PROGRAMME 1: OLI NORMAN

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

These activities support a mix of individual, paired and group work.

Before viewing

Create a big picture of the characteristics that successful young entrepreneurs possess.

Discuss how parents influence their children's career aspirations.

Using examples, explain the following terms:

• a product and a service
• public relations, marketing and launch party
• business overheads
• a profit, a loss and a break-even point
• a business consultant and a business mentor.

After viewing

To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately, the clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.

The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing descriptions to help identify the intended scene.

Business basics
Clip one: 02:13 – 04:12

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Two years ago, with a start-up grant of £5,000, Oli formed an events company specialising in launch parties.'
• Closes with the narrator saying, 'From this one simple idea, Oli has built up a company which now has an annual turnover of £0.5 million.'

Watch the clip and answer these questions:

• What type of business is DADA?
• What services does DADA offer its members and its clients?
• What is at the heart of DADA's business success?

Imagine that you are launching a new health food bar in your area and have asked DADA to organise your launch party. Write a customer specification for DADA to use when deciding who to invite to the party. Think about factors such as age, gender, spending power and travelling distance. Share and discuss your ideas.

Values in business
Clip two: 04:02 – 04:47

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'As well as organising launch parties, Oli's company also provides a public relations service for their clients.'
• Closes with Oli saying, 'The golden rule of PR 101 is always have two glamorous models at your side.'

In small groups, discuss the following statements:

• By promoting alcohol vending machines, DADA is adding to the problems that the UK has with binge drinking and alcohol-related illnesses.
• By using glamorous models, DADA is promoting gender stereotyping and sexism.
• DADA will find it harder to get business in the future because it is not being a good corporate citizen. People nowadays want companies to be socially responsible and to trade ethically. They want them to be environmentally friendly and help the community, support diversity and promote equal opportunities.

Share the highlights of your discussions with the whole group. Would you join DADA?

Staff recruitment
Clip three: 12:30 – 14:16

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Inspired by George, Oli has started to invest in the expansion programme.'
• Closes with the narrator saying, 'Today, that figure has risen to £20,000.'

Discuss the following questions:

• Why does it cost Oli around £3,000 to recruit and train one new member of staff?
• Why do DADA's business overheads go up when it employs more staff?
• Why does DADA's break-even point go up when it employs more staff?

Using the internet and other resources, research what an entrepreneur has to think about when recruiting and employing staff for the first time. Organise your findings under the following headings: business needs, legal requirements and financial requirements. Share and discuss your findings.

Doing business in London
Clip four: 16:55 – 19:16

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'A knock-back for Oli.'
• Closes with Oli saying, 'Jenny, do the guy.'

In groups, identify the business lessons that Oli learns when he is in London. Sort your ideas into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and record them on the SWOT chart. Review the completed chart. Decide if Oli should concentrate on expanding his business in Scotland or continue with his plans to set up an office in London. Share and discuss your ideas with the other groups.

Download printable version of the SWOT chart [PDF, 27KB]

Growing the business
Clip five: 21:24 – 23:21

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Oli has decided to take on George Swanson's advice and work on a detailed business model before opening an office in London.'
• Closes with Oli saying, 'But, you know, you can't run before you walk.'

Describe Oli's vision and strategy for growing his business. Imagine that you are Oli's business consultant. Review the following techniques that companies can use to help their businesses grow. Suggest which ones Oli should use in the next couple of years and why:

• Innovate – find new, more efficient ways to do things
• Market – increase sales by attracting more members and clients
• Diversify – offer a new service to the same and/or different people
• Sell – get money to expand by selling a part of the business to investors
• Outsource – contract other businesses to do some of the work
• Franchise – let other people pay to use the DADA name and database system
• Strategic partnership – collaborate with companies that offer complementary services
• Merge – join forces with a competitor.