

Following is the list of tasks to be distributed among each groups' businesses. Each group should elect a
leader to coordinate activities from the beginning and to schedule meetings of the entire business team and
individual and small group work schedules. Timelines should be established for each task.

TOTAL GROUP

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Business name

Prepare job descriptions and compensation

plans

Business description
Prepare training plan
Resume of key managers
Develop training materials
Prepare a business plan to present to a banker or investor
Develop evaluation procedures
Produce an operations manual
Train employees
Open the business
Develop purchasing procedures
Close or sell the business
Develop materials receiving procedures
Implement inventory system
Develop equipment list
Present floor plan/ business layout design
Develop quality control procedures
Select form of organization
Complete registration process for selected
form ofbusiness
Determine legal/license requirements
Manage purchasing operations
Make management decisions during
businessoperations.
MARKETING TEAM

FINANCIAL TEAM

Define your product or service

Prepare startup expenses

Describe target market in detail

Develop budget

Describe your competition

Prepare break-even sales level

Develop your marketing plan

Prepare cash flow projection

Produce your advertising and promotional materials

Develop loan application

Prepare your sales approach

List suppliers, prices, and terms

Describe the advantages of your business location

Develop financial record keeping system

Develop risk management plan

Produce proforma income statement

Develop opening day checklist

Produce proforma balance sheet

Develop grand opening

Design daily cash report

Manage all sales functions during the opening

Prepare selected management ratios

Establish accounting and inventory records
Develop one-day budget for grand opening
Manage cash transaction system
Prepare summary financial statements

Activities: Class Market Survey

Instructions: Using this form, survey one class in the school to determine possible
school-based business ideas. (Arrange with the teacher the best time for the survey).
You may wish to do the survey by show of hands or redesign the questionnaire for
each student to fill out separately. After combining responses for one or more classes,
discuss your suggestions for products and services that your school "market" could
use.
A. How many in the class are: Male________ Female_______
B. How many in the class are age 12________, 13__________, 14________,
15__________, 16________, 17________, 18+__________?
C. Number in immediate family (including self)? 2__________, 3_________,
4___________, 5_________, 6__________, 7_________, 8+___________

 D. Do you work? Yes_________ No__________

E. How many (of the class) like to do each of the following in your spare time?
Reading_______, Play music_______, Sports_______, Watch TV________,
Drive cars_______, Talk on the phone________, Dance_______, Go for
walks__________, Fix things_______, Sew_______, Cook_______,
Exercise_______, Crafts_______, Paint or draw_______, Babysit_______,
Write stories_______ (Many other ideas can be added here)
F. What products or services would you like to be able to purchase at school
that cannot currently be bought there?

Now, based on the information you have collected, list the products that you believe
would sell best to students in your school. Give reasons for each choice. Discuss the
possibilities of selling these products or services in your school.