Startup on Paper: Plan a Dog-Walking Business

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Business and Personal Finance · Business / Marketing / Entrepreneurship
SP-BUS-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Startup on Paper: Plan a Dog-Walking Business
Business and Personal Finance · Business / Marketing / Entrepreneurship · Grades 10-12 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Calculators are optional.
Technology
Optional: basic calculators.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone with an optional partner share.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Calculators (optional)
Goal for today: Students will complete the key parts of a simple business canvas and calculate start-up costs and
payback time from given numbers.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Calculators are optional.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. This is a paper planning task only; no one needs to start a real business.
Say this to start
Every business starts as an idea on paper. Today you will fill in a simple business canvas for a made-up dog-walking
company called Paws & Pals, work out its start-up costs, and then plan an idea of your own. This is just planning, so
nobody needs to walk a dog or spend money.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Read the
directions and the business description aloud.
Follow along.
5–17
Tell students to complete the canvas table for Paws & Pals
using the description.
Fill in the blank boxes.
17–33
Tell students to complete the calculation questions 1–4.
Add costs and calculate weekly profit and
payback.
33–44
Tell students to sketch their own idea in the second table
and answer question 5.
Plan their own idea on paper.
44–48
Read answers aloud from the key. Students check the
calculations.
Correct mistakes in another color.
48–50
Collect the worksheets.
Hand in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students do not like the dog-walking example: they may use a different service idea for the second table.
• If a student gets a different payback time: remind them to round UP to a whole week because part of a week
still counts.

SubstitutePlans.com
Business and Personal Finance · Business / Marketing / Entrepreneurship
SP-BUS-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
• If a student wants to share a real business idea publicly: this is fine, but they should not include private
information about people.
• If the room gets loud, move to silent work.
Early finishers
• Add one more row of start-up costs to your own idea and estimate the total.
• Write a slogan for Paws & Pals.
• Think of one risk to your idea and one way to reduce it.
Support and challenge
• Support: Provide a calculator and work the first calculation with the class.
• Challenge: Ask students to find how many walks per week would be needed to pay back the start-up costs in
one week.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: