TRICKY BUSINESS 2

PROGRAMME 7: FIVEZ

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

These activities support a mix of individual, paired and group work. You may wish to revisit the 'before viewing' activities after watching the programme.

Before viewing

Do this calculation: 24 x 7 =? This is the number of hours in a week. How many hours a week do you think that it is reasonable to spend working? How many jobs can one person do in a day?

The Working Time Regulations state that the average working week should be no longer than 48 hours (although people can choose to do more), that workers have a right to 11 hours rest a day and one day off a week. Discuss whether it is possible for entrepreneurs starting their own businesses to follow these Regulations.

Give examples of, and explain, the term 'niche market'.

Explain what a 'business champion' does.

Explain the difference between a councillor and a council official. Which of these has most say in what a council does?

After viewing

To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately, the clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.

The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing descriptions to help identify the intended scene.

Fivez basics
Clip one: 02:10 – 03:19

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Twenty-three-year-old economics graduate Stuart Mitchell is football mad.'
• Closes with the narrator saying, 'It makes a real difference to the people who play.'

Watch this clip. Discuss and answer the following questions:

• What does Fivez do and how does it work?
• What is its unique selling point?
• How does Stuart believe that Fivez makes a difference to local communities?
• Is Fivez a successful business?
• Is Stuart a real entrepreneur?
• Paul and Stuart are related and live 300 miles apart. What business problems might they encounter and how can they overcome them?

Marketing
Clip two: 08:08 – 09:57

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'If Stuart wants to expand the business, he must start a marketing campaign and get more leads set up.'
• Closes with Stuart saying, 'They were really interested to get me in and discuss what we're doing in the area.'

List and evaluate the marketing techniques that Stuart uses in this clip. Which are the most cost-effective? Which have the greatest market reach? Discuss whether Stuart is the best person to market Fivez and, if not, to whom he could turn for help. Present your ideas in the form of a report to Stuart. The report should have three sections:

• an explanation of the purpose of marketing
• an evaluation of the marketing techniques that Stuart uses
• recommendations for action.

Share, review and discuss your report with others.

Profile building
Clip three: 10:23 – 11:53

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Fivez is finally starting to expand but as John feared, Stuart is stretching himself thin.'
• Closes with John Boyle saying, 'But Stuart is building a business and he must get his time management right.'

Explain the business value of the award that Stuart receives for his charity work and why John is concerned about his time management. In pairs, suggest other methods that Stuart could use to build the profile of the business, evaluate them and identify the ones that make best use of Stuart's time. Share and discuss your ideas with the rest of the group.

Working with publicly funded bodies
Clip four: 12:24 – 13:29

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'Stuart's found this problem before. The councils are not keen having businesses profit from their funds.'
• Closes with Stuart saying, 'Basically, yes.'

Discuss how local councils are funded, who contributes most money, why some council leisure facilities are under-used and whether Fivez should be allowed to rent council-owned pitches. If you think that Fivez should be allowed to rent council-owned pitches, develop a business case for Stuart to use in his discussions with council representatives. If you think that Fivez should not be allowed to rent council-owned pitches, develop a list of points for council representatives to use when rejecting Stuart's proposals. Find someone who opposes your view and role-play the discussion between Stuart and a council representative. Share and discuss the highlights of your role-play with the rest of the group.

Getting a foot in the door
Clip five: 16:43 – 19:04

• Opens with Stuart saying, 'To give you some statistics on our players, we recently carried out a survey from the University of Stirling.'
• Closes with John Boyle saying, 'Stuart must remember to press this point home when talking to the councils.'

Make a list summarising the advice that John and his associates give Stuart. Review the list and explain how each action point will help Stuart to promote his business and gain access to council-owned football pitches. Discuss why Stuart has not taken this action before. Devise a contents list for an information pack that Stuart can give local council representatives. Select and create one item from your list. Display and discuss your ideas.