This is about my business:

My business is going to be about teaching people advanced and beginner computers. Some of the things that I will be teaching include Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Windows Movie Maker. I would also teach a little bit of basic computer hardware. The economy is sluggish nowadays, and job competition is intense. Having “Proficient in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, and Movie Maker” on a resume will seriously bump you up in the eyes of an employer. During these times, it is good to upgrade your own skills so that you can blow away the competition.

My target audience will be anybody who is interested in getting a decent job. This therefore eliminates small children and people under 16 from my possible consumers. I think I may even continue to tutor computer programs for next year when many people will take BTT (I of course will have finished the course).

The reason that I did not focus on computer hardware is because it is usually harder to find jobs that require hardware knowledge, and because I am not an expert on it. My dad, however, is an expert on computer hardware. Some of the things that we could do involving hardware could include taking a computer apart, and identifying every part of it to the student.

I would start my teaching session by introducing them to the program and what it could be used for. Then I would go through the menubars, and the toolbars of that program. I would give my student two tasks to complete (write a short essay using Word, or list ten new things that you learned). If the student is interested, I may award him with a trial version of that program. I will then proceed to make a test for that student. When the student has completed a program course, I would award him with a certificate stating that he has done so.

I would teach a students by one hour each day depending on what they want to learn. Each course requires 5 hours of instructional time for it to be complete, except for Basic Hardware and Movie Maker which require 3 hours of instructional time. For one hour of Microsoft Word, I would charge $14. For one hour of Microsoft Excel, I would charge $14. For one hour of Microsoft PowerPoint, I would charge $14. For one hour of Adobe Photoshop, I would charge $15. For one hour of Adobe Flash, I would charge $15. For one hour of Adobe Dreamweaver, I would charge $15. For one hour of Windows Movie Maker, I would charge $14. For one hour of Basic Hardware, I would charge $16.

I would also have special combination offers. If the student wants to learn all three Microsoft programs, I would charge $200 (that’s five classes for each). If the student wants to learn all three of the Adobe programs, I would charge $215 (again five classes for each). If the student wanted to learn Windows Movie Maker and Basic Hardware together, I would charge them $130 (three classes for each). If the student wanted to learn everything, I would give them a value package of $530.

The maximum number of students that I could have at one time would be four students. This is because it would be hard for me to keep up with each of them.

There are some costs involved here. I will be working at my house so rent is not a problem. The students will come to me so transportation is not in play here either. Some of my costs would include the cost of the trial CDs. The cost of refreshments would also be a problem: water bottles and some chips (I want my students to come back). Another cost would be the cost of the paper and the ink to print the certificates and tests. I would also need to buy a small handbook or calendar to keep track of the days my students come and the money that I receive. The last of my costs would be advertisements: I would put up flyers everywhere (they cost money), and maybe host a website for my business.

Of course I would have some problems with this business. A possible problem could be me getting sick. In this case, I would put off my tutoring classes to a later date because I would not want my student to get sick aswell. Another problem could be the student not showing up to my classes. In this case I would arrange a later date for them to come here.
This is a working progress, and hopefully I will have more ideas for my business.