Y.E.S. for Arkansas 5th-8th Grade Business Plan Competition – UPDATED 9/30/19

1. Not every circumstance can be anticipated. Arkansas Capital Corporation reserves the right to disqualify any team that violates the rules, regulations, or the spirit of the competition. All Y.E.S. for Arkansas competitors and teachers/sponsors are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical manner.

2. Y.E.S. for Arkansas is open to any Arkansas student enrolled in grades 5-8 during the 2019-2020 school year. Students can be from public, private, home, or virtual schools.

3. Team members can be from the same grade or from a combination of grades 5-8.

4. Student teams should consist of at least 2 and no more than 6 members.

5. Teams can be from classrooms, after-school clubs and organizations, churches, etc.

6. All teams must be sponsored by a 5th-8th grade teacher or, in the case of teams from non-classroom-based groups, an adult affiliated with that group. Adults that want to sponsor non-classroom-based teams need to advise Arkansas Capital in advance by emailing or calling Marie Bruno at mbruno@arcapital.com, 501-374-9247.

7. Teachers/sponsors cannot be a parent or other relative of any team member.  However, in the circumstances where it is unavoidable that a student’s classroom/organization is led by his/her parent as a teacher/mentor, the teacher/mentor must find another adult to sponsor the student’s team. 

8. Teachers/mentors may have more than one team in the competition.

9. Only one business plan per team can be entered into the competition.

10. Students cannot be on more than one team.

11. The business plans must show that the business idea is a for-profit product or service. Nonprofit concepts are not eligible.

12. Ideas submitted in previous Y.E.S. competitions cannot be entered again in 2020.

13. The product or service cannot be fictional in nature.

14. Business plans must represent the original work of the team members.

15. Team registrations, business plan uploads, judging, and scoring for Y.E.S. are processed online via the YouNoodle competition platform.

Overall:

Business plans must be a minimum of 5 pages and no more than 10.

The Cover Page and Table of Contents are not counted as part of the page number limits.

With the exception of the Cover Page and Table of Contents, all pages must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font and pages must be numbered. This requirement also does not apply to section headers or descriptions in the plan that accompany pictures, graphics, or worksheets.

Paragraphs can be single- or double-spaced.

Plans must be converted to PDF before uploading to YouNoodle.

The plan file size is limited to 10 MB. Please ensure your business plan converts properly to PDF and that the file size is 10 MB or less before uploading.

The business plan must be compiled and submitted in the following order:

Cover Page and Table of Contents (10 points)

Include the:

• • Name of the business

  • Names of all team members

  • Teacher / mentor name and title

  • School name and city

  • A photo, drawing, or graphic of the product or service – this helps the judges visualize the product or service.

Problem (10 points)

Describe the problem in the marketplace. How did the team identify the problem?

Solution (10 points)

Give the name of the product or service here and how it will solve the problem. Be specific. How did the team arrive at this solution?

Customers (10 points)

Who are the customers? How did the team arrive that the answer – (potential customer interviews, demographic data, etc.)

Innovation (10 points)

Is your product or service new to the marketplace? Explain. If it is not new to the marketplace, explain how it is better than what exists.

Product Details (10 points)

How will the product or service be produced or established? What supplies and/or equipment will be needed? Will workers need to be hired? Explain.

How will you market to your customers? (10 points)

What is the cost to the customer of the product or service, and how did the team arrive at that decision? Where can they buy the product or service? How will the team promote the product or service?

Statement of Funds Needed (10 points)

How much money is needed to start the business? What are the sources?

Income Statement (10 points)

Project revenue and expenses for one month into a narrative.

Income Statements show a business’s revenue, expense, and profit over a period of time, usually one year. For the purposes of the Y.E.S. competition, teams need to project income, expenses, and calculate the profit for one month. Download an Income Statement worksheet if teams need a tool to help them calculate these numbers –  Fillable PDF Version   PDF Version  

NOTE: Do not paste a completed worksheet into the business plan. This is only a tool to help you compile the projected revenue and expenses figures into a narrative.

For “Sales of Product or Services,” listed as a line item under “Projected Revenue,” multiply the cost of the product by the projected number of products or services to be sold. The second line item, “Other”, is provided only for convenience in case the team identifies another potential source of revenue. Do not include personal investments or loans as revenue.

For “Projected Expenses,” there are several line items listed only as examples. Not all need to be used. “Supplies” and “Worker Pay” are those expenses associated only with the making of the product or service. Teams need to be sure to include expenses for any other operations discussed in the plan. A common mistake in previous Y.E.S. competitions relates to marketing. Teams say they will produce brochures or posters, but forget to list the expenses (paper, etc.) in the Income Statement.

To calculate the Total Profit, subtract the Total Expenses from the Total Revenue.

To compete in Y.E.S., teachers/mentors must have an account in Y.E.S. 2020’s YouNoodle competition database.

This URL is https://platform.younoodle.com/client/entry-rounds/yes_2019_2020/apply.  Please use only this link to set up your account and process your team’s application.

If you plan to sponsor more than one team, you can register all your teams through this account.

If you competed in Y.E.S. last year, sign in with your same user name and password.

New to YouNoodle? Please click on “Create an Account” and follow the instructions to set yours up.

Once you’re into your account, you should be in a new window with a box titled, “Create a New Application”.  Complete the information as prompted.

It’s OK if you don’t yet have complete information yet for your teams. Please enter something generic in the boxes marked with a * (required answers).

NOTE: The last prompt in the team application is “Ready to Upload? Go!”  You will leave this blank until you’re ready to upload that team’s plan. Until this is done, the database considers your team’s application incomplete since this is a required field. Don’t worry.

Once completed, click “Save”, then click “Next”.  This is a checklist window where you have a chance to update the application data you’ve entered.  Click the “Edit” button on the right under the yellow “Ready to Submit?” button if you need to edit.  Scroll to the bottom and click “Save” once done.

When you’re finished with edits, click “Submit Application” at the bottom of the page.

Once you’ve submitted a team’s application, you will get an email from YouNoodle titled “Application Process Started for Y.E.S. for Arkansas 2020”.  There will be a URL link within that email. Please open it and bookmark it.  You will use this link every time you need to get back into your account to update a team application.

To register more teams, go to that bookmarked link, click on the team’s application you already have.

In the next window, look to your left for “Applicant Panel”. The first link underneath says “Start”. Click on it. You will see a new “Create a new application” box to the right. Click on it to start the application for your next team.

Repeat this process until you’re finished registering all your teams.

You can update a team’s application any time up to when it’s time to submit the business plan. Just go to your bookmarked YouNoodle link and log in.

You’ll be taken to your Y.E.S. Dashboard window – click on the “Y.E.S. for Arkansas 2020” box.

Find the box for the application you need to update and click on it. Look for the edit button on the right and click on it. Make your changes as needed and save them.

November 19 – Business plan deadline.  Log back in at your bookmarked link and go to “Dashboard”.  Find your team’s application box, and click on it. Make sure the team data is complete and correct, then upload the team’s business plan.

Once done, click “Save” then “Submit Application”.  You will receive an email from YouNoodle confirming your application is submitted.