Lately, the digital media class has been thinking deeply about business. We’ve discussed ways to improve our communities, and independently-owned local businesses can act as a great catalyst for community engagement. Local business owners earn influence and hold a stake in their towns. They also address the needs of their neighbors. Using this as our introduction, students formed their own business ideas. Then, they developed it by answering a series of real-life entrepreneurial questions. The following week, they made first drafts of flyers for their businesses to help flesh out their vision. Later, the students will develop these flyers in Gimp (a free, open-source version of Photoshop), so that they can be printed multiple times. We will continue to develop these business plans, and the best plan will be the feature of one of our first class projects: a commercial video that we will make as a class. If this project is a success, we may progress into making video commercials for local business in the area. This will be a great exercise to help us increase our understanding of digital media, design, and economic development. Below are the questions that the students considered for their business planning and the some of the flyers they designed.

Why am I starting a business?
What kind of business do I want?
Who is my ideal customer?
What products or services will my business provide?
Am I prepared to spend the time and money needed to get my business started?
What differentiates my business idea and the products or services I will provide from others in the market?
Where will my business be located?
How many employees will I need?
What types of suppliers do I need?
How much money do I need to get started?
Will I need to get a loan?
How soon will it take before my products or services are available?
How long do I have until I start making a profit?
Who is my competition?
How will I price my product compared to my competition?
How will I set up the legal structure of my business?
What taxes do I need to pay?
What kind of insurance do I need?
How will I manage my business?
How will I advertise my business?
(source: https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/how-start-business/20-questions-starting)