A year-long, self-paced entrepreneurship curriculum spanning September to May for alternative education students in work-study placements. Students transform real-world work experience into a modular business plan and slide presentation.
Identifies core work tasks. Proposes a solid, plausible startup business with defined services.
Incomplete site observations. Startup idea is highly vague or unrealistic.
Phase 2: Target & Brand (Nov - Jan)
Excellent Customer Avatar profiling. Strong name, catchy slogan, and visually descriptive logo sketch.
Clear target customer profile. Clean name and business slogan. Completed logo concept outline.
Unfocused customer segment. Brand elements are missing or lack distinct effort.
Phase 3: Financials (Feb - March)
Itemized, well-researched startup tool list with correct prices. Logic-based pricing strategy and break-even calculations.
Determines essential tool expenses. Proposes standard pricing strategy and approximate profit margins.
Missing tool price points. Budget is incomplete or calculations contain major errors.
Phase 4: Pitch Deck (April - May)
All slides populated with crisp, custom content. Elevator pitch delivered with professional, fluent, and proud posture.
Presentation slides completed. Delivered a clear, timed 30-sec pitch to peers.
Unfinished pitch slides. Delivery lacks preparation or message is hard to follow.
Long-Term Portfolio Evaluation Final Grade: ________ / 100
[ Use this space for year-end summative remarks ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • TEACHER ASSESSMENT SUITE PAGE 2 OF 2
[ Show your division work here and write the total weeks needed ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 3 OF 8
Quarter 1 • Week 4
Mobile Gas Cost Math
Calculating vehicle fuel expenses for a mobile service business.
VOCATIONAL MATH
W-04
8 Fuel Usage Calculations
Imagine your mock business requires a car or truck to reach clients. Solve the fuel usage steps below.
Step A: Gallons Used = Miles Driven / Miles per Gallon (MPG)
1. If you drive 80 miles in a week, and your vehicle gets 20 MPG, how many gallons of gas do you use?
[ Calculate: 80 / 20 ]
9 Applied Math: Weekly Fuel Budget
Find the actual dollar cost of that fuel based on local prices.
Step B: Weekly Fuel Expense = Gallons Used * Gas Price per Gallon
2. If gas costs $4.00 per gallon, what is your total weekly fuel expense for the gallons calculated above?
[ Show multiplication work and write the final dollar cost: Gallons * $4.00 ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 4 OF 8
Quarter 1 • Week 5
Bottleneck Hunting
Isolating common daily struggles, hold-ups, or waste on your shift.
WEEK
W-05
10 Locating Workplace Waste
Identify a resource or tool that is regularly wasted or misplaced on your shift (e.g., throwing away shipping boxes, spending 10 minutes looking for keys, slow paper sheets).
11 Why Does This Friction Exist?
Is the hold-up caused by a bad layout, poor training, slow computers, or old equipment? Explain the primary cause in detail.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 5 OF 8
Quarter 1 • Week 6
The Spark of Service
Brainstorming a brand new business idea designed to solve shift struggles.
WEEK
W-06
12 Solving the Friction
Think of a simple mock business service you can run independently that directly solves the struggle you identified in Week 5 (e.g., mobile car detailing, on-demand document scanning, box recycling).
13 The One-Sentence Value Statement
Complete this simple sentence to define your service: "We provide [Service] for busy customers who need [Solution]."
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 6 OF 8
Quarter 1 • Week 7
Naming & Wordplay
Developing memorable, active business names using English word mechanics.
BUSINESS ENGLISH
W-07
14 Brainstorming Names (Alliteration & Puns)
Write down 3 potential business names. Try using alliteration (same starting letter e.g., "Rapid Recycling") or strong action verbs (e.g., "Apex Detailing").
Option A:
Option B:
Option C:
15 Peer Feedback Check
Ask 2 classmates or mentors which name is easiest to remember. Note down their comments on why it caught their attention.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 7 OF 8
Quarter 1 • Week 8
Slogan Crafting
Editing long phrases into precise, high-impact business slogans.
BUSINESS ENGLISH
W-08
16 Drafting the Slogan
Write out a long, messy description explaining why your business service is valuable.
