Questions 1 – 3

Use information in the description below to answer Questions 1 to 3. Write your answer in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

Questions 4 -7

There are four advertisements on the next page for places to stay near Morpeth.

Answer the questions below by writing the letters of the appropriate advertisements in boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet.

Questions 8 – 14

Read the description below of the town of Morpeth and answer the questions that follow.

The best way to see Morpeth is to take the Morpeth Heritage Walk. This covers about three kilometres, and takes visitors past many beautiful historical buildings. Starting at Fig Tree Hill, which has picnic facilities, stroll past the Surgeon’s Cottage, built in 1845, formerly home of the local doctor, now shops. From there you will come to Morpeth Bridge, erected in 1870, which replaced a ferry boat. Opposite it on the right is the Courthouse, still in use today. Continue your walk past the historic Railway Station, then turn into George Street. Stroll past gracious houses until you come to the Church of the Immaculate Conception on your right, built of bricks made in Gosford. Continuing up George Street, you come to the shopping district; browse through the shops or stop for refreshment. Your tour of Morpeth will finish at magnificent Closebourne House, built in 1826 by Lieutenant Edward Close.

Many business and marketing courses require a knowledge of introductory statistics, computing or mathematics. If you feel inadequately prepared for your course, you can get help from the Numeracy Centre, which offers FREE elementary help in maths and statistics. Grab a timetable from the Centre and drop in when it suits you.

COURSE A

The first course available to students is a Revision Course in Basic Maths. This 3-hour lecture will review mathematical concepts necessary for elementary statistics, such as fractions, area and percentages up to a Year 8 level of mathematics. It is not necessary to book, so feel free to drop in. This session is FREE!

COURSE B

For those students doing marketing courses, and other courses requiring statistical analysis, there is the Bridging Course in Statistics for Marketing. This three-day course introduces ideas in elementary statistics to provide a starting point for further developments in statistical skills later on in other courses. The course is run in sessions of three hours, in the form of a one-hour lecture followed by a two-hour tutorial. Examples will be drawn from the reference books listed. The tutorials will be interactive where possible (eg. drawing random samples from the population of numbered cards in class) with hands-on experience of data manipulation using MINITAB on a bank of PCs.

COURSE C

Statistics for the Practitioner is slightly different to the previous course, which must be completed before this course. This course is largely non-mathematical.

It will instead concentrate on the interpretation and application of statistics rather than on computation. The statistical package MTNITAB will be used as a teaching tool. This course will be conducted over two days in the form of workshops and small group discussions, with a strong emphasis on hands-on experience of data manipulation using computers.

COURSE D

A further course of interest to many students is English for Computer Studies. Students with English as their second language who will be needing elementary computing for their courses are encouraged to enrol in this 8-hour course. Students will learn through workshops giving hands-on experience. The cost of the course is $15 which includes notes and refreshments.

What is a Business plan?

It is probably best described as a summary and evaluation of your business idea, in writing.

Preparation of a business plan is the first and most important task for the business starter. The plan should include details concerning the industry in which you operate, your product or service, marketing, production, personnel and financial strategies.

What purpose does it serve?

A business plan allows you to think through all the factors of a business, and to solve potential problems before you come to them. It will identify strengths and weaknesses and help to assess whether the business can succeed. It is a blueprint for starting, maintaining or expanding a business. It is a working plan to use in comparing your achievements to the goals you set. It should provide information required by financial institutions when finance is sought.

How to produce a Business plan

Step 1: Collect Information

Gather as much relevant information as possible concerning the industry in which you intend to operate (the number of businesses already operating, the size of their operations, where they are located). Use books, industry associations, and existing business owners to help you.

Collect all possible information regarding the market/s you are aiming for (who buys, why do they buy, what are the key features the customer looks for).

Learn all you can about the product/s or services you intend to produce, distribute or offer.

Step 2: Analysis

Read over all the material you have collected and decide what is relevant to your business idea. You may have to modify your idea depending on what your research shows. The key question to ask is:

“Can you design a business that will earn enough to cover costs and pay a wage and reasonable profit to you as proprietor?”

When Steps 1 and 2 are completed, you should have decided if there is a market for your product or service which is large enough and sufficiently accessible to make your new business financially worthwhile. Now you are ready to commit your plan to paper.

Step 3: Strategy Formulation

Decide how the business will operate. You should describe how the business will be managed, and the staff and organisational structure that will be in place. Diagrams may be useful to show how these areas will work. Don’t forget to include the areas of responsibility for each member of staff. This is especially important if some of your staff will be family members.

There are three further parts that go together to make a comprehensive business plan:

• A Marketing plan, which includes location, method of selling, packaging, pricing and so on. In all these areas you must be aware of consumer trends to make sure that your business does not become outdated or irrelevant.
• An Operational plan, which describes the day-to-day running of the business. You should include supply sources, cost and quantities of materials, processes, equipment and methods of extending the services or products offered.
• A Financial plan, which is a master budget for the operation and includes:

– cash flow forecast

– balance sheet

– profit and loss statement

– sources of finance

– sales forecast and target.

The financial aspects of the plan are most important and you should develop or access financial skills to make sure this part of your plan is accurate and realistic. Don’t forget set-up costs and the money needed to see you through an initial period of low cash flow when calculating your first year’s budget.

Update your Business plan

Nothing remains constant in business; circumstances change, markets change, fashions change, methods change.

From time to time you must check your sources of information and reassess your business plan. What is relevant when you start is not necessarily so in five years’ time. You may also need to revise targets and budgets if external factors (such as interest rates) vary.

Keep your information up-to-date and be prepared to change as circumstances demand. A business plan should be thought of as flexible, not fixed. If you use these steps to develop a business plan, changing it according to circumstances, you will be well on the way to a successful business.