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Our Business World

Lesson 1 – What is a Business?

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An Entrepreneur is a person who owns and operates their own business

What is an Entrepreneur?

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What is a Business?

A Business is an organization where people work together to make and sell products or services to make a profit

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When starting a business consider…

1. Idea or a need

2. Customers

3. Profit

When someone starts a business, there are a few important things they need to consider. Today, we’re going to focus on the three main things.

First is the idea or the need. A business usually starts with an idea or a problem that needs solving. Entrepreneurs ask themselves questions like: What do people need? What do people want? What could make something better or easier?

Second is customers. A business only works if there are people who actually want to buy the product or service. Entrepreneurs need to think about who their customers are and why they would choose this business over others.

Third is profit. Profit is the money a business makes after paying for its costs. Businesses need profit to keep running, growing, and improving.

These three things are the main things we’ll be talking about today as we learn how businesses get started!

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An Idea or A Need

Entrepreneurs look for needs or wants in their community.

A good idea helps people and makes life easier

A business starts by identifying a problem

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An Idea or A Need

An entrepreneur will recognize a need within their community or they have an idea that turns into a business.

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Wilbur’s Lawn Care

Wilbur has a successful lawn care business in the small town of Pickleville, where he works as a one person operation and gets customers through word of mouth. He keeps all the lawns in Pickleville clean and tidy all summer long.

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Wilbur’s City Adventure

His business thrives, so he decides to move to the city. He keeps doing everything exactly the same, but no one is hiring him.

Why not?

What is the essential thing that Wilbur forgot to do?

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An Idea or A Need

A new automotive plant has moved to town. The company will be hiring 450 employees. The company hopes to have the plant open and fully functioning in two years.

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Which of the business ideas would be a business opportunity? Pick one idea and think of some reasons why it’s a good idea.
Grocery store
Home Construction
Another Auto Plant
Pet walking service

<<2:00->>

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An Idea or A Need

Home Construction: Yes! New employees will need homes before the plant opens.

Another Auto Plant: Not the best idea - there may not be enough workers or need for two car factories.

Pet Walking Service: While not everyone will need it, some workers may have pets and would benefit from this service.

An Idea or A Need

A Grocery Store: A great idea! More workers and families means more hungry people who need food everyday.

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An Idea or A Need

With real estate prices rising, many people decide to move downtown to be closer to where they work. They live in condos or high-rise apartments.

More people get to walk to work. By giving up their commute to work, people will have more leisure time to enjoy downtown. They hope there will be lots to do.

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Which of the business ideas would be a business opportunity? Pick one idea and think of some reasons why it’s a good idea.
Lawn mower repair
Fitness center
Snowmobile store
Movie theatre

<<2:00->>

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An Idea or A Need

Fitness Center: A great idea! People living downtown want convenient places to exercise close to home.

Snowmobile Store: Not a strong fit - downtown residents have limited storage and won’t use snowmobiles oftens.

Movie Theatre: Another great choice! More leisure time means people will want fun things to do nearby.

Lawn Mower Repair: This probably wouldn’t be the best idea - most people living in condos don’t have lawns to mow.

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Customers

Customers are the people who buy a business’s product or service. A business needs customers to succeed.

Customers must want or need what the business is offering.

Customers choose businesses that solve a problem they have or meet a need they have.

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Customers

Entrepreneurs use the 4 P’s of Marketing to attract and maintain their customers.

4 P’s of Marketing	Description
Price	Low vs High Prices
Product	Is it unique, newly invented, or hard to find? What is the quality like, is there a need?
Place	Where will the business be located? Is it convenient? Hours of operation?
Promotion	How will they hear about the product or service?

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How Price Attracts Customers

How could the price of something attract someone to a business?

Price can encourage or discourage customers.
Low prices can attract people.
Prices that are too low or too high may push customers away.
Some brands charge more because of value.

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How Products Attract Customers

Unique or hard-to-find products attract attention.
Better quality can bring in more customers.
Being the only business with a product or service can be an advantage
Products that solve a problem stand out.

How could a product attract customers to a business?

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How Place Attracts Customers

Convenient locations attract customers
Business hours that fit customers’ schedules matter
Easy online ordering and delivery increases interest
Convenience makes buying simpler

How could a place attract customers?

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How Promotion Attracts Customers

Promotion helps people learn about a business.
Advertising can attract new customers.
Ads should reach the right audience.
Choosing the right place to advertise matters

How could promoting your business attract customers?