17 Applied English Challenge: The 6-Word Rule
Great slogans are extremely short. Edit your long description down to exactly 6 words or less. Check your final word count by entering each word into a box below.
Slogan Word Count Check Grid:
Word 1:
Word 2:
Word 3:
Word 4:
Word 5:
Word 6:
[ Final Slogan Draft: Double-check that it makes sense when read together! ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q1 WORKBOOK PAGE 8 OF 8
WHY THIS MEETS CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS:
8 Professional Boundary Setting
Write down 1 thing your company will NEVER do to protect its reputation. (e.g., "We will never leave a job site dirty").
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q2 WORKBOOK PAGE 4 OF 8
Quarter 2 • Week 13
The Venture Motto
Developing a catchy company mission statement to secure buyer trust.
WEEK
W-13
9 Drafting Your Company Mission
Write down your main company motto or promise. Keep it to one concise, powerful sentence (e.g., "Mowing yards with precision, leaving homes clean").
10 Why Should Anyone Trust Us?
How does your background as a work-study student build unique credibility for your company? Explain the connection.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q2 WORKBOOK PAGE 5 OF 8
Quarter 2 • Week 14
Logo Blueprints
Drafting visual elements and shapes to establish your logo concept.
WEEK
W-14
11 Symbology Sketch Canvas
Draft simple visual concepts for your logo symbol or icon. Keep geometry extremely clean and bold.
[ DRAW VISUAL Blueprints OR SKETCH ICON HERE ]
12 Logo Shape Breakdown
What geometric shapes are used in your logo? (e.g., thick circles, sharp lines, stars). Why did you select them?
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q2 WORKBOOK PAGE 6 OF 8
Quarter 2 • Week 15
Color Theory Palette
Selecting the exact colors that convey your brand feelings.
WEEK
W-15
13 Selecting Brand Colors
Select a Primary Brand Color and a Secondary Accent Color. Write down the feelings that each color triggers in customers.
PRIMARY BRAND COLOR (e.g. Forest Green):
FEELING INDUCED (e.g. Trust, Safety):
ACCENT COLOR (e.g. Warning Yellow):
FEELING INDUCED (e.g. Alertness, Speed):
14 Aesthetic Match Validation
How do these colors support the adjectives you selected in Week 12? Explain why they fit your target audience.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q2 WORKBOOK PAGE 7 OF 8
Quarter 2 • Week 16
Brand Review
Consolidating all target audience and design traits into a finished identity blueprint.
WEEK
W-16
15 Quarter 2 Milestones Audit
Check off each completed phase block and summarize the biggest branding challenge you overcame this quarter.
Customer Avatar
Competitor Map
Color Scheme
16 Supervisor / Peer Sign-Off
Have a peer or shift colleague review your brand name, slogan, and logo design. Ask for their official signature.
REVIEWER SIGNATURE:
DATE OF REVIEW:
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q2 WORKBOOK PAGE 8 OF 8
W-20
7 Hourly vs. Flat Rate Pricing
Review the two primary pricing structures below. Select which one fits your mock business model and explain why.
MODEL A: HOURLY RATE
Charging clients per hour of active labor (e.g. $25/hour). Great for slow, unpredictable jobs.
MODEL B: FLAT RATE
Charging one single set rate per job finished (e.g. $80 per car detailing). Great for fast, skilled workers.
MY SELECTED PRICING STRATEGY & PRICE ($):
WHY THIS MODEL MAKES SENSE FOR MY TYPE OF WORK:
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q3 WORKBOOK PAGE 4 OF 8
Quarter 3 • Week 21
Unit Net Profit Math
Calculating exactly how much profit you make on a single service transaction.
APPLIED MATH
W-21
8 Subtraction Math: Unit Net Profit
When you sell a service, you must subtract the cost of disposable materials (like soap, trash bags, fuel) to find your Net Profit per job.
Formula: Price Charged - Cost of Disposable Materials = Profit per Job
Price Charged per Job ($):
[ From Week 20 ]
Disposable Material Cost ($):
[ e.g., $5.00 for soap ]
[ Do simple subtraction to find your Profit per Job: $ ]
9 Why Gross Revenue is Misleading
Why is it dangerous to think you "made $100" if you spent $40 on gas and soap to complete the job? Explain the difference between revenue and net profit.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q3 WORKBOOK PAGE 5 OF 8
Quarter 3 • Week 22
Overhead Tracking
Listing the recurring monthly expenses required to keep your business legally open.
