Peace Corps Doing A Feasibility Study: Training Activities For Starting or Reviewing A Small Business 2013

Doing a Feasibility Study
Training Activities for Starting or Reviewing a Small Business
Peace Corps
Publication No. SB104
Overseas Programming and Training Support

The Peace Corps Office of Overseas Programming and Training Support (OPATS) develops technical
resources to benefit Volunteers, their co-workers, and the larger development community.
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submit original material to KLU@peacecorps.gov. Such material may be utilized in future training material,
becoming part of the Peace Corps larger contribution to development.

Peace Corps
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Knowledge and Learning
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KLU@peacecorps.gov
Abridged Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Number: 658.02
Doing a Feasibility Study:

Training Activities for Starting or Reviewing a Small Business
EDITOR: SUZANNE KINDERVATTER

Contributors:
Marcy Kelley
Molly Melching
Maggie Range
Liza Valenzuela
OEF staff and consultants in Central America, Senegal, and Somalia
Poster Story Illustrations: Malick Pouye
Reprinted with permission of
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
June 2013
Peace Corps
Information Collection and Exchange
Publication No. SB104
APPROPRIATE BUSINESS SKILLS FOR THIRD WORLD WOMEN

A SERIES EDITED BY SUZANNE KINDERVATTER
Series editor Suzanne Kindervatter, Ed.D., was OEFs Director of Technical Services, a specialist in non-formal education, and is a noted
author of training materials including Women Working Together for personal, economic and community development.

Nena Terrell

Production Supervisor

Patrice Gallagher

Design

Jacqueline Lucas

Editorial Assistant

Jim Long
Illustration

Jerry Beals

Production

Somali drawings courtesy of OEF - Somalia
Distributed by:
Women, Ink.
777 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017
Tel: 212-687-8633
Fax: 212-661-2704
1987 by OEF International

1991 by UNIFEM
3rd Printing, 1992
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Spanish edition entitled

Cmo hacer un estudio de factibilidad. Entrenamiento para iniciar o reexaminar una pequea empresa
French edition entitled
Ralisation dune tude de faisabilit: Activits de formation pour crer ou faire le bilan dune petite entreprise
Library of Congress Cataloglng-ln-Publlcatlon Data

Doing a feasibility study.

(Appropriate business skills for Third World women; 2)

Bibliography: p.
1. New business enterprises-Developlng countries-Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Women-owned business enterprises-Developing countrles-Handbooks, manuals,
etc. I. Kindervatter, Suzanne. II. OEF International. III. Series.

HD62.5D63 1987 658.022091724 86-61951 ISBN 0-912917-7-5
Table of Contents
PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A COMMON CHALLENGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
NOTES TO THE FACILITATOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Letting Women Decide: Is This Business Viable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Feasibility Study: What It Means. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chart: Feasibility Study Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What Is in the Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chart: Training Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Learning by Doing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PLANNING YOUR PROGRAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Who Can Use This Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

A Word about Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Preparing Facilitators to Use the Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Where to Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What Materials to Prepare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How to Arrange a Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chart: Possible Schedules for Learning the Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chart: For Women with Existing Businesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chart: Tips for the Good Facilitator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
My Training Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Activities to Begin and End the Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Part One: Feasibility studies-Learning the Steps . . . . . . . . . . 31

SIX STEPS FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
WHY DO A FEASIBILITY STUDY?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
What Is a Feasibility Study?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Instructions for Adapting the Story and Posters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Poster Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
What We Will Accomplish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
We Can Do It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
STEP ONE: CHOOSE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO SELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Exploring Womens Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Things to Consider in Identifying Business Ideas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Which Business Should We Study?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
STEP TWO: FIND OUT IF PEOPLE WILL BUY OUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Looking at Customer Demand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Will People Buy What We Plan to Sell?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
STEP THREE: DETERMINE HOW THE BUSINESS WILL OPERATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
What We Know, What We Need to Find Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
How Will We Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
STEP FOUR: CALCULATE BUSINESS EXPENSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Types of Business Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Business Cost Posters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Finding Examples of Business Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
What Do We Need to Buy? How Much Will It Cost?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
STEP FIVE: ESTIMATE SALES INCOME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Selling a Product or Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
How Much Can We Sell, and For How Much?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Price and Competition Posters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
STEP SIX: DECIDEIS THE BUSINESS A GOOD IDEA?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
How to Calculate Profit and Cash Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
What Will Our Profit Be?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
What Other Benefits Are Important?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Is the Business a Good Idea?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Part TWO: doing a feasibility study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

