Title: Develop a growth plan for a business.
Course: Entrepreneurship, Advanced (12053-II) > Section: Maintaining an Entrepreneurial Business

Development should include

- the five growth stages (i.e., existence, survival, early success, high growth, and maturity)
- the characteristics of the business during each stage and strategies for moving to the next stage.

Development should include both short- and long-term goals and should include the following components:

- Executive summary
- Introduction
- SWOT analysis
- Five Year Plan to grow and expand the business
- Financing plan
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Appendix

Process/Skill Questions:

- Why is it so difficult to persuade a bank to loan money to a company in its startup stage?
- What motivates an entrepreneur to work long hours, often with little or no financial reward?
- Why do most businesses never reach the stage of high growth?
- How do short- and long-term goals affect growth?
- Why is it important to research the growth plans of other companies that have achieved recent success in one's own industry and beyond?

Teacher Resources:

- DECA Competitive Event: Business Growth Plan