Summary 0
SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………………………pag 0 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………pag 1 BUSINESS………………………………………………………………………………………………….pag 2 UP-CYCLING………………………………………………………………………………………………pag 8
Introduction 1 This guide was made by a group of 36 young adults from Romania, Spain, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Italy, who met in the Romanian city of Iasi with the desire to learn more about up-cycling, business and have fun in the process. In the beginning everyone was frightened of doing something new. In the process we learned a lot, not only about other cultures, but also about ecobusiness and many, many ways to use “trash� for creating beautiful things out of it. After eight long days we came up with this guide to help other youngsters who want to learn how to make the first step. If you are a young artist or a creative person who wants to change something small in our big world, then we think that this guide is for you. We want to present you helpful tips and tricks we have collected during the project. EcoBusiness vol. 2 Team Iasi, Romania September 2013
Business 2 IDEA?
YES!
MAKE A FEASIBILITY PLAN
NO?
BE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE!
WILL IT WORK?
NO You can be unemployed (as more than 40% of young people)
MAKE CHANGES AND TRY AGAIN!
YES!
BUSINESS PLAN
START
HOW? DON’T WORRY THIS GUIDE WILL GIVE YOU TIPS AND NEW IDEAS
??? business
Business
3
The organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money. Every business requires some form of investment and enough customers to whom its output can be sold on a consistent basis in order to make a profit.
WHEN I GOT THE IDEA, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
You should make sure that the idea can be implemented and profitable. FEASIBILITY PLAN A formalized written approach to evaluate your idea that can help you identify if it is viable or not, useful facts and figures to aid decision-making and alternative approaches and solutions to putting your idea into practice.
Business 4 The Market (is there a market for your idea?)
Product/Service (describe your product or service and its benefits for the customer)
Feasibility plan
Price and profitability (how will you price your product/service?)
You will end up with an independent view of your idea, potential and you will be able to make informed decisions about how it could be launched.
Plan for future action
BUSINESS PLAN
Business 5 THE COMPANY Mission Statement Goals and Objectives Legal form
PRODUCTS&SERVICES Competitive advantages Features Level of quality
MARKETING PLAN Market research Industry, Current demand, Market size, Niche, Trends Customers Competition, Features and Benefits, Barriers Marketing strategy
OPERATIONAL PLAN Location Suppliers Production, Inventory, Personnel Legal environment, Permits, Trademarks, Copyrights/Patents
MANAGEMENT&ORGANISATION Board of directors Employees FINANCIAL PLAN Sales Forecast Break-even analysis Cash Flow Profit and Loss Projection
BUSINESS PLAN
Business 6 How did you start? It's a passion I’ve always had, so I decided to transform this hobby into a profession. I started selling my creations in the street markets. Then, in order to have more visibility, I created a Facebook Page (by Nadia) and a blog (bynadialab.blogspot.it). I'm just at the beginning and I hope to be able to open my own shop where I can expose my creations and also organise workshops.
NADIA MANGIONE 26 years Italy
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES
www.blackshapeaircraft.com
www.academy.telerik.com
Business 7 Telerik Academy is an initiative started by 3 Bulgarian guys who graduated from American university in Bulgaria. Nowadays the firm is one of the leaders on the IT market. Telerik Academy offers free IT courses to people so they also have a big social impact.
Blake Shape Two young Italians create a new kind of plane, starting from their project. They found investments and now their plane's prototypes are required all over the world.
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES
??? UP-CYCLING
Up-cycling 8 Up-cycling is the process of adding value to already used materials and creating new commodities out of them.
WHY SHOULD YOU START YOUR OWN UP-CYCLING BUSINESS? If you are a creative person with passion for arts, then this is the job for you. You will be able to make your dreams come true. You should be an active person in the market, who creates opportunities and does not wait for them. And who does not want to have money?
Up-cycling 9 You can easily compete with the current market because your products can be cheaper than those of high brands. There are still not many people in the market of up-cycling products and people are becoming more and more eco-friendly.
You don´t need a lot of funds to start the business. The raw materials are cheap or free and they can be easily obtained.
You don´t have to pay rent from the start and you can sell your products on the internet or in the street markets.
IT´S EASY TO START TO DO UP-CYCLING
Up-cycling 10
BE YOUR OWN BOSS Many people try to join an already established company after finishing their study. If you think that you should try something different, you will find that having flexible work hours may be better for you.
www.terracycle.com
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES
They collect garbage that people send to them in order to create a list of items and articles to sell.
Up-cycling 11 BE CREATIVE Everyone can think outside the box. Do things that you like and enjoy, other people ASK FOR HELP FROM will like them too. YOUR FRIENDS. They can promote your new business, help you with Look at examples things you are not good at for designs in and give you support when nature and on the you need it. internet. You should not discover America every time. Colomb did it for you. TIME IS MONEY, SO SPEND IT WISELY.
EVERYTHING CAN BE USEFUL. Plastic bottles, taps and plastics bags are things that you can acquire cheaply and turn them into useful beautiful products.
HAVE A PLAN AND THINK BEFORE YOU ACT. If you are not sure about something, spend more time researching the available opportunities.
IMPROVE YOUR UP-CYCLING
Up-cycling 12 Shopping bags made from plastic. Every family goes shopping on a daily basis. If you want to be more ecofriendly, you can create them from easily recycled materials.
Souvenirs can be made from pretty much everything around you.
Clothes are another good example of things that can be sold with a big profit margin. Things like hats, scarfs and T-Shirts are not that hard to make.
EXAMPLES
Up-cycling 13 Accessories are an easy sellable item during all the seasons. And all the youngsters (and not only) like them.
You can take some old furniture and transform it into new and better looking one.
Reuse glass for vases, aquariums or whatever.
WITH A BIT OF IMAGINATION, YOU CAN TAKE EVERYTHING AND RETURN IT BACK TO LIFE
Project funded through the Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission. This material is made by P.O.D. Association and the European Commission and the National Agency cannot accept any responsibility for the content or the use of this material.
BE CREATIVE AND TAKE INITIATIVE TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS
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