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Andrew is saving for a new dirt bike for the summer. Over the winter, he decides to use his family’s snow blower to clear driveways. He doesn't have any customers yet. What three strategies can Andrew use to help him find customers?

Customer Scenario

Let’s look at this scenario. Andrew is saving up for a new dirt bike, so over the winter he decides to make money by clearing driveways with his family’s snow blower. Right now, his biggest problem is that he doesn’t have any customers yet. To find customers, Andrew needs to promote his service. What could he do?

Possible answers: Andrew could put up flyers around his neighborhood so people know he’s offering snow clearing. He could use word of mouth - he could tell his friends, family, and neighbors, and ask them to spread the word. He could also knock on doors to let people know he’s available to help. In some cases, a newspaper ad might work too, especially for reaching adults in the neighborhood. These strategies help Andrew make people aware of his service and attract his first customers.

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Julie and Blake would like to try and save enough money to purchase concert tickets to see their favourite band this spring. They decide to make 100 ankle bracelets. With school starting, what three strategies do you think Julie and Blake could use to sell them?

Customer Scenario

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What is Customer Service?

How a business treats its customers.

Helping customers before, during, and after they buy something

Making customers feel welcomed, respected, and helped

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Good vs Bad Customer Service

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Profit

Money a business keeps after paying its costs

Helps a business grow and stay open

Shows if a business idea is working

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What is Income?

Income is the money a business earns when customers pay for a product or service. It comes from people choosing to buy what the business offers.

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What is an Expense?

An expense is money a business spends to run. This includes things like materials needed to make a product or equipment needed to provide a service.

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What is Profit?

Profit is the money a business has left after it pays its expenses. It shows whether a business is earning more money than it is spending.

Profit = Income - Expenses

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Squeeze The Numbers: Is There A Profit?

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Squeeze The Numbers: Is There A Profit?

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Squeeze The Numbers: Is There A Profit?

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Squeeze The Numbers: Is There A Profit?

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See you next time!

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Our Business World

Lesson 2 – How Businesses Benefit Communities

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Let’s do a quick review from last time!

Quick Review!

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An Entrepreneur is a person who owns and operates their own business

What is an Entrepreneur?

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What is a Business?

A Business is an organization where people work together to make and sell products or services to make a profit

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When starting a business consider…

1. Idea or a need

2. Customers

3. Profit

When someone starts a business, there are a few important things they need to consider. Today, we’re going to focus on the three main things.

First is the idea or the need. A business usually starts with an idea or a problem that needs solving. Entrepreneurs ask themselves questions like: What do people need? What do people want? What could make something better or easier?

Second is customers. A business only works if there are people who actually want to buy the product or service. Entrepreneurs need to think about who their customers are and why they would choose this business over others.

Third is profit. Profit is the money a business makes after paying for its costs. Businesses need profit to keep running, growing, and improving.

These three things are the main things we’ll be talking about today as we learn how businesses get started!

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Lesson 2 – How Businesses Benefit Communities

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Non Profit Organizations

To start, last time we took a deep dive into profit and why it’s important for businesses. Today, we’re going to switch gears a little and talk about something different: non-profit organizations.

Nonprofits are a type of organization that doesn’t focus on making a profit. Instead, their main goal is to help people, animals, or the community in some way. They still need money to operate, but the money they earn is put back into their programs and services instead of being kept as profit.

For example, Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization, and so are other well-known organizations like The Rooms, the Ronald McDonald House, the SPCA, the Red Cross, and the YMCA. All of these groups provide important services to their communities, even though they aren’t trying to make a profit.

Now I’d like you to think about your community - can you think of any other non-profit organizations or groups that help people or the community?

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Can you think of a way businesses can have a positive impact on their community?

Teachers, please put answers in the chat!

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Impact of Businesses

1. Impacting their Employees

2. Impacting the Communities

3. Impacting the Environment

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Impacting Their Employees

How businesses impact their employes:

Jobs and salaries
Training and skill development
Safe and fair working conditions

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Impacting Their Communities

How businesses impact their communities:

Create jobs for local people
Support local events, charities, and organizations
Provide goods and services people want and need

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Impacting The Environment

How a business impacts the environment:

Can reduce their pollution production
Use natural resources like water and clean energy
Can help the planet by going green

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Impact of Businesses

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Classroom Question

Tim Hortons restaurant owners work with the local community to find children that meet the selection criteria to go to camp.
These children attend either the Summer Residential Camp Program or the Winter Residential Camp Program.
The company aims to have thousands of economically disadvantaged children participate in Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation camps and programs each year.

