Identity Island

Welcome to the Identity Island, a place where we talk about important things to make our business ideas successful. Today, we're going to learn about four important things: customers, cost, competition, and context.

Let's break it down in a way that's easy for us to understand.

First, let's talk about customers. When we start a business, we need people who want to buy what we are selling. It's like when we have a lemonade stand and we want people to come and buy our yummy lemonade. So, we need to think about who will want to buy our product or service.

Let's watch this 8 year old Treandos Thornton, CEO & Founder of T&N Bow Ties and Apparel share his story and inspiration. See if you can identify who Treados's customers are?

Now, let's talk about cost. When we make our product or provide our service, there are things we need, like ingredients or materials. We also have to think about how we will deliver our products to our customers. We need to make sure we can do all of this while still making enough money to keep our business going.

Next, let's think about competition. This means there are other people who are also selling similar things as us. For example, if we have a toy store, there might be another toy store nearby. We have to figure out how we can be different and better than the others, so that people will still want to buy from us.

Lastly, we have to think about context. This means if we are the right person to run the business and if it's the right time to start it. We need to think about what we're good at and if we have the skills to do it well. We also have to look at what's happening in the world and if it's a good time to start our business.

Watch 10-year-old Michah Harrigan is the CEO of his own lemonade business partner with Splenda.

Is Michah the right person to start this business?

Now, let's talk about our business ideas.

Do you think your idea will work? Why or why not?

Share with us why you think your idea will be successful or if you have any concerns.

Presentation

Oh don't forget about presentation! How you can make our business look great! How can you make it attractive using pictures, displays, or even nice smells?

How will your business booth stand out? Share your ideas and maybe we can give each other suggestions to make our businesses even better.

Reflection

Think about what you've learned about making our business look good and standing out from the competition. How can you use this information to plan for your business? Share your thoughts with us!

• Daily Debrief: Do you think your business idea will work? Why or why not?

• Booth Picture, Menu Board, and Business Name: Share how you want to make your business look nice and tell us the name of your business!

• Reflection: How can you use what you have learned about making your business stand out and competition to plan for your business?

Let's have fun and learn together on this exciting adventure of entrepreneurship!

The E-Ship Team