Draft  Draft  Draft  Draft   

Instructor’s Guide

Exercise:  Business Trip

(Students will work in groups of 2. Their work will be entered on the computer in a Zaption Tour named Business Trip)

You have an idea for a business you would like to start and you need money to set up the business.  You have found a venture capitalist and shared your idea with her.  She has asked you to come to Port-au-Prince to meet with her and convince her that she should lend you money to get your business started.  You will spend one day traveling to Port-au-Prince, one day meeting with the venture capitalist and one day traveling back to Jeremie.

1.  You must plan for this journey.  To begin, think about the parts of the trip. Make a list of the activities you will do on the trip.  To help you get started, travel is one part of the trip.  How will you get to Port-au-Prince and return home?  Enter your list in the box.  As you make this list, think about how you will do these things.  In your mind, picture yourself doing the activities on your list.  Add ANYTHING you can think of that you may need to do or take with you to make this trip a success.

(Work in groups.  Have students share their lists.  Discuss the item on the list – include what and why.  Coach as needed to add important items that may be missed.  When discussion is finished, the list should contain the general categories: prepare, travel, meeting with VC, evaluation of the meeting, actions you must take after the meeting.

2.  Travel.  How will you get to Port-au-Prince?  Make a plan to put together all of the things you need to get there, stay two nights in Port-au-Prince and return to Jeremie.  Be prepared to explain why you would need these things for the trip.

(Work in groups, make a common plan for the group)

(Groups will share there lists and comment on each others’s items)

(Ask whether anyone has thought of something else that should be added to the list, after participating in the discussion.) (Coach as needed to produce a useful plan)

3.  Your trip will be valuable only if you convince the venture capitalist to loan you money to start your business.  Now that you know how you are going to get there you must plan for the meeting you will have with her.  What will you need to prepare before you start the journey?  Imagine yourself in room with the  venture capitalist.  What do you thing she will say to you?  What questions will she ask?  How will you answer her questions?  Are there any documents you want to share with her?  Would you prepare a presentation?  What would it contain?  How would you present the information?

(Have the groups share their ideas, in sections.  Lead into a discussion about good/better ways to present the information.)

4.  Now use the information we have discussed and organize a plan for your trip.  Put the items in the time order in which they will happen, that is, before the trip, the day of travel to Port-au-Prince, the day of the meeting, the day you return to Jeremie, after you are home.

(Work in groups.  Groups share their plans.  Discuss the value and workability of the plans.)

(Ask for questions, then wrap up)

Copyright 2014. Robert M. Boeke