Is this company doing a good job supporting…

Their employees?
Their community?
Their environment?

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Impact of Businesses

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Classroom Question

This multimedia company works at being “green” by having a daylight harvesting lighting system, green rooftop sections, a biowall of plant life, a rainwater harvesting system, and a three story slide for fun and quick exits at the end of the day!

Is this company doing a good job supporting…

Their employees?
Their community?
Their environment?

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Impact of Businesses

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Classroom Question

Restaurant employees receive at least 24 hours of training each year; its Red Seal apprenticeship program pays the full cost of knives, books, and technical training.
All employees can participate in leadership or personal development courses.
Employee awards include trips to Japan, France, and California.

Is this company doing a good job supporting…

Their employees?
Their community?
Their environment?

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Can businesses have a negative impact?

How?

Teachers, please put answers in the chat!

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Negative Impacts

Businesses can have negative impacts by:

Treating employees unfairly
Harming the environment by using to many resources
Sell products or services people have no need for
Cause challenges in the community, like noise

FALSE!

A teacher asks if you will take a co-op student next semester. You decide it will be too much work. Your business benefits the community.

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Our Business World

Lesson 3 – Why Do Businesses Change?

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Can you name any Canadian businesses?

Teachers, please put answers in the chat!

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Snowmobile

Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Valcourt Quebec, 1937

Polyethylene Garbage Bag

Harry Wasylyk, Winnipeg, 1950

Goalie Mask

Jaques Plante, Montreal, 1959

Electric wheelchair

George Klein, 1953

Canadian Inventions

Canadian Inventions are just some of the many new technologies people use today. As we will talk about today and next day, new technologies can change how we live our daily lives. Think about technologies you use now compared to ones people used before.

Can you think of a time when you or your family switched from one technology to a newer one? For example, many people moved from DVD’s or Blue-ray movies to streaming services like Netflix.

Sometimes new technology can feel unfamiliar or even cost more at first. So why would people still choose to switch? Often, it’s because the new technology makes life easier, saves time, or lets people do more things in a simpler way. Canadian inventions and businesses help create these kinds of changes by solving problems and improving everyday life.

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Canadian Inventions

Many Canadian inventions didn’t just stop at their first version - they kept improving over time as we can clearly see from the last slide to this one. Evidently, the Bombardier Ski-Doo started as a way to travel over snow, but today’s models are much faster, safer, and more comfortable, with better engines and technology. The garbage bag has also improved and now comes in stronger, stretchier, and even environmentally friendly options.

The electric wheelchair is another great example. Early versions helped people move around, but modern electric wheelchairs are more comfortable, easier to control, and designed to meet different mobility needs. The goalie mask, which was created to protect hockey players, has also changed over time and is now made with stronger materials and better designs to keep players safer.

These inventions improved because different people had different needs, ideas, and experiences. When businesses listen to many voices and design products for a wide range of people, their ideas get better. This bring us to our next topic, diversity in business, and why having different perspectives helps businesses create better products for everyone.

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Diversity in Business

Diverse: To show a great deal of variety

A diverse business has a variety of ways to generate income

- i.e. Lots of different products or services to sell

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Philip’s New Idea

Watch Philip the phone video slide 60 on the campus.

After the video, guide the class discussion using the following questions:

Ask: What was Philip hoping to do with his idea?

- Possible answer: Philip wanted to give customers more options for ordering juice.

Ask: What problem or need does this business idea solve?

- Possible answer: If people are heading to the park, they may want their juice ready when they arrive instead of waiting in line. Some customers might also prefer to pay ahead of time using technology rather than using cash.

Ask: Where might new customers come from?

- Possible answer: When a business offers more ways to order and pay, it often attracts more customers. In this case, people who like convenience and online ordering may be more likely to choose this juice stand.

Business ideas like Philip’s digital ordering system are called high-tech.

Ask: Do you think high-tech businesses always existed in Canada? Why or why not?

- Possible answer: High-tech businesses didn’t exist in the past because technology and knowledge of technology wasn’t available yet. As technology improves, businesses can do new and exciting things.

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Businesses That No Longer Exist

The Milkman

Human Alarm Clock

Lamplighter Business

Telephone Switchboard Business

Diversity in business is so important because businesses need to adapt and change as the world changes. If a business doesn’t shift its ideas, products, or services to meet new needs, it can struggle and sometimes even close down completely. When businesses don’t adapt, they can end up going out of business and no longer existing.