TIPS FOR THE FACILITATOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Helping Them Help Themselves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Setting the Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Holding Meetings During the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Making the Meetings Interesting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
If the Women Miss a Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Recording the Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Feasibility Study Information Form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
GETTING THE INFORMATION WE NEED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Selecting a Business to Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Why Planning Is Important. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Planning Our Feasibility Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Gathering Information from Experts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
DECIDING ON OUR BUSINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
To the Facilitator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Business Plan Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Making Our Business Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Determining Cash Needs to Start the Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Investment Plan Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Determining Cash Needs to Operate the Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Notes on Cash Flow Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Making Jelly in Costa Rica Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Should We Pursue This Business?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Decision-Making Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Business Start-Up: First Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
POSTER STORY ILLUSTRATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Preface
Throughout the development community, there is now widespread recognition of the vital contribution small business makes to local and national
economies. At the same time, there is a concern that many attempts at assisting small business development have failed. Development professionals,
from economists in the World Bank to trainers in local organizations, are asking: what is effective small
enterprise development? how do we do it?
The how tos of developing small business have been a major priority for OEF International for over a decade. In this first manual of our Appropriate
Business Skills for Third World Women series, we address the how to of identifying and planning an economically viable business.
Visiting OEF projects in Africa and Central America, I have been struck by womens dire need and high motivation to pursue business activities. And, I
have been impressed at how they are able to use business concepts that they have learned in training. In one case,
women entrepreneurs first thought of tie-dying as a good income-generating activity, but after applying the feasibility study to different options, it was
clear that a soap-making business would be the most profitable. Today, they have a successful soap-making operation. In another case, one woman
in Senegal told of how she helped her husband do a feasibility study on raising and selling a cow. She said that he had not included the price of food
and care for the cow before setting the sales price. He initially told her that this was of no
importance. However, after she did the calculations for him and explained how much he had
originally invested, plus spent on care, he realized he would not make a profit if he did not
raise his price!
This manual is built on the experience of women like these and the staff of local organizations
that assist them. We are proud to make it available to those who are working at the frontline of small business development, trainers and programmers who work with Third World
women and understand their needs, as well as their hopes.
Elise Fiber Smith

