19. Developing a Business Plan (Extendeded Workshop)

Objectives

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By the end of this 90-minute lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand all the core components of a business plan.
• Conduct a basic market and competition analysis.
• Apply SWOT analysis to evaluate strengths and risks.
• Design a simple marketing strategy.
• Estimate budget, costs, and revenues.
• Present their plan as a short pitch.

0–10 min – Introduction

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• Icebreaker: Ask students if they’ve ever had an idea to start a small business (snack bar, repair service, online shop).
• Teacher explains: “Today we will build a complete business plan and practice pitching it.”
• Briefly show an example business plan structure (Problem – Solution – Market – Competition – SWOT – Marketing – Budget).

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10–25 min – Mini Lecture with Examples

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• Step 1: Market Need – Why do we need this idea? What problem are we solving?
• Step 2: Competition – Who already offers something similar? How are we different?
• Step 3: SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
  A SWOT analysis is a strategic tool used to evaluate an idea, project, organization, or decision. The term SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Its purpose is to identify internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) in order to support informed decision-making and effective planning.

• Step 4: Marketing Basics – How will people hear about our idea? (flyers, social media, word of mouth, posters in school, etc.)
• Step 5: Budget – Simple estimation: costs (space, materials, labor) vs. expected revenue.

Example explained by teacher:
Business Idea: Eco-friendly smoothie bar near school.

• Problem: Students lack affordable healthy drinks.
• Competition: Nearby cafés sell sugary sodas.
• SWOT:
  
  • Strength: Healthy, trendy, affordable
  • Weakness: Small starting budget
  • Opportunity: Growing interest in fitness
  • Threat: Cafés could copy idea
    
    
• Marketing: Posters in school, Instagram stories, discounts for students.
• Budget: €300 startup (blender, fruit), expected revenue €1 per smoothie.
  
  

25–60 min – Group Work: Building a Business Plan

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• Divide class into groups of 3–5.
• Each group receives the extended worksheet and chooses/receives a business idea (e.g., IT support service, school bakery, bike repair, tutoring, eco shop).
• Task: Fill out all parts of the worksheet:
  
  1. Problem/Need
  2. Product/Service
  3. Target Group
  4. Resources
  5. Competition
  6. SWOT Analysis
  7. Marketing Strategy
  8. Budget (basic costs & revenues)
     
     
• Teacher circulates, asks guiding questions, supports groups that struggle with numbers or analysis.

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60–80 min – Group Presentations (Mini-Pitch)

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• Each group presents their business plan in 3 minutes.
• Encourage creativity: poster, slogan, or sketch.
• Optionally, simulate a “Shark Tank” scenario where classmates and teacher act as investors and ask 1–2 questions.

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80–90 min – Wrap-Up & Reflection

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• Group reflection:
  
  • Which business ideas seemed most realistic?
  • What was the hardest part (SWOT, budget, marketing)?
  • What did you learn about turning an idea into a plan?

Teacher closes: Emphasize that business planning is about preparing for real challenges and showing others why the idea is worth supporting.

Assessment

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• Informal: observation of group work and presentations.
• Peer feedback: after each pitch, other students share one positive comment and one suggestion.
• Optional: Written homework – one-page summary of their group’s business plan.
  

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Tips for Teachers

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• Adapt examples to students’ vocational field (Hospitality → catering, IT → app development, Mechanics → car service, Tourism → guided tours).
• Encourage practical and realistic thinking.
• Keep presentations short and dynamic – like real business pitches.

Motivate students by pointing out that these are the same skills entrepreneurs use.

Appendix

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