Some examples of businesses that no longer exist are:

The Milkman: Years ago, milk was delivered to home because people didn’t have large refrigerators and couldn’t store milk for long. As technology improved and grocery stores became more common, people no longer needed milk delivery.
The Human Alarm Clock: Before digital alarm clocks existed, people were paid to wake others up by knocking on their windows. Would that actually wake you up in the morning? Would you want someone doing that or would you want that job?
The Lamplighter: This person's job was to walk through the streets lighting lamps at night with a brass staff, and then walk the route again in the morning to put out each flame. Today, the streetlights turn on automatically, so that job isn’t needed anymore.
The Telephone Switchboard: This job connected every single phone call by connecting one wire to another wire so people could have a telephone conversation. Now, technology connects calls instantly without any human help.

All of these jobs were important at one time, but because businesses and technology changed, they eventually disappeared. Would you want to have any of these jobs? Why or why not?

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Can you think of any businesses that aren’t around anymore?

Teachers, please put answers in the chat!

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Businesses Need to Adapt

Netflix

Blockbuster

Netflix and Blockbuster is a great example talking about diversity in business and having to adapt.

Netflix actually started out like Blockbuster - they sent DVDs to customers by mail instead of having people go into a store to rent movies. But when Netflix saw the opportunity to adapt to new technology and start an online streaming service, they took it. People could now watch movies instantly at home without waiting for DVDs in the mail. Blockbuster, on the other hand, didn’t make this shift and stayed focused on their physical stores, and eventually most if not all of them closed.

This story shows how important it is for businesses to notice changes in technology, customer habits, and society as a whole. Businesses that adapt can survive and even thrive, while those that don’t risk disappearing.

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Classroom Question

For 2 minutes discuss as a class:

Can you think of a business that may no longer exist in the year 2040?

Teachers, please put answers in the chat!

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See you next time!

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Our Business World

Lesson 4 – Could I be an Entrepreneur?

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What is Innovation?

The development of a new product, idea, method, or way of doing things.

Innovation can result from creative thinking!

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Entrepreneurial Traits

Think Big

Invent

Adapt

Work Hard

Don’t Give Up

Recognize Opportunity

Use Technology

Collaborate

Believe in Themselves

Lead by Example

Entrepreneurs are people who starts and run businesses, and they often share certain traits that help them succeed.

They Think Big, dreaming of ways to make a big impact.
They adapt, which means they can change when things don’t go as planned.
They work hard and put in the effort to reach their goals.
They don’t give up, even when they face challenges.
They recognize opportunities - they notice problems that they can solve, or needs/wants that can be met.
They invent new products, ideas, or ways of doing things.
They use technology to make work easier or reach more people.
They collaborate, working with other to achieve more together.
They believe in themselves, knowing they can find a way to reach their goals.
And they lead by example, showing others how to act and inspiring them.

All of these traits help entrepreneurs turn ideas into real businesses and make a difference in the world.

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Hope Blooms

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Video

Hope Blooms

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Social Entrepreneurship

Profit – a social enterprise is still a business - it needs to make money to help solve problems or support people
People – these businesses care about their employees and the community they operate in.
Planet – they take care of the environment in every part of their business.

Social enterprises are special because they focus on more than just making money - they try to make the world a better place. But like any business, they still need to make a profit. Without earning money, they wouldn’t be able to help people or address a problem in society.

Next is people. Social entreprises care about their employees and the community where they operate. That means they try to improve the quality of life for everyone involved - making work fair and safe, and supporting people in the community.

Finally, there’s planet. Social enterprises take environmental responsibility seriously. They think about how their operations affect the world, from the materials that use to the waste they produce.

When a social enterprise balances profit, people, and planet, it can make money while also making a positive difference in the community and environment. That’s why programs like Hope Blooms are so exciting - they show young entrepreneurs how they can create businesses that do good while being successful.

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BINGO

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Review

How businesses start, with

Need or idea
Customers
Profit

How businesses can benefit their:

Employees
Communities
Environment
Or none of those!

How and why businesses change

Changing to adapt
Changing becauses people’s likes change
If they don’t change they might go out of business

How to be an entrepreneur

Innovation is important in business
Anyone of any age can be an entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurship makes a profit, but also helps people

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Thank You for Joining Me!