ENT 4412 – ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE
COURSE RESEARCH PAPER
1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to enable you to apply the concepts and ideas that you learn in
class. Its intention is to complement your understanding of the measurable objectives. It is good
practice on performing research, using the li
ary and internet, organizing and presenting you
ideas in writing and creating a presentation to inform and convince others about your conclusions.
It is an individual research paper.
Florida National College is embarking on a Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) named ’Write
it Right’ to improve writing skills of the student body. In order to align with this program I
will be stringent in grading these papers to insure they meet the requirements stated below. I
strongly suggest you visit the Writing Lab in Room 413 at the Hialeah Campus for help with
writing your paper.
2 TOPIC
You will be required to develop an opening, management, and financing plan for an entrepreneurial
firm. The firm you choose can be at any stage of development: startup, early stage, growth, ma-
ture, etc. At the heart of any new venture is an idea for a product or service, and the belief that
it is achievable. To begin this project, students need to determine their area of interest from
which to create a viable business. A good business plan is essential to leading entrepreneurs to
a strong strategy and successful execution of a business endeavor!!!
The plan should be a cohesive, well-written document that analyzes and presents sections such
as the following:
1. Executive Summary
2. Management and Organization
3. Product or Service Plan
4. Marketing Plan
5. Operating and Control Systems
6. Growth Plan
7. Financial Plan
8. Supporting Documents/Appendices
You may find and use Business Plan templates found on the Web. The following are very good on-
line resources: http:
www.score.org/ , and also http:
www.sba.gov/ . Within these two sites, in-
vestigate http:
www.score.org
esources
usiness-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery
, and http:
www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business.
Support your work with citations, including at least three sources from outside of the text used
for this course.
3 DEADLINES
Refer to the “Assignments” tab for the paper submission due date. LATE WORK WILL NOT
BE ACCEPTED.
1
http:
www.score.org
http:
www.sba.gov
http:
www.score.org
esources
usiness-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery
http:
www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business
4 ORGANIZATION
Write the research paper in APA format. This format includes: title page, identifying the subject,
the authors, the course, professor, term and date. Following are the introduction, statement of
objectives, na
ative body, conclusion and finally the bibliography. If you need help with APA
style there are excellent resources in the Florida National College li
ary and in the Writing
Lab located in Room 413 at the Hialeah Campus. In addition, the following is a very good
online resources: http:
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl
esource/664/1 For help with citations visit
http:
www.citationmachine.net/. Many students lose grade points because they do not take the
trouble to structure, footnote or provide the paper and bibliography co
ectly in APA format;
don’t let this be you!
Excluding the title page and bibliography, your paper should be five to seven pages in length
double-spaced. You could add one or two more pages if you need them for your arguments. Less
than five pages would not be enough for full explanation of the issues. Times New Roman, font
size 12. A PowerPoint presentation is not a paper and will not earn any grade. You must submit
your paper via email on or before the due date.
5 GRADING
As stated in the Syllabus your Research Paper is worth 25% of your grade.
Your paper grade is based on six criteria: Quality of research - 15 points; Organization and
clarity - 15 points; Quality of analysis - 20 points; Grammar, spelling and punctuation - 15
points; Topic and questions fully addressed - 15 points; Paper formatted in APA format - 20
points Work submitted late will not be accepted.
6 OTHER GUIDELINES AND NOTES
I expect this assignment be written at college-level. That means that it should have few, if any,
grammar and usage mistakes. It is your responsibility and to your benefit to learn to write such
papers. There is a difference between speaking and writing; I require papers that respect the
ules of writing. Attend one of the tutoring classes offered at Florida National College or do
a Google search if you are unclear about the writing rules. Assignments that do not meet this
standard will be graded down accordingly.
If you are the only one that has read your paper, it is a draft, not a completed work, and this
will be reflected in your grade. Grammar mistakes are a clear sign that you have not shown you
paper to anyone. Spelling mistakes are sloppy work and will not be tolerated in this age of word
processing spell checkers. There is no excuse for Microsoft Word to underline it in red unless it
is a technical term or a proper name.
Wikipedia is a helpful starting point, however, it is not acceptable as a source to cite. If you want
to use the information in your paper, figure out where Wikipedia got it from and cite that afte
making sure the information is there. All information on the web is not necessarily co
ect! Use
websites maintained by official organizations when possible. Support your work with citations,
including at least three sources from outside the text used for this course.
Finally, I encourage you to prepare an outline to clarify your ideas and organize your paper. I
will give you feedback on your outline and draft provided you submit them to me at least one
week before the paper due date. Start your paper early so that it can clearly reflect your abilities.
2
http:
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl
esource/664/1
http:
www.citationmachine.net
7 UNPLEASANT STUFF
Plagiarism and other academic misconduct, such as cheating, is unexcusable and will not be
tolerated. Plagiarism is defined in the Florida National College Student Handbook as:
Plagiarism is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work by representing
the work of another as one’s own without the necessary and appropriate acknowledgment. More
specifically, plagiarism is: The act of incorporating the ideas, words of sentences, paragraphs, o
parts thereof without appropriate acknowledgment and representing the product as one’s own work;
and The act of representing another’s intellectual work such as musical composition, compute
program, photographs, painting, drawing, sculpture, or research or the like as one’s own.1
If you are still unsure of what plagiarism is, review the rules of original writing at http:
owl.
english.purdue.edu/ and http:
www.indiana.edu/~istd. These sites give excellent information
and provide examples of plagiarism. Please note that collaboration with other students is a form
of plagiarism and is not permitted unless I give you permission to do so. Still in doubt? Check
with me or with a li
arian.
I have ways of checking, and will check every paper, for plagiarism. If I find that you plagiarized,
even in innocence, your grade for the paper will be an ’F’.
You have been warned and, yes, it is harsh. This is a College level course. If you cheat, did you
eally learn how to write a research paper?
1http:
www.fnc.edu/contents/publications.htm
3
http:
owl.english.purdue.edu
http:
owl.english.purdue.edu
http:
www.indiana.edu/~istd
INTRODUCTION
TOPIC
DEADLINES
ORGANIZATION
GRADING
OTHER GUIDELINES AND NOTES
UNPLEASANT STUFF