WEEK
W-22
10 Monthly Recurring Bill Inventory
Estimate the monthly billing expenses for recurring needs (e.g. general liability insurance, software tools, phone bills, gas budget).
Recurring Monthly Bill Description
Monthly Price ($)
1. Software & App Subscriptions
2. Fuel / Monthly Gasoline Budget
3. Business Liability Insurance
Total Fixed Monthly Overhead:
$
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q3 WORKBOOK PAGE 6 OF 8
Quarter 3 • Week 23
Break-Even Math
Calculating exactly how many jobs you must complete each month to survive.
APPLIED MATH
W-23
11 Division Math: Overhead Break-Even
Find the exact number of jobs you must secure each month to cover your fixed bills from Week 22.
Formula: Total Monthly Fixed Overhead / Unit Profit per Job = Jobs Needed
Total Monthly Fixed Bills ($):
[ From Week 22 ]
Unit Profit per Job ($):
[ From Week 21 ]
[ Divide Fixed Bills by Unit Profit. Show your math and write total jobs needed ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q3 WORKBOOK PAGE 7 OF 8
Quarter 3 • Week 24
Financial Goals
Developing targets for weekly transactions to ensure you get paid.
WEEK
W-24
12 Establishing Personal Weekly Targets
Once you cover your business expenses, you deserve to get paid for your labor. How many jobs do you want to complete each week to earn your pocket cash?
MY TARGET JOBS PER WEEK (e.g. 5 jobs):
ESTIMATED WEEKLY PAYCHECK (Target Jobs * Profit per Job):
13 Quarter 3 Financial Review Sign-Off
Have a peer or instructor check your addition, subtraction, and division calculations. Secure their sign-off.
INSTRUCTOR SIGNATURE:
AUDIT DATE:
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q3 WORKBOOK PAGE 8 OF 8
BUSINESS ENGLISH
W-29
7 Rhetoric Transformation Exercise
Convert the casual speech slide below into a formal, active, and persuasive script statement.
CASUAL SLANG STATEMENT:
"Yo, we do awesome detailing so your ride looks clean as hell. Hit us up on Snapchat."
REWRITTEN PERSUASIVE RHETORIC:
8 Active Action Verbs List
List 3 action verbs (e.g., maximize, deliver, clean, build) you will use during your presentation to make your business sound energetic.
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q4 WORKBOOK PAGE 5 OF 8
Quarter 4 • Week 30
Cold Sales Email
Drafting a formal promotional outreach email to secure your first client.
BUSINESS ENGLISH
W-30
9 Outreach Correspondence Template
Draft an introductory sales email seeking your very first business client. Focus on clear spacing and professional salutations.
Subject Line:
Dear [Name],
Sincerely, [Name]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q4 WORKBOOK PAGE 6 OF 8
Quarter 4 • Week 31
Timed Rehearsals
Rehearsing your pitch script aloud and tracking elapsed speech time.
WEEK
W-31
10 Peer Feedback Log
Practice delivering your elevator pitch to 2 classmates. Record their suggestions below.
REVIEWER A TIPS:
REVIEWER B TIPS:
11 Speech Timer Math
An elevator pitch must be precisely under 30 seconds. Do 2 timed runs and record your seconds elapsed.
RUN 1 ELAPSED TIME:
[ e.g., 28 Seconds ]
RUN 2 ELAPSED TIME:
[ e.g., 29 Seconds ]
SOLO VENTURE BLUEPRINT • Q4 WORKBOOK PAGE 7 OF 8
Quarter 4 • Week 32
Final Showcase
Presenting your mock business pitch and completing your year-long portfolio.
WEEK
W-32
12 Summative Year-End Reflection
Look back at September. How has researching operations, branding, math, and pitch logistics altered your perspective on how real businesses function?
13 Final Blueprint Sign-Off
Your instructor’s signature below confirms successful defense of your mock business plan and completion of your portfolio.
