High Business Ownership

Segment One

Module 1:

• Characteristics of an entrepreneur
• Technology and trends in business
• Factors leading to interdependence and starting your business
• Common types of businesses
• Steps to establish various business structures
• Business resources
• Advantages/disadvantages of buying an existing business/franchise
• Developing business plans and mission/vision statements
• Indicators for business failure

Module 2:

• Conducting a target market analysis
• Consumer buying behaviors
• Economic trends and consumer demand
• SWOT and TOWS analysis
• PESTLE analysis and Porter's Five Forces
• Writing a product or service description
• Developing a plan for a virtual service
• Developing an inventory policy and effective pricing strategies
• Calculating contribution margin, break-even point, profit margins, and selling price
• Researching and assessing locations for a business

Module 3:

• Effective promotional objectives
• Developing brand image
• Types of business publicity
• Components of a press release
• Conducting a cost-benefit analysis for promotional activities
• Omnichannel and multichannel marketing strategies
• Advertising mediums, benefits, and their costs
• Trends and metrics used to assess the performance of a promotion
• Designing an effective advertising brochure
• Components of a business’s promotional plan

Segment Two

Module 4:

• Functions of management
• Types of organizational charts and their benefits
• Recruiting options and the hiring process
• Components of a job description
• Performing a risk management analysis for employee benefits
• Roles of employees and how to supervise them
• Work environment types for businesses
• Federal, state, and local regulations affecting employee retention
• Importance and types of management information systems
• Communication and collaboration tools for businesses

Module 5:

• Startup and operating costs and capital
• Equity vs. debt financing
• Key indicators of creditworthiness
• Projecting cash flow and revenue for first year of operation
• Offering and developing alternative payment options
• Business taxes
• Calculating monthly loan payments and using an amortization schedule
• Loan repayment and return on investment (ROI)
• Creating a five-year financial plan
• Preparing balance sheets and a summary for supporting financial requests

Module 6:

• How education and training help businesses succeed
• Personality traits and work habits that are helpful in a business venture
• Developing an entrepreneurial career plan
• Importance and steps of creating a personal development timeline
• Importance of lifelong learning
• Process and importance of business licenses and permits
• Career planning and development platforms
• Digital tools for career planning
• Resume best practices
• Important components of a career portfolio

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of practice lessons, multiple choice questions, writing assignments, projects, research papers, oral assessments, and discussions. This course will use the state-approved grading scale. Each course contains a mandatory final exam or culminating project that will be weighted at 20% of the student’s overall grade.***

***Proctored exams can be requested by FLVS at any time and for any reason in an effort to ensure academic integrity. When a proctored exam is administered to assess a student’s integrity, the student must pass the exam with a grade of at least 59.5% to earn credit for the course.

To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments, and discussions. Students are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers; the minimum requirement is monthly. When teachers, students, and parents work together, students are successful.