Paper Again: Writing a Short Business Plan, and a Project on an Ethical Rwandan Venture

25 min

A business plan is a promise on paper. It tells a bank, an investor or a SACCO what you will sell, to whom, how, at what price and with what money, and it shows that you have thought about what could go wrong. A good plan is short, honest and full of numbers. In this lesson you study a one-page plan for an imagined student business, learn to write a short report on a trial, and then start the unit project: designing an ethical Rwandan venture, one that makes a profit without harming people or the environment.

Section of a short business plan	What it answers	Language
1 Summary	the whole plan in three sentences	present simple; we will
2 Product	what you sell and what makes it different	present simple; adjectives of quality
3 Market	who buys, how many, who the competitors are	figures; comparatives
4 Marketing	the 4 Ps: product, price, place, promotion	will; we plan to
5 Operations	who does what, where and when	present simple; the passive
6 Finance	costs, price, break-even, profit	numbers; first conditional
7 Risks	what could go wrong and what you will do	unless; first conditional
8 Ethics	how the business treats people and the planet	must, will, never

A model one-page business plan

Written by Ganzaa. The business, the school and the figures are imagined and illustrative.

PAPER AGAIN: notebooks from recycled school paper
A student business at an imagined secondary school in Huye · Prepared by Mutesi, Gatete and Ishimwe, S4

1 Summary. Paper Again turns paper that the school throws away into notebooks that students can afford. We need 45,000 Frw to start. If we sell 60 notebooks a week, we will break even in less than three weeks.

2 Product. A 48-page notebook made from the clean backs of used printing paper, hand-stitched, with a cover cut from cereal-box card. Each notebook is stamped "100% recycled".

3 Market. Our customers are the school's students, who use about two notebooks a month each. The shop in town sells new notebooks; ours will be cheaper and recycled.

4 Marketing. Price: 500 Frw. Place: a table outside the library at break, twice a week. Promotion: posters made on our own notebook covers, a WhatsApp catalogue for parents, and one free notebook for every ten sheets of paper a class gives us.

5 Operations. Used paper is collected from the school offices with the bursar's permission. It is sorted, cut and stitched by the three of us on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

6 Finance. Start-up costs: a long-arm stapler (15,000 Frw), a paper cutter (25,000 Frw), needles, thread and glue (5,000 Frw): 45,000 Frw in total, from our savings. Cost per notebook: 200 Frw (cover card, thread, glue and collection). Each notebook therefore contributes 300 Frw.

$\text{break-even sales} = \frac{\text{start-up costs}}{\text{price} - \text{cost per notebook}} = \frac{45\,000}{500 - 200} = 150 \text{ notebooks}$

At 60 notebooks a week, we will break even in two and a half weeks. After ten weeks (600 notebooks), our profit will be 600 × 300 − 45,000 = 135,000 Frw.

7 Risks. Unless the school keeps giving us paper, we cannot produce: we will agree a written arrangement with the bursar. If the stapler breaks, we will stitch by hand until it is repaired. If sales are slow, we will offer notebooks to the primary school next door.

8 Ethics. We will share profits equally and keep honest accounts that any member can see. We will never claim that a notebook is new. We will reuse paper that would otherwise be burned, and we will not use plastic packaging.

Questions on the plan

What makes Paper Again's product different from the shop's?
Find two uses of the passive in section 5. Why is the passive suitable here?
Explain the break-even calculation in your own words.
Find the sentence with unless in section 7. Rewrite it with if … not.
Which ethical promise do you think matters most, and why?

Show answersHide answers

It is cheaper (500 Frw) and made from recycled paper, stamped "100% recycled".
Used paper is collected …; It is sorted, cut and stitched … The process matters more than who does it, as in a description of operations.
Each notebook brings in 500 Frw but costs 200 Frw to make, so it contributes 300 Frw towards the 45,000 Frw start-up costs; 45,000 ÷ 300 = 150 notebooks must be sold before the business makes a profit.
If the school doesn't keep giving us paper, we cannot produce.
Open answer, for example: honest accounts, because a business run by friends falls apart quickly if anyone suspects cheating.

Definition

business plan (n): a document that describes a business's product, market, marketing, operations, finances and risks.
start-up costs (n): the money needed once, before trading begins, for example for equipment.
break-even point (n): the number of sales at which revenue equals total costs, so there is neither profit nor loss.
ethical (adj): morally right; an ethical venture makes a profit without harming people, communities or the environment.
report (n): a document that looks back at what happened, with findings, conclusions and recommendations. A plan looks forward; a report looks back.

Worked example: a short report on a trial week

After their first trial week, the Paper Again team writes a one-page report for their teacher. Notes: sold 48 notebooks (target 60) · revenue 24,000 Frw · cost 9,600 Frw · customers liked the covers; some pages had ink on both sides · sold out on Tuesday, almost nothing on Thursday.