Executive Director
OEF International
Peace Corps
A Common Challenge
Over the past ten years, OEF International has assisted women throughout the Third World who want to start or improve small businesses. In Africa,
Asia, and Latin America, we have again and again met the same challenge. Women often choose businesses with limited market viability, because these
businesses are most familiar and use skills the women already have. Small business is a risky undertaking, and the kind of businesses women tend to
choose make it more risky for them.
To confront this common challenge, OEF International has emphasized the importance of examining various business options and carefully determining
whether a particular option is economically feasible. This manual represents our cumulative experience in enabling women to do just that.
The conceptual design and training activities in the manual grew out of three years of work in Peru, Central America, West Africa, and Somalia. Everyone
who contributed to the manual has been guided by the principal, simple but efficient. In other words, we have worked hard to make the business
concepts understandable to illiterate or minimally literate women; but at the same time, we have recognized that certain financial calculations are
essential for determining business viability. The manual uses visual association to help the women learn and remember business concepts. This means
that concepts are presented in association with pictures or symbols, and are repeated again and again throughout the program.
This manual is a product of a true collective effort. Sincere thanks and appreciation go to the following people for their invaluable contribution to Doing
a Feasibility Study.
Marcy Kelley, for the original conceptualization of the feasibility study;
Molly Melching and Malick Pouye, creators of the brilliant
poster story from Senegal;
Maggie Range, who helped put complex business concepts
into participatory learning activities;
Liza Valenzuela, for help with business concepts and
organizing the steps;
Anne-Laurence Dodge, designer of the Selling Candy
activity in Step Six;
Merryl Rosenblatt, for Making Jelly in Costa Rica and assistance with financial calculations;
To the team of trainers in Senegal, who used the materials and provided ideas on how to improve them - OEF staff members Soukeyna Ba NDiaye and
Debbie Fredo and staff of the Maisons Familiales Rurales, Famara Dedhiou (Director), Clement Faye (Regional Director), Amadou Cisse - Sarru (Regional
Coordinator), Dada NDiaye (trainer), Alpha Badji (trainer), and Madjiguene Diaw Saar (trainer);
To OEF staff in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras, for their careful and critical analysis of needed revisions in the manual - Flory Meza, Patricia
Rodriguez, Iris Villalobos, Beatrize Coto, Rosemary Coto, Maria Eugenia Antunez, Blanca Canales, Rosibel Gomez, Dinorah de Sanchez, and Peace Corps
volunteers Luz Iraida Diaz and Kim Stuntz;
To the members of The Somali Womens Democratic Organization (SWDO), who provided a real test of the manuals appropriateness for illiterate women
with no business experience.
To the trainers in Peru, who helped develop some of the original concepts;
To U.S. taxpayers and the Office of Private Voluntary Organizations, the Agency for International Development, which provided funding for
the production;
And to the production team who are geniuses at turning pages of copy into user friendly materials - Nena Terrell (Publications Manager), Jacqueline
Lucas (Publications Program Associate), and Patrice Gallagher (graphic designer).
We hope this manual can be a useful tool for meeting the challenge in your community: enabling women to pursue viable businesses.
Suzanne Kindervatter
Director of Technical Services
OEF International
Peace Corps
Notes to the Facilitator
For most economists, a business feasibility study involves complex market analysis and projections. This manual is based on a different approach,
particularly appropriate for Third World womens micro and small-scale businesses.
These notes explain the feasibility study approach and give an overview of the manual.
Letting Women Decide: Is This Business Viable?

A group of women in Peru were making and selling small knitted holiday decorations. They lived outside a large city in a poor community. Their
income was crucial for providing food and care for their families, but they were not able to earn much from the sale of the decorations. Members of a
community organization met with the women and talked about ways they might earn more money. The women were interested. But, what could they
produce? And, how could they do it?
The women participated in a program of training activities like those in this manual. They explored options for different businesses. They determined the
probability that a business would succeed. Finally, they decided to start a new businessa bakeryand planned how
to begin.
Are the women in Peru similar to women in your community? The women needed to earn money in order to survive. They wanted to find a small
business activity that was both possible and beneficial.
Starting a business is a risky effort. Even well-planned businesses fail due to broader economic forces. The purpose of this manual is to reduce the risk by
enabling women to identify businesses that have prospects for success.
Poor women typically have a limited view of business options. They have had little opportunity to learn technical skills or to consider kinds of work
that women may not traditionally do. They are often drawn to business possibilities that are most familiar, but that yield little or no profit. This manual
enables women to explore business options and to study their potential for profitability. It enables women to find out if a business is a good idea.
In many development programs, an expert decides on a business idea and then provides technical training to prepare women for that business. This
manual is based on the idea that women themselves can and should be involved in the process of studying a business. If they are to be successful
entrepreneurs, women need to make decisions and solve problems about their business from the start. For small-scale producers, the training in this
manual will most likely be sufficient for determining business viability. With a larger-scale venture or a product with a complex technical process, outside
experts may need to be called in to provide additional information. However, whats important is that the expert adds to the womens study, rather
than carries out a separate study.
Refugee women in Somalia have done it. So have farmers in Senegal and urban dwellers in Central America. Without being able to read and write, they
have gathered information and made intelligent decisions about business options and business operations. The women in your community can do it
too!
Peace Corps
Feasibility Study: What it Means

