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This is an integrative module, enabling students to draw upon and apply learning from a range of previous studies. It is also an opportunity to develop the practical skills necessary for the creation of a sustainable new venture. With tutorial guidance, small groups of students working in teams will select an entrepreneurial idea and develop it into a written business plan, for eventual presentation and discussion with an expert panel.

The module will be appropriate for business students and those from other disciplines, including the creative industries, with an interest in self-employment and entrepreneurship. Throughout the module, there will be a series of supporting seminars on relevant topics, plus regular business planning tutorials in which students will share and discuss problems encountered at various stages of the development of their business plans.

The module covers the full range of issues in establishing a new business, with a focus on SMEs and small family or freelance enterprises. This includes business plans and planning; business ideas and opportunities; enterprise start-up; market analysis; sales forecasting; promotion and PR; legal forms of business; profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet forecasting; breakeven analysis; sensitivity analysis; sources of funds; funding strategies; bank lending; venture capital; accounting for sales tax or VAT and PAYE; enterprise growth and growth strategies; operations planning; sustainability; business incubation; exit strategies; risk analysis; contingency planning.

i. Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

a) Evaluate the process of, and management issues in, the start-up of a new venture

b) Assess the factors contributing to the success or failure of a sustainable new venture

c) Critically evaluate the constraints on, and risks of, new business development and be able to formulate recommendations for managing these aspects.

d) Discuss issues surrounding the funding and financial management of new and developing businesses

e) Undertake a detailed appraisal of a particular business opportunity through the medium of compiling and evaluating a business proposal

f) Formulate appropriate plans for the training and development of self and others in small business situations and contexts.

g) Identify and access support services for small firms provided locally and nationally.

ii. Skills

By the end of the module students should have developed skills in:

Communication and literacy, through the conducting of primary research, the analysis of published materials, presentations and the preparation of a business plan

Literacy through the preparation of reports and analysis of published materials.

Application of numerical techniques through the analysis of data from a variety of sources and the formulation of quantitative forecasts.

Independent learning and working through the personal management of time, research and writing.

Working with others through the pursuit of a complex and intensive group project.

Staff/student contact time: approx 20%
Student directed study: approx 80%

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.