What Has Been Completed This Week And Summer Plans For Our Project!

For the past week, Jade and I have been working on some of the main key steps before getting started with our project which are the feasibility study and our business plan. Despite the crazy amount of work that has been assigned for the past two weeks, we still haven’t let the large amount of work affect our motivation and drive for this project!

What is a feasibility study?

A feasibility study is a type of analysis which is used to measure the ability and to successfully complete a project including all relevant factors. It must account for factors that affect it such as technological, economical, legal and scheduling aspects. Project managers use feasibility studies to determine the potential positives and negatives outcomes of a project before investing a considerable amount of money or time into it!

Here is a part of our feasibility study that has been completed throughout this week and was needed to be completed before we had gotten started with our project. This is the first page of the feasibility study, where names are required, if the priority of your project is high, medium or low and the description of your project.

In order to write a successful feasibility study, you need to ensure that you are very specific and you have an organized plan for what you are going to be doing in the future. While you write your feasibility study, some of the main requirements to fill are:

Project description:

Exposing the diverse youth of Costa Rica by offering a global cultural experience through activities , meaningful engagements and games that will enrich and diversify their mindsets through a variety of cultural experiences. Involving activities such as connecting the youth group through social interactions.

The strand of CAS meaning if your project is lead to more of a creative, active or service project.

Activity

The main purpose of your project

The purpose of this project focuses on the youth of Tamarindo to develop social skills and cultivate their knowledge of various cultural experiences.

Background (why does this project interest you?)

This project will give us the opportunity for personal growth while also utilizing skills amongst what the community offers. This exchange of knowledge will allow both sides to grow not only as an individual but as a community.

Main supporting evidence meaning (included interviews, research about other projects that are similar, websites)

Ashley Look: Director of Tamarindo Youth group ( Church )

Carolyn Herman: Workshop coordinator, vice president of board of directos

Some of the mentors/Advisors/Advocates that will help you with your project. Some of the major potential

Carolyn Herman

Kevin Herman

Amy Jacobs

Ashley Look

Silvana Zindovic

Nadja Imbert

Major Potential Benefits:

Cultural experiences

Community involvement

Social interactions,

Variety of Cultures

Safe and friendly environment

New faces

Anticipated Outcomes:

Create a safe environment for teens to have fun and interact socially through meeting new people and exchanging cultural experience.

Which of the 7 learning outcomes will be addressed?

1. Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth, 2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process, 3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS project, 4. Show commitment and perseverance in the CAS experience, 5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively, 6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance, 7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

Project Funding:

Mention what is the determined budget and the source of funding for this project!

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a strict and precise document filled with business goals, reasons on how they are attainable, and some of the main plans for reaching those goals. It also contains background information about the organization( project) and team in reaching these specific goals.

Since we’ve started this project, one of our mentors Ms. Amy Jacobs has assigned us to create a business plan with a given outline, the business plan is extremely important before getting started with our project because with the business plan we have an organized layout in order to determine the main plans of our project before getting started.

Outline of business plan:

• Name and address of the proposed business
• Cost of premises and the all other start-up costs
• Details of the owners and past business experience
• The type of business organization (sole partnership, etc.)
• Quantifiable goals and objectives of the proposed business or project
The product
• Details of the goods and or services being offered
• Supporting evidence showing why customers will pay for the product
• Where and how production will take place, (the equipment that will be needed)
• Details of the suppliers of resources such as raw materials or components
• Costs of production (the expected costs of operating the business
• Pricing strategies to be used
The market
• The expected number of customers or the forecast level of sales
• The nature of the market such as customer profiles and market segmentation
• The expected growth of the market in the foreseeable future
• Competitor analysis (market share, strengths, and weaknesses)
The finance
• Proposed sources of finance (how will the business be funded?)
• Break-even analysis
• Security (financial guarantees) in case the borrower defaults on the loan
• Cash flow forecast and steps to deal with cash flow problems
• Forecast profit and loss account for the first year of trading
• Forcast balance sheet showing the financial health of the business
• Forecast rate of return for investors
The personnel
• The number and job roles of the workers likely to be employed
• Organizational structure of HR
• Details of payment systems (wage rates)
The marketing
• Market research and test marketing
• The distribution plan, detailing where the products will be sold
• Details of the promotional mix used to target customers
• Any unique or distinctive selling point to differentiate itself from its rivals

This might look like a very large list but extremely worth it because once this has been completed, an organized layout of your project is sat in front of you and makes the start of your project much easier!

During this summer, one of my main focuses is writing about some of the few things I will be focusing on getting started with once school starts and what will be the first few things that will be attempted to be started with. I am very glad that Jade and I were able to find someone that will be able to supervise our project once we are out of the country, and we won’t need to worry about taking care of the location or the project once it’s on hold when we are out of the country! I can’t wait to get started with this project, we have a great head-start since we have our location, our feasibility study and business plan completed! Once I am back from Summer break, I will get started as quickly as possible, by meeting with some of our mentors and finding out with what we will get started with next!