Take My Liberty BUSI 336 Class

Liberty's catalog describes BUSI 336 as an overview of the principles of establishing an entrepreneurial venture, whether a for-profit enterprise or a nonprofit organization.

Week one introduces the field and asks each student for an Entrepreneur Self Analysis, worth 30, and a group track designation. Week two is about crafting business ideas and value propositions, with the group's Business Idea Definition and the first quiz.

Week three tests industry feasibility, week four product feasibility with a lesson on revenue forecasting, and week five the go-to-market strategy with the second quiz. Each produces a 60-point group analysis.

Week six covers financial feasibility, with a group analysis and a Draft Business Presentation, each worth 60. Week seven covers entrepreneurial strategies, and week eight social responsibility, readings from the Jerry Falwell Library, the Final Business Presentation, worth 100, and the third quiz.

Discussion boards worth 60 points fall in weeks one, two, three, four, six and seven.

Quizzes worth 50 points cover the readings in pairs of weeks.

Discussion boards carry 360 points, group analyses 300, the presentations 160, quizzes 150 and the self analysis 30.

BUSI 336 is taken alongside your group, since five graded pieces and the presentation belong to the team. Your share of each is prepared in the group's format and delivered early enough for the team to assemble it.

Discussion boards apply the week's topic to a real or realistic venture. A board on value propositions might compare why a meal kit company and a local farm share appeal to different customers; a board on financial feasibility might walk through startup costs and a simple break-even for a mobile coffee cart.

The Entrepreneur Self Analysis is drafted from your answers to a short set of questions about your skills, risk tolerance, experience and motives, so it reads as your own reflection.

Group analyses follow the feasibility sequence. Industry analysis uses market size, growth and competitive forces; product feasibility tests demand and the concept; the go-to-market strategy sets customers, channels and pricing; financial feasibility estimates startup costs, revenue and break-even.

For the presentations, your assigned slides and their speaking notes are prepared, including the faith integration and social responsibility sections if they are yours. Any recording or live delivery is yours.

The three quizzes are yours.

Pieces land early; submission is done by you or the team.

A BUSI 336 writer has launched a small business, worked in a startup or advised founders through a small business development center or incubator, usually with a business degree.

That experience keeps the feasibility work honest. Industry numbers come from real sources, product tests describe real ways to check demand, and financial estimates include the costs founders forget, from licenses to insurance.

Revenue forecasts and break-even figures are checked by a second reviewer.

Faith integration and social responsibility sections go to writers comfortable connecting Scripture to work, stewardship and service.

Your identity is held by the coordinator.

If a concept puzzles you before a quiz, such as the difference between a feature and a value proposition, a short explanation can be sent.

One writer handles your discussion boards and group shares, so your contributions stay consistent.

Group dependence is the first difficulty. Five graded analyses and two presentations depend on teammates who may be slow to choose an idea or divide the work.

The pace is the second. A group analysis is due in five consecutive weeks, beside a discussion board most weeks.

Numbers are the third. Revenue forecasting and financial feasibility ask students without accounting backgrounds to estimate costs and sales believably.

The fourth is honesty about feasibility. Groups fall in love with an idea and write analyses that ignore weak demand or tough competition, which graders notice.

The fifth is the final presentation, worth 100 points, which must integrate faith and corporate social responsibility as well as business content.

Students working full time find it hard to join group discussions at set times.

Nonprofit ventures raise their own questions about funding and impact that the for-profit examples do not cover.

Handed over before it opens, the class starts with the first discussion board ready and the self analysis questions sent to you.

Discussion boards arrive before their weeks open. Your group shares arrive a few days before each week closes, earlier if your team sets internal deadlines.

Your part of the draft presentation arrives early in week six, and your part of the final presentation early in week eight.

The quote lists six discussion boards, the self analysis, five group shares and two presentation shares. Quizzes and recordings never appear on it.

Late starters are costed only for what remains, after a look at the group's earlier work.

Group shares are priced by the size of your assigned part.

Many students hand over the discussion boards and group shares and enjoy delivering the pitch themselves.