Feasibility study, as used in this manual, is the term used for finding out if a business is do-able, marketable, and profitable. Basically, a feasibility study
involves answering this question: are we able to produce a product or service that people want to buy and that we can sell for a profit?
To answer this question, a group gathers information and then analyzes it. There are a series of six steps, listed below, that guides the feasibility study.
THE SIX STEPS FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY
Choose a product or service to sell.
Find out if people will buy the product

or service.
Determine how the business will operate.
Calculate business expenses.
Estimate sales income.
Decide: Is the business a good

idea?
Here is an example of how one group of women did a feasibility study. They wanted to start a small grocery store.
First, they found out whether people would buy things from their store. Then, they found out how much it would cost to start the store and keep it
operating. Next, they estimated how much they would sell and what their sales income and profits would be.
During the study, the women realized that there were already three stores in their community. They thought the competition in the grocery store
business was too strong and that their business might fail. They also realized that they needed a lot of money to start the grocery storemore than they
had or could borrow. So the women rejected the grocery store idea.
They thought about other business possibilities and liked the idea of a furniture repair service. When the women did their feasibility study for this idea,
they decided that it could be viable. The women gave up one business idea and found another. If they had not done the feasibility study and tried to
start the grocery store, the business probably would have failed. But, now they know that the furniture repair business has a chance for success.
Another group was already raising and marketing pigs. They used the feasibility study to review their operation and found that high feed costs were
decreasing their profits. They decided to look into cheaper kinds of feed, as well as other ways to reduce their business expenses. By following the
six steps for a feasibility study, the women in your program will be able to assess the viability of their business ideas or review their current business
performance.
Peace Corps
What is in the Manual

The activities in this manual enable women to learn how to do a feasibility study, and then actually
to do their own study.
Take a look at the Table of Contents at the front of the book. After the Notes and Planning
sections, the manual has two major parts: Feasibility Studies-Learning the Steps and Doing a
Feasibility Study.
Feasibility Studies-Learning the Steps begins by introducing participants to the concepts of a
feasibility study in an easy-to-understand way. A story and series of posters depict the experience
of one group of women interested in starting a business.
Following this introduction, participants then go step by step through the feasibility study process
using a possible product or service as an example. For each of the six steps, there are several
learning activities that help the participants learn and apply the concepts involved. By the end of
this section, participants gain the basic concepts and skills for doing their own study.
Doing a Feasibility Study has three sub-sections: Tips for the Facilitator, Getting the Information
We Need, and Deciding on Our Business. These include training activities and guidelines that
enable women to conduct their own research, analysis, and decision making related to business
options. The result of this section is a concrete business plan for either starting or strengthening a
business.
Training Goals
As a result of this training,
participants will:
Understand the importance of a feasibility
study.
Learn the six steps for conducting
a feasibility study.
Plan a feasibility study.
Carry out their own feasibility study.
Decide whether to start a new
business or how to strengthen a
current business.
Prepare a business plan.
Throughout the manual, each learning activity is organized in the same way. As an example, turn
to page 46. The activity includes: purpose, time, rationale, preparation for the session, and steps to
follow. Make sure to read the entire manual before your program. Then, for each days program, reread the activities planned and prepare the materials needed. During each training session, keep
your manual open to the appropriate training activity and use the steps as a handy reminder of
what to do.
Finally, a word to facilitators who do not have a background in business or economics. Some of
the financial analysis included in the manual may be new and at first seem difficult. But do not
be hesitant. With a bit of time and patience, youand the women in your programwill feel
confident and comfortable with terms like cash flow and investment plan!
Notes:
Learning by Doing
Your friend wants to know how to fix her bicycle; your child wants to know how to plant a garden.
How can you help them learn these skills? One way is by telling them what to do. A more effective
way is to show them what to do, and then let them try it themselves.
Learning by doing is the approach used in this manual. In the first part of the program,
participants learn and practice each of the six steps of a feasibility study. This prepares them to
actually do their own study.
When the goal of an educational program is transmitting information, such as a history class
in school, a teacher talks and students for the most part listen. However, when the goal of an
educational program is developing new skills and taking action, the interaction looks and feels
different than education in the traditional classroom.
Usually, everyone sits in a circle. The atmosphere is relaxed. Members of the group share ideas with
one another, not just with the teacher. People laugh. People look serious. The level of interest is
high, because the participants are dealing with things that are important to them.
Often, the participants in this training program will be together in small groups and will share
their opinions and different ideas. Each person will bring a valuable idea or opinion. And no ones
opinion will be more right than another persons opinion. In fact, each person will probably be an
expert in some aspect of the feasibility study.
Learning by doing has other positive benefits in addition to being an effective method for
gaining new skills. When everyone participates in training activities, they become more creative
and learn to work together in many ways. Also, when people begin to make their own decisions,
they gain more confidence in their ability to improve their lives. They may never have felt this way
before...or believed it was possible.
Successful businesswomen are able to solve problems and change their businesses in response to
changing markets. Learning by doing helps women acquire the abilities they need to manage a
business effectively: concrete business skills, plus those less tangible entrepreneurial capabilities.
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Planning Your Program