Introduction: purpose and dates. This report describes the first trial week of Paper Again and recommends changes.
Findings, with figures, in the past simple: We sold 48 notebooks, 12 below our target. Revenue was 24,000 Frw and costs 9,600 Frw, so the week contributed 14,400 Frw towards our start-up costs. (48 × 500 = 24,000; 48 × 200 = 9,600; 24,000 − 9,600 = 14,400.)
Conclusions: what the findings mean. Demand is real but uneven, and quality control needs attention.
Recommendations, with should and the first conditional: We should check every sheet before stitching. If we sell only on Tuesdays, we will save an afternoon for production.

Project: an ethical Rwandan venture

In groups of three or four, design a small venture that could really work in your community and that passes all five ethics tests below. You will write a one-page business plan, pitch it in one minute (Lesson 2), and, if your teacher agrees, run a one-week trial and write a short report.

Test	Question	Example
People	Are workers paid fairly and kept safe? Is no child kept from school by the work?	Members share profits equally; work happens after classes.
Planet	Does it reduce waste and pollution?	Reusing paper; no plastic bags, which Rwanda banned in 2008.
Honesty	Are the prices fair, the marketing true and the accounts open?	"100% recycled" is printed only because it is true.
Law	Does it follow the rules, and would it register and pay tax if it grew?	School permission now; online business registration later.
Community	Does it meet a real need and buy from local suppliers?	Cheaper notebooks for students; card from local shops.

Steps: (1) find a need in your school or village; (2) check your idea against the five tests; (3) write the eight-section plan, with real prices you have checked in local shops; (4) draw a break-even calculation; (5) pitch to the class panel; (6) optionally, run a trial and write a report.

Criterion	3 marks	2 marks	1 mark
Idea and ethics	A real need; passes all five tests, with evidence	A real need; some tests weak	Need or ethics unclear
Plan and figures	All eight sections; prices checked; correct break-even	Most sections; some figures guessed	Incomplete; figures wrong
Language	Accurate conditionals, unless, passives and business vocabulary	A few errors	Many errors
Pitch	Clear, one minute, answers questions	Some hesitation	Read from notes

Warning

Don't invent numbers. Check prices in real shops and say where your figures come from; label guesses as estimates.
Don't confuse revenue and profit in the finance section.
Don't leave out risks. A plan without risks looks careless, not confident.
"Ethical" must be shown, not claimed. Give a concrete practice for each test.

Tip

Write the summary last. Once every other section is finished, the three sentences of the summary almost write themselves: what you sell, to whom, and the one number that matters most.

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Practice

Match each sentence to its section of a business plan: (a) A notebook costs us 200 Frw to make. (b) If the stapler breaks, we will stitch by hand. (c) Our customers are the school's students. (d) We will never claim that a notebook is new.
Calculate the break-even point: start-up costs 60,000 Frw; price 800 Frw; cost per item 500 Frw.
Rewrite in the passive, as in an operations section: (a) We collect the paper on Mondays. (b) Two members stitch the covers. (c) The bursar checks the accounts every month.
Write two risks for a juice business at a sports ground, one with unless and one with if.
Write the "Findings" section of a trial report: sold 35 items at 800 Frw; cost per item 500 Frw. Give revenue, costs and the contribution towards start-up costs.
With your project group, complete the five ethics tests for your venture and write the eight-section plan (one page).

Show answersHide answers

(a) finance (b) risks (c) market (d) ethics.
Each item contributes 800 − 500 = 300 Frw; 60,000 ÷ 300 = 200 items.
(a) The paper is collected on Mondays. (b) The covers are stitched by two members. (c) The accounts are checked by the bursar every month.
Models: Unless it is sunny, few people will buy cold juice. If the fruit price rises, we will raise our price by 100 Frw.
Revenue: 35 × 800 = 28,000 Frw. Costs: 35 × 500 = 17,500 Frw. Contribution: 28,000 − 17,500 = 10,500 Frw towards start-up costs.
Answers will vary. Mark with the project rubric.

Quick check

Start-up costs are 45,000 Frw, the price is 500 Frw and each notebook costs 200 Frw to make. How many notebooks must be sold to break even?

Key points

A short business plan: summary, product, market, marketing, operations, finance, risks, ethics. Write the summary last.
Break-even sales = start-up costs ÷ (price − cost per item).
A plan looks forward; a report looks back: introduction, findings, conclusions, recommendations.
An ethical venture passes five tests: people, planet, honesty, law and community.

1A model one-page business plan

2Questions on the plan

3Project: an ethical Rwandan venture

A model one-page business plan

Questions on the plan

Project: an ethical Rwandan venture