Entrepreneurship Merit Badge

Overview

By earning the Entrepreneurship merit badge, Scouts will learn about identifying opportunities, creating and evaluating business ideas, and exploring the feasibility (how doable it is) of an idea for a new business. They will also have the chance to fit everything together as they start and run their own business ventures.

Requirements

(1) In your own words, define entrepreneurship. Explain to your counselor how entrepreneurs impact the U.S. economy.

Resources: Why Entrepreneurs Are Important for the Economy (video), Why Entrepreneurship Is Important to the Economy (website)
(2) Explain to your counselor why having good skills in the following areas are important for an entrepreneur: communication, planning, organization, problem solving, decision making, basic math, adaptability, technical and social skills, teamwork, and leadership.

Resources: The Key Skills of Successful Entrepreneurs (video), The Entrepreneurial Mindset: From Kids to Entrepreneur (video), 6 Skills All Entrepreneurs Need (website)
(3) Identify and interview an individual who has started a business. Learn about this person’s educational background, early work experiences, where the idea for the business came from, and what was involved in starting the business. Find out how the entrepreneur raised the capital (money) to start the business, examples of successes and challenges faced, and how the business is currently doing (if applicable). Discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
(4) Think of as many ideas for a business as you can, and write them down. From your list, select three ideas you believe represent the best opportunities. Choose one of these and explain to your counselor why you selected it and why you feel it can be successful.

Resources: Business Ideas: Finding Your Niche (video)
(5) Create a written business plan for your idea that includes all of the following:

Resources: How To Write a Business Plan With 6 Easy Simple Steps (video), Writing a Business Plan (video)
- (a) Product or Service
- (1) Describe the product or service to be offered.
- (2) Identify goals for your business.
  
  Resources: How To Set SMART Goals for Your Business (Guide) (video), Achieve More by Setting Smart Goals (video)
- (3) Explain how you can make enough of the product or perform the service to meet your goals.
- (4) Identify and describe the potential liability risks for your product or service.
  
  Resources: Mitigating Risk & Managing Liabilities (video)
- (5) Determine what type of license, if any, you might need in order to sell or make your product or service.
  
  Resources: What Is Licensing (video), How To License your Business Idea Step-by-Step (video)
- (b) Market Analysis
- (1) Identify the types of people who would buy your product or service.
  
  Resources: How To Define Target Market and Customers in Business Plan (video)
- (2) Identify your business’s competitors, and describe their strengths and weaknesses.
  
  Resources: What Is a Competitive Analysis? (video), Advantages to Competitors (video)
- (3) Describe what makes your product or service unique.
  
  Resources: Unique Selling Proposition (video), 3 Strategies to Find Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) (video)
- (c) Financial
- (1) Determine how much money you will need to start your business, and identify how you will obtain the money.
  
  Resources: How To Build Financial Projections for Your Startup (video), How To Calculate Startup Costs (video)
- (2) Determine the cost of offering your product or service and the price you will charge in order to make a profit.
  
  Resources: PRICING STRATEGY: How To Find The Ideal Price For A Product (video)
- (3) Describe what will happen with the money you make from the sales of your product or service.
  
  Resources: Revenue vs Gross Income/Profit/Earnings vs Net Income/Profit/Earnings (Bottom Line) (video)
- (d) Personnel
  
  Resources: How To Create an Investor-Ready Personnel Plan and Forecast Employee Costs (website)
- (1) Determine what parts of the business you will handle yourself, and describe your qualifications.
- (2) Determine whether you will need additional help to operate your business. If you will need help, describe the responsibilities and qualifications needed for the personnel who will fill each role.
- (e) Promotion and Marketing
  
  Resources: How To Develop an Effective Marketing Strategy (video)
- (1) Describe the methods you will use to promote your business to potential customers.
  
  Resources: What Is Marketing in 3 Minutes | Marketing for Beginners (video), Tips for Elevator Pitches (video)
- (2) Explain how you will utilize the internet and social media to increase awareness of your product or service.
  
  Resources: Four Steps To Building Brand Awareness Through Social Media (video)
- (3) Design a promotional flyer or poster for your product or service.
  
  Resources: Canva Tutorial For Beginners | How To Design A Flyer in Canva (video), Canva Brochure Design Tutorial (video), How To Make a FLYER in Google Docs (video), How To Use Lucidpress to Make a Pamphlet or Brochure (video)
(6) When you believe your business idea is feasible, imagine your business idea is now up and running. What successes and problems might you experience? How would you overcome any failures? Discuss with your counselor any ethical questions you might face and how you would deal with them.

Resources: 15 Challenges Startups Face (and How To Overcome Them) (website), Understanding Business Ethics (video), Failures Are Lessons for Future Success (video)

Resources

Note: This is an unofficial archive of Scouts BSA Merit Badges that was automatically extracted from the Scouting America website and may contain errors.