Assignment: Business Start Up Proposal for Bill Wilson

Bill Wilson, a close friend of your family wants to start a business. A family member referred him to you since you are presently working on a technology related degree. In your first discussion, you discover the following facts:

Bill has been a sales representative for a major restaurant supply company for many years.

His prior skills are very low tech. He drove from city to city, visiting restaurants and either providing his customers with supplies, or visiting new restaurants to try and convince them to purchase supplies from him exclusively. He phoned in his orders to the manufacturer, and other than accounting for his expenses while on the road, he did little or no record keeping.

Other than basic email skills and a some familiarization with Microsoft Word, Bill has little or no experience with existing communications technologies or software applications.

Bill's business plan is to start a new restaurant supply business in his home. He wishes to spend more time at home and travel much less than he did in the past. He knows he will sometimes be required to travel to negotiate deals or meet with clients, but he would prefer to be able to do all this at home whenever possible.

Bill has already implemented the following actions:

He has found an accountant who has agreed to help him set up his accounting system. (Do not consider any accounting software for this assignment. The accountant will provide that.)

He has contacted six different restaurant supply companies and negotiated a fee and commission arrangement that will allow him to represent them and sell their products.

Bill understands the basic operation of Windows 7 and Microsoft Word. For any new software applications, be prepared to provide guidance on the appropriate training he can find locally or online.

Although Bill has minimal technical skills, he does know what he wants. You completed your first discussion with Bill, and the following information was provided by Bill or deduced by you:

Budget: Bill has funds for the start up, but the budget has some limits. He doesn't want the fastest, biggest or best, but he will spend what it takes to have equipment that will suit his needs.

Security: Bill has heard horror stories about computer information being hacked, and he wants your assurance that his business information will be secure if he follows your suggestions.

Hardware: Bill knows of no special requirements for hardware, but he does know he will need to store somewhere between two and three terabytes of catalog information from the companies with whom he will be working. He needs to be able to access this info at all times from any location. He has no knowledge or preferences about hardware and says he will go with what you recommend.

Operating System and Software: Bill feels comfortable with the Windows 7 environment, and prefers not to learn another operating system.
The Cloud, Wi-Fi, Mobile Computing: Bill has no idea how these technologies tie in to his business, but he does know he needs to be able to do the following from his home office, from his car, or from any remote location: Check his email and compose/send emails at any time, place a supplies order via the Internet to any of his suppliers, be able to answer phone calls, and be able to set up video conferencing phone calls.

The Proposal:

Prepare and submit a written proposal to Bill that gives your suggested solution to his business plan. This report is to be written to Bill. DO NOT write your report to your instructor and talk about Bill. DO NOT speak about Bill in the third person. Write this proposal as a professional business letter directly to Bill. Provide Bill with the details of what he needs to purchase in order to have what he needs to conduct his business using today's technology. Make sure you include the following items in your report:

Hardware: What items of hardware (computer, laptop, tablet device, telephone, etc.) should Bill purchase. For items like a computer, include minimum specifications for all major internal components. Justify the need for any major hardware items recommended.

Operating System: With the recommended hardware, what operating system choices are available and which would be best? Why?

Other Technologies: How will Bill handle communications and mobile computing? Include the details on any peripheral devices and technologies that you propose ("The Cloud", mobile computing devices, Bluetooth, wireless networking, etc.) and explain how they fit into the business plan.

Software & Training: List the software applications that should be purchased. Make sure you include at a minimum: Operating System, system utilities, such as defrag apps, virus and malware protection and any system utilities Bill might need. Include the training courses that Bill should attend to gain basic skills in the software packages you recommend.

Cost: Provide Bill with an estimated cost for him to implement all of your suggestions. Give an estimate for the individual components and applications, and an approximate cost for all of the items you suggest.

Your proposal will be evaluated using the rubric below. Make sure you read the rubric and have a clear idea of what is expected. If there are any additional questions that you would like to ask Bill, you may also address a memo to "Bill" by posting it in the Week 4 area of the online Forum. Your instructor will answer these memos as Bill might. And all students will be able to see any information posted.

C10; Introduction to Computers

Assignment 8; Business Consulting

Remember Bill Wilson? He was the gentleman that you helped to start up his restaurant supply business in week 4. Well his business is doing well, but he has come to you with some questions, concerns and a request to assist him in expanding his business. You discuss each of these with Bill and promise to send him a written report with your suggestions and recommendations. Submit your written response to Bill's questions and concerns below.

Bill has set up a spreadsheet in Excel that will help him keep track of expenses. So far, he has this:

Tell Bill how to do the following tasks:

What formula or function does he put in Column F, from cells F5 to F11 that will show the total expenses for each day?

What formula or function does he put in columns B through F in Row 13 that will give him the total expenses for the week in each category?

Bill wants the entry in Column G to remind him of expenses that require receipts for the accountant. Tell Bill what to put in Column G, Rows 5 through 11, to do this:

Print the word "Yes" in any row of Column G where the total daily expenses in Column F are greater than or equal to $100.00.

If the daily expenses total in Column F is less than $100.00, leave the Column G entry for that row blank.

Bill's business is already expanding. He thinks that in a few weeks, he will need to hire one or two employees to help him. He knows that each new employee will need their own computer. He is also making the necessary changes so that the new employees will be working in a spare room in Bill's house. Explain to Bill what networking options are available to him. Go through each type or configuration of network possible for him, making sure that you explain the pros and cons of each configuration. Finish with your suggestion for the network that he should set up and explain what new hardware will be required to do this.

Bill wants to know what training would be appropriate for himself and his employees.

With the possibility of three business computers in his home, and all of his business records possibly vulnerable, this would be a good time to advise Bill on how to set up a routine plan to protect and defend his new network. Provide a list of the five most important concerns for safety and security of the network and the computers in the network. For each concern, specify the action to be taken, and if applicable, what software you recommend be added to the system. Justify each of your recommendations.