Understanding Business: Ibrahim Kareem

Major Questions / Objectives:

1. What is a business?
2. How does a business operate?
3. What steps do I have to take to start my own business? / How to
make a successful business?
4. How to create a business plan?
5. What makes a business successful?

Objective 1: What is a business?

1. Individuals or groups engage in financial transactions, benefiting
both parties through the exchange of goods
2. An organization that is formed to operate some type of service or
commercial activity. The purpose of the organization can be for-
profit or NOT for-profit. For-profit: make a profit (financial gain,
the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in
buying, operating, or producing something. Nonprofit businesses
have to maintain assets in order to continue providing and
expanding services.
3. The type of commerce (buying / selling in a large scale) in which
someone engages, the industrial category of a business.
 The purpose of a business is to manage the economic
production of goods and services.
Objective 2: How does a business operate?
A Business Works by:
1. Interpeting the audience/market
1. Identifying the market/audience
2. Creating a product / service
 2. Distributing goods and services to the consumers of the
product.
3. Distributing the goods and services to the consumers of
the product / service.
Objective 3: What steps do I have to take to start my own
business?

 How to build an audience:

1. Document the process of what it is like to start your business.
2. Mention what you have learnt from the process.
3. Stating what sources were used to understand how to create a
business.

 As you are building a business, do not set any expectations to

gain something in return, in which this would help in building
an audience.
 Understand what type of market / audience you are targeting.
 Know what you have passion for, since if you don’t love what
you are doing, you are going to give up.
 To enjoy or gain passion for what you are doing target the
audience that you care about.
 Understand how you monetize what you love doing; so, let’s say
I like to cook, therefore, to monetize this I would start a
restaurant business.
 At first, when you have gained some knowledge, offer to work
as a kind of intern for someone that does not get paid to improve
your skills and gain experience.
 After working for a while and gaining experience/improving
your skills mentioned how you want to make your work a paid
 service, since your work would possess value towards the
person or company you are working for.
 Understand the value of your service.
 After making your services profitable, you then would want to
productize your services, for example lets such a private gym
coach offers to you to pay a certain amount of money to train
with him for a certain amount of time.
 Understand how to turn the thing you love doing into a product.

The Castle Method:

Step 1: Conceptualize
 Conceptualization/Ideation: the process of forming numerous
ideas or concepts.
 The Hedgehog Concept:

Step 2: Assemble Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product):

 An MVP is the simplest version of a product that can be built on
to make a sale in the market, and the purpose of the MVP is to
gain leads, or indicators of interest from the market for a
 product or service and this interest can be turned into a sale, and
at first these MVP’s should be for free.
Step 3: Shape Your Product Towards Product Market Fit:
 It is adjusting the product you have created to meet the wants of
the market, therefore you should understand the wants of the
market, since it would most likely lead to there being a sale for
your product in the market. Also, this means that at first your
product may appear different in your head from the final
product.
 Note: I believe that the MYP design cycle can be used in this
method:

The Difference between J-Curve and Non J-Curve Businesses:

J Curve Business: Sharp drop in profits that is followed up by a
dramatic rise in the growth phase of a business. (High Rise, High
Rewards)
 Non J-Curve Business: Linear growth; slower risk, steady, or
consistent growth.
Step 4: Launch Your Product:

 This step start once you have reached market fit.

 Launching you product includes:
1. Creating ADS.
2. Hiring influencers to advertise your product on social
media.
You are basically trying to inform people and let them
know about your product.

Step 4: Expand and Scale Up:

 Scaling expanding the number of markets in which your product in

sold.
Steps to be able to conduct research about your Business Idea:

 Understand your customers’ needs

 Identify potential problems with your product or service
 Lessen financial losses by helping you make more informed
decisions
 Find niche markets you may not have known about
 Set goals that can guide your business
Identify your target customers: You can do this by looking at who
benefits from your product. You’ll also want to look at factors like
age, location and even marital status.

Engage your audience: Once you know who your target customers
are, conduct surveys and talk to people directly to gain more
 feedback. Don’t overlook social media either, which can be the
perfect place to engage with them.

Look at competitors: Analyzing competing products or services

can give you an idea of what already exists in your industry. This
can help you find ways to improve your idea. It can also help you
target weaknesses in your product or service before you spend time
and money creating it. Be sure to note your competitor’s prices
during this process, which will give you a range of how much
customers are currently spending on similar products.
Objective 4: How to create a business plan?
Title page and contents: Investors use your business plan to get a
feel for your company. That’s why keeping it organized and easy to
navigate is helpful.
Statement of purpose: This summarizes your products, market and
business operation. It also states if you’re looking for funding or not.
Product descriptions: Explain each detail of your product or services
and how they benefit your customers.
Market analysis: Outline your target demographic, selling trends and
customer expectations.
Competitor analysis: This should highlight strengths and weaknesses
of companies that have similar products or services.
Writing a business plan is important because it can help you make
more efficient and strategic decisions. It also helps you focus on your
goals and strategies. Some other benefits of a business plan include
helping you with:
Finding potential weaknesses
Communicating your ideas to stakeholders
Organizing important information about your business
Hiring employees that are right for your company