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MICRO-ENTERPRISE IDEAS
PURPOSE:
to generate ideas for small businesses which require minimal start-up capital
to help students choose business ideas which correspond to their personal circumstances and available resources
to reinforce the distinction between a business idea and a business opportunity
to help participants recognize that even very small businesses are “real” businesses if their owners treat them as such
MATERIALS:
scrap paper and pens/pencils (for each participant)
flip chart and markers
flip chart paper or poster board (1-3 sheets per participant)
scissors, old magazines, glue sticks and other collage materials (optional)
TIME:
60-90 minutes (in class, with additional research time outside class)
PROCEDURE:
Choose a dollar limit ($200, $500, $1,000 or $2,000), which seems appropriate to your students. Ask each participant to list 10 businesses, which they think could be started with that amount of money or less. Encourage creative ideas!
Create a master list on flip chart paper by having each participant contribute 3 ideas from his/her list until all ideas have been recorded. Hearing other people’s ideas may spark additional ideas—encourage this.
After the class is satisfied with the master list (a class of 15 people should easily produce a list of 50-100 ideas), ask each participant (or pair of students) to choose a “best” idea to research further. Encourage students to choose an idea in which they have some interest.
Give participants time outside class to research the basics of the micro-enterprise they have chosen and to make a poster or collage detailing each of the following features of the business idea (make a list of specific questions to answer if necessary):
· Ideal Entrepreneur to run the business: interests; necessary skills, training or credentials; time available to devote to the business; equity available; personality and temperament, etc.
· Required Resources to start the business: amount of money (with specific breakdown of start-up costs), equipment, space, employees and key people, etc.
· Ideal Community to support the business: needs, population, size, demographics, required and desirable characteristics, etc.
Give students an opportunity to share their collages and what they’ve learned. Students should note, in particular, how close their start-up estimates came to the original dollar limit assigned.
REFLECTION:
After results have been presented, lead a discussion based on the following questions:
How did you create the profile of your target business?
What surprised you about the business you researched?
How feasible would this business be for you, in this community, given the resources available to you? What would make it an even better possibility?
Why is it important for an entrepreneur to consider these factors (the entrepreneur, resources required, and community characteristics) when choosing a business?
What makes a business “real”? Do these micro-enterprises qualify? Why or why not?
JOURNAL: Repeat this process for the business idea you are considering for this class. If some of the basic elements are missing, what can you do to make the idea work? If you cannot make it work, how can you adapt it or change it so that it suits you?
BRIDGES:
This activity is designed to help younger entrepreneurs and those with limited resources choose a business, which is appropriate in scale to their circumstances.
“Micro-Enterprise Ideas” should be completed early in the course, before students settle on a business idea to pursue.
“Mix and Match” is an effective companion activity to this one.
It is sometimes a challenge to get students to think realistically and choose a business that is small enough for them. The business planning process is basically the same whether they start the next Microsoft Corporation or a neighborhood dog-sitting service. You can help set the right tone by treating micro-enterprise ideas as the “real” businesses they are.
MICRO-ENTERPRISE IDEAS
1. aerobics classes (kids/adults)
2. after-school game room
3. apartment cleaning (between tenants)
4. arts & crafts (YMCA, kids, senior center)
5. assembly (picnic tables, bicycles, swing sets, etc.)
6. assembly, office (collating, envelope stuffing, training manuals, etc.)
7. attic/closet/garage cleaning, organizing
8. auto detailing
9. auto body shop
10. baby-sitting broker
11. baby sitting, specialty (at mall, movies, ball games, etc.)
12. bathroom “billboards”
13. biological supply (frogs, bugs, mice, fish)
14. birthday party service
15. bookkeeping
16. bookstore/ newsstand
17. Bonsai trees/gardens
18. branding team
19. bulk mail service
20. button (badge) making
21. CAD (design/ blueprints)
22. calligraphy
23. campground sales (milk, ice, Wood, fuel)
24. candle making
25. carpet cleaning
26. catering
27. chimney sweep
28. Christmas tree digging/shearing/sales
29. Christmas tree delivery and set-up
30. clowning
31. collectibles (stamps, coins, action figures, historic documents, baseball
cards)
32. community newspaper, almanac, calendar, magazine
33. companion for the elderly
34. computer service, training, troubleshooting
35. computer tutor
36. concession stand
37. construction (residential)
38. construction site pick-up
39. cosmetology
40. cosmetics sales
41. costume making (Halloween, drama, etc.)
42. crafts (baskets, pottery, sewing, etc.)
43. custodial services
44. custom stationary
45. day care
46. day spa
47. decorative/seasonal window dressing
48. desktop publishing
49. DJ for parties, receptions, etc.
50. dog breeding/training
51. dress for success tutoring
52. elder care
53. electrical repair
54. errand running
55. farmhand
56. fashion design store
57. firewood cutting/delivery
58. fitness center/ classes
59. florist
60. food cart (ice cream, espresso, hot dogs)
61. framing / laminating
62. furniture finishing, assembly
63. garden sitting
64. genealogy research
65. gift baskets
66. gift buying service
67. greenhouse (public)
68. grocery shopping/delivery
69. guide service (hiking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, canoe trips)
70. gutter/roof cleaning
71. hair cutting (in home)
72. home-baked desserts for restaurants
73. home healthcare
74. house cleaning
75. house painting
76. house sitting
77. import/exports
78. insurance filing service
79. insurance record portfolios (photos, lists)
80. interior design
81. janitorial service
82. jewelry design
83. kid taxi (to lessons, after school care, etc.)
84. landscaping
85. laundry service (restaurants, inns, B&B’s)
86. lawn care
87. lawn mower repair/blade sharpening
88. lessons (art, dance, music, swimming, etc.)
89. manicures (in home)
90. manufacturing shop
91. marketing distribution (flyers, posters)
92. massage therapy (mini massage)
93. mini-fridge rental/sale (college campuses)
94. mobile health check
95. moving help (muscle and/or truck)
96. multimedia (video/camera)
97. office supply store
98. outdoor furnishings
99. painting (home exterior and interior)
100. party planner
101. pastry/ coffee shop
102. personal organizer/shopper
103. pet sitting
104. pet supplies
105. pet tags
106. pet taxi
107. pet washing/grooming
108. photo developing & processing
109. photography (general)
110. photography (niche--cars, pets, prom)
111. plant sitting
112. plumbing
113. pool painting/maintenance
114. PowerPoint presentation prep
115. pressure washing
116. printing
117. produce, specialty (Shiitake mushrooms, gourds, pumpkins, ginseng, etc.)
118. radio station
119. reading for the blind
120. recycling service
121. research service
122. restaurant
123. roofing
124. school store/supply stand
125. school store “on wheels”
126. screen-printing
127. seasonal work
128. security service
129. shoe repair
130. sign making
131. small engine repair
132. snow removal
133.-skate/ski sharpening
134. special education products
135. specialty cleaning/ maintenance
136. stenciling house #’s on curbs
137. storytelling
138. stove hood cleaning (in restaurants)
139. student credit union
140. summer day camp
141. tax preparation
142. “teacher workday” child care
143. thrift shop or sales
144. travel service (discount)
145. trend items specialty shop
146. T-shirt design
147. typing/word processing
148. vending machine snacks/drinks
149. video production
150. wallpaper hanging
151. web page design
152. wellness area (nutrition)
153. window washing
154. woodshop products or service
155. word-processing/ typing service
156. yard hand
157. yard sale organizing/set-up
158. yard waste removal
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