That´s my business!

The objective

To discuss a case-study of a business gone bad and decide on a reasonable solution

The language

Conditionals

Conjunctions: although, unless, by

Predictions: will or going to

To..., For...: purpose

Modals: can, should, might, may

The set-up

None needed, unless you wanted to research the topic a bit on your own to be better informed.

The low-down

Begin with a general class discussion asking if anyone knows someone who has started their own business and to describe the experience (why the started it, how they got capital, did they have any difficulties, etc.) Next, tell the class that you´re going to describe to them a case you know of someone who started a business but is having problems:

X worked for several years as a waiter and manager in several restaurants before finally deciding to start his own when he realized there was no restaurants in his town which offered creative cooking at affordable prices. He borrowed the start-up capital from a bank and hired a friend who was a good chef. The only space he could rent only allowed him to have ten tables. In addition, he had to hire two waiters to help him and a kitchen assistant to help the chef. The restaurant was successful from the beginning and tables always fully booked. The problem came when, after three months, X realized he was losing money!

Ask students to decide, in pairs/groups, why they think he´s losing money, what he should do to change things and make a profit and what the possible positive and negative effects would be from taking such action.

Now what?

Ask pairs/groups to present their ideas to the class. Ask the class to listen, take notes if necessary and ask questions to clarify. Make sure that each pair/group has fully thought out their ideas. For example, if a group says, "raise prices" then they should know that the negative effect might be that customers stop coming because X´s restaurant will be like all other expensive, creative cooking restaurants. So therefore, what will they do to differentiate themselves from the others? Invite groups to think further if others (or you) question their ideas and they don´t have answers. Finally, ask students to vote on the best idea.

Time to teach

Probably the most important aspect to focus on is the vocabulary--especially if you´re teaching a business class and they have difficulty with terminology needed.

More talk-time

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own business? If so, what would it be like?

Do you think it´s a good time to start a business? Why or why not?

Think of a successful business-person you know or have heard of. What was their secret to success?