1.1.1. The dynamic nature of business

From Edexcel

Why new business ideas come about:

• Changes in technology

• Changes in what consumers want

• Products and services becoming obsolete

How new business ideas come about:

• Original ideas

• Adapting existing products/services/ideas

An additional note from the exam board to teachers about this unit

• Why new business ideas come about is new and introduces students to the idea that businesses are dynamic and need to evolve to survive and grow.

Lesson objectives

• To be able to discuss the reasons why a new business idea may come about

• To be able to identify how new business ideas may either be original or an adaptation of existing ideas

Starter

• What things have you bought recently?

• Why did you want this item?

What is a product?

• A product is anything that is capable of satisfying customer needs

• Physical products– Cars

– Washing machines

– X box consoles

– Mobile phones

What is a service?

• A service is an act that a business person carries out for you in exchange for money, for example:

– Dental treatment

– Accountancy

– Travel agents

– Gardening

– Cleaning

– Hairdresser

• You cannot “touch” a service it is “intangible”

Discussion time

• Why do you think new business ideas for products and services come about?

Why new business ideas come about: Changes in technology

Changes in technology• Since the invention of the Internet in 1990

businesses have found a new cheaper way to reach the consumer – online

Video on Amazon

Have you bought anything from Amazon?

Changes in technology

• Small businesses are now able to set up and sell virtually anything online due to websites such as ebay, etsy and ebid

Video on eBay

Have you bought anything from eBay?

Changes in technology

• New technology advancements in VR (virtual reality) mean there are lots of new products on the gaming market:

Changes in technology

• Advancements in robotics will mean dozens of new products in the future:

Activity – work out what your wants and your needs are, are they the same?

Changes in technology

• Businesses can use social media to find out what consumers want and need so that they can produce products and services to meet those wants and needs

How many social media

sites and apps can you

name?

Why new business ideas come about: Changes in what

consumers want

Changes in what consumers want

which of these products do consumers no longer want?

Changes in what consumers want

• Consumers are now demanding wearable technology

How many wearable

technology devices can you name?

Changes in what consumers want

• We are all working more and have less time, so the ready meal market is catering to these consumer needs

Changes in what consumers want

• Consumers are also demanding organic, free range, sustainable, eco friendly products as we become more aware of our impact on the environment

Change in tastes and trends

Consumer tastes change over time which means that a business is at risk if they don’t keep up with current trends.

Investigation

• Use a computer to find out about:– New products for 2016 / 2017

• Get ready to share the information you have found with the rest of your group

• > Can you divide these into categories such as “wearable technology” rather than individual products, as a group how many categories did you identify?

Why new business ideas come about: Products and services

becoming obsolete

What does obsolete mean?

• A product that is no longer used or out of date

• For example we can make a product obsolete by replacing it with something better

Obsolete products – can you name the product that has replaced them?

Video dot matrix printer

How new business ideas come about: Original ideas

Original ideas

• Original ideas are ones that have not been used before to put a product or service into production e.g. pet hotels

• This may be to solve problems• It may be because an entrepreneur has a passion

or interest• A gap in the market may have been spotted• A business may have carried out some research

into the wants and needs of shoppers and be creating products to meet those needs

Original ideas – solve problems

• This is Art Fry – he invented the post-it note by accident

• Originally it was called the press and peel

• It was yellow as he had yellow paper to hand

• He invented it to keep the page open in his hymn book

Original ideas – gap in the market

• A successful business will be one that spots and opportunity to make a profit

• This could be an idea that no-one has thought of before – for example Trunki luggage

• The opportunity could be where there are lots of businesses already making a healthy profit

• The entrepreneur may also spot an opportunity to trade and also make a difference to society –this is called a social enterprise

Original ideas – share a passion

• Alexis Oladipo from Hackney, loves cooking and experimenting with food

• But desperate to make ends meet she worked for a year cleaning offices

• She then had a 'eureka' moment and set up a healthy food range

• LINK TO ARTICLE• LINK TO WEBSITE

Original ideas – spot a gap in the market• Rob Law was 21 when he had the idea to combine a toy

with luggage to create a “Trunki”• Came up with the idea when he looked round a

department store and had a college project to design some luggage

• 2006 Started “Magmatic” business on his own• Now employs 80 people in a Devon factory• Sold 2.8 million products in 100 countries• LINK TO ARTICLE• LINK TO WEBSITE

LINK TO VIDEO

Original ideas – carried out research• Vet Joe Inglis and 7 friends

realised that there were 8.5 million dogs in the UK and 4 out of 5 owners treat the pet as one of the family and want the best food possible

• They created a niche business which makes tailored food to the dog’s age, breed or medical condition and is delivered to their door

• Now TAILS.COM have 40,000 UK customers

• Business help lines have veterinary nurses on the phones to answer customer questions

• LINK TO VIDEO• LINK TO WEBSITE• LINK TO ARTICLE

How new business ideas come about: Adapting existing

products/services/ideas

Adapting existing ideas

• A business could create a new product by:

• Mix and match

• New version of an old product

• Cheaper version of an old product

2 products combined – mix and match

Investigation

• Use a computer to find out about:

• Mix and match products, where two ideas have been combined to create a new product – e.g. the Bluetooth hat

New version of an old product

Can you think of other

examples?

New version of an old product

Can you think of other cars that have updated their model?

Cheaper version of an old product

Plenary

1. What is a product?

2. What is a service?

3. What does obsolete mean?

Plenary answers

1. A product is a tangible item which satisfies a customers needs e.g. xbox

2. A service is an intangible act which satisfies a customers needs e.g. haircut

3. Obsolete means a product or service which is no longer needed as it has been replaced by something new e.g. the modem has been replaced by broadband

Sample question 1

Answer question 1

• Answers are A and D

• One mark for each correct answer

Revisionstation

Written by Sarah Hilton ©