ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
High school students throughout Alabama are invited to participate in the first annual Alabama High School Business Plan Competition, sponsored by DSI Security Services and The Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute at The University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.
This competition is designed to give high school students the opportunity to gain experience in recognizing profitable opportunities and developing business plans to capitalize on these opportunities. Student teams can consist of anywhere from one to three members, each of whom should be a junior or senior enrolled in a public or private school or should have equivalent standing in a home schooling program.
Members of the top two teams will each receive scholarships to The University of Alabama of up to $1,000 per member, depending on the number of members per team, which can be used in any area of study.
The competition will occur in two rounds. In the first round all teams will submit a one to three page, single spaced mini-plan by February 1, 2008. The plan should consist of a discussion of the business idea including a brief description of the business, where it is/would be located, what it would sell or what service it would provide, a discussion of who would purchase the product or service, a justification of why customers would want to purchase the business’ products and/or services and why the students on the team are the right people to make this business successful. Judges will choose up to 12 plans from the first round submissions to move into the second round. Students whose plans are chosen to move to the next round will be invited to a workshop at The University of Alabama that will be held on February 23rd, 2008. This workshop will give students the opportunity to work with business professionals and professors from the University of Alabama on further developing their business ideas. These twelve teams will then be invited back to campus on March 22nd, 2008 for the final round of competition which will include each team presenting a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation and submitting a 10 page business plan. The winners will be announced at an afternoon luncheon on March 22nd which will feature a special guest speaker.
Guidelines
Eligibility: High school students who have Junior or Senior standing at a public, or private, high school in the State of Alabama, or home school students who are residents of the State of Alabama and who have equivalent standing in their course of study.
Team Size: Teams may consist of up to three members.
First Round Submission: Teams should submit a mini-plan that is from one to three single spaced pages by February 1, 2008. This plan should be emailed to lmarino@cba.ua.edu and should consist of a discussion of the business idea including a brief description of the business, where it is/would be located, what it would sell or what service it would provide, a discussion of who would purchase the product or service, a justification of why customers will want to purchase the business’ products and/or services and why the students on the team are the right people to make this business successful.
Second Round Submission: Twelve (12) teams from the first round will be invited to continue into the second round which will include attending a one day work shop at The University of Alabama which will be held on February 23rd, 2008. Following this workshop, these teams will submit a 10 page business plan by March 22th 2008, and will attend the finals round on March 24th, 2008 where they will present their plans to a panel of judges.
For Additional Information please contact:
Dr. Lou Marino
Frank Mason C&BA Faculty Fellow in Family Business
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
University of Alabama Department of Management and Marketing, Box 870225
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0225
(205) 348-8946 (Phone), (205) 348-6695 (Fax)
Email: lmarino@cba.ua.edu