This document provides guidance and tasks for students to assess business startups. It discusses establishing objectives for new businesses, making objectives SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound), and potential reasons why businesses may fail to achieve objectives such as lack of market research or unrealistic financial projections. Students analyze case studies of startup businesses and identify strengths/weaknesses of business ideas and plans. The tasks aim to help students evaluate what makes for successful new business ventures and good business plans.

1. AS Unit 1:
Planning and
financing a business
1.15 Assessing Business
Startups

2. Starter activity
Wash, wax and go
In
pairs,
read
the
scenario and discuss each
of the questions
Get ready to share your
ideas with the rest of the
group

3. Objectives
Objectives are goals or targets that firms set
themselves to achieve.
Purpose:
• aid motivation, teamwork
and coordination
• help evaluate
performance
• focus for decision making
• help secure loans

4. Task 1
Think
Individually, think of an objective a startup business may
set itself
Pair
Explain your objective to your partner
Share
Pool your ideas in your table group

5. Typical objectives
Survival
Break even
Profit
Sales
Market share
Growth
Objectives are likely
to vary
• for each objective, think
of the circumstances in
which it is or is not likely
to be appropriate

6. Making them SMART

7. Task 2
In your table groups
1. Assign one of the typical
objectives to each person
startup
2. Make the objective SMART
3. On your flip chart, write up your group’s
SMART objectives

8. Task 3
Startups may fail to achieve their
objectives for a number of reasons
Using the Simplified Summary, create
a mind map of the common reasons
why businesses fail to achieve their
objectives

9. Task 4
Read the Love Wood Ltd case study
Tables 1 and 2
•
Using your flip chart, analyse reasons why Love Wood
Ltd may achieve its startup objectives
•
Identify AO1, AO2, AO3
Tables 3 and 4
•
Using your flip chart, analyse reasons why Love Wood
Ltd may not achieve its startup objectives
•
Identify AO1, AO2, AO3

10. Task 5
Read the Kate’s Catering case study
Tables 1 and 2
•
Using your flip chart, analyse reasons why Kate’s
Catering may not achieve its startup objectives
•
Identify AO1, AO2, AO3
Tables 3 and 4
•
Using your flip chart, analyse reasons why Kate’s
Catering may achieve its startup objectives
•
Identify AO1, AO2, AO3

11. Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths or weaknesses of business ideas largely
concern the requirements to meet a specific customer
need or want not currently being filled; have a distinct
competitive advantage; be commercially viable; and
capable of being protected.
Strengths and weaknesses of a business plan largely
concern the requirement for clear, concise, realistic and
coherent information based on well documented fact /
market research from reliable sources, particularly with
regard to financial projections.

12. Task 6
Using the Simplified Summary, create
a mind map of the key features of:
• successful business ideas
• ‘good’ business plans

13. Task 7
Read the following case studies:
• Anya’s Restaurant
• Kate’s Catering
In your table groups
• plan a response to each question on business
planning
Individually
• write up a response to each question for
homework