Entrepreneurs and record keeping
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Introduction
Students engage in a hypothetical dog-walking business to practise keeping a business journal and explain how, as entrepreneurs, they can use this information to improve their business’s performance and achieve business success. They learn that gathering data and using it to inform business decisions is a fundamental process of entrepreneurship. This includes keeping and analysing business records.
This activity provides a foundation for students to understand that successful businesses strive to meet their obligations, including ATO obligations.
Achievement standard
By the end of Year 7, students describe how decisions are made to allocate limited resources to individuals and communities in an economy. They describe the reasons businesses exist and types of businesses, and identify how entrepreneurial characteristics contribute to the success of a business. They describe the reasons individuals choose to work, how they may derive an income and the types of work that exist. Students identify the rights and responsibilities of individuals and businesses in terms of products and services.
Students develop questions to investigate an economic and business issue. They locate, select and organise data and information from sources. They interpret information and data to identify economic and business issues, trends or effects. They develop a response and identify potential costs and benefits. Students use economic and business knowledge, concepts, terms and sources to create descriptions and explanations.
Content descriptions
Economics and Business Knowledge and Understanding
The reasons businesses exist and how different types of businesses provide goods and services. (AC9HE7K02)
Characteristics of entrepreneurs and how these influence the success of a business. (AC9HE7K03)
Economics and Business Skills
Interpret information and data to identify economic and business issues, trends and economic cause-and-effect relationships. (AC9HE7S03)
Develop a response to an economic and business issue, identifying potential costs and benefits. (AC9HE7S04)
Create descriptions and explanations, using economic and business knowledge, concepts and terms, and referencing information and data from sources. (AC9HE7S05)
Teacher resources
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Entrepreneurs and record keeping
Student learning resources
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Now you’re in business
Suggested activity sequence
This sequence is intended as a framework to be modified and adapted by teachers to suit the needs of a class group.
- Use the visualiser to outline the concepts of businesses, entrepreneurs, profits, loss and how entrepreneurs use business records.
- Explain to students that they will be opening a dog-walking business.
- Ask:
- What risks might you encounter in this business?
- What earnings might you receive?
- What expenses might you have?
- Use a grouping strategy to organise students into groups of 2 or 4.
- Explain the task to students. If necessary, model the task to students on the board. In this example, the rate per each 10 minutes is $2.00.
Day Scenario description Money earned Expenses Total money Monday Cam – 1 dog, 40 mins $8.00 $8.00 Monday Bought a ball $5.00 $3.00 Tuesday Chi – I dog – 10 mins $2.00 $5.00 - Groups complete the worksheet.
- Invite groups to share their findings. Prompts, drawn from the worksheet, include:
- Did your dog-walking business make a profit or a loss in its first week? What actions could you take to increase your profits?
- What are some of the things you have to know in order to keep an accurate ledger?
- Why is it important to keep a ledger? How will keeping a ledger contribute to business success?
- Students write a short statement explaining why entrepreneurs gather data and use it to inform future business decisions.