You now have a sense of what a feasibility
study is and why it is important for women
to be involved in doing their own study. At
this point, you are probably thinking about
how to organize your program. This section
will help you plan a program for women in
your community.
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Who Can Use This Manual

This program is for women who want to start a business or to review an existing business. Over the course of the program, the facilitator conducts a
series of training activities that enable women to learn how to do a feasibility study and then guides the participants in actually doing their own study.
The activities are designed for 12-15 participants.
Women who want to start a business will go through all the activities included in the manual. For those who want to assess their businesses, certain
activities can be omitted. These are listed on page 20 and in the Purpose section of the separate activities.
The training is oriented to group businesses, but it has been used for individual enterprises as well. The actual feasibility study is more difficult if it is
carried out by only one person, particularly if she cannot read and write.
In addition, the training is appropriate for many kinds and sizes of business. For instance, a group of twenty women in Somalia were interested in
starting a nursery to sell tree seedlings. In Honduras, a group of ten women studied commercial pig-raising starting with seven pigs, while in Peru,
women investigated operating a bakery and store. The feasibility study is adaptable to larger businesses as well, such as a community food processing
plant, but the financial analyses will be more extensive and may require assistance from an outside resource person.
Here are some of the things that were important in other training programs related to the kinds of facilitators and women who can best use this book.
Check the things that apply to you and your group to decide if this training is what you need.
ABOUT THE WOMEN
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Have experience in
working together.*
Live near each other.
Interested in a collective
small business. (Reading
and writing abilities
not necessary!)
Willing to listen.
Good communication skills.
Respects the women in the
community.
Wants to work with women
in the community. (Previous
business experience not
necessary!)
* For groups with little or no experience in working together, use group building training before the Feasibility training to make the women feel more comfortable with each other. Two helpful books are:
Women Working Together for personal, economic and community development and Navamaga: Training Activities for Group Building, Health and Income Generation. Both are available from OEF International.
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Preparing Facilitators to Use the Manual

Learning by doing is just as important for facilitators as it is for participants. The best way to
prepare for using this manual is to practice conducting the activities with a small group of
colleagues, using a business with which youre familiar. Since some of the business material may
be new, it helps to be able to discuss the concepts with others. If this is not possible, it is important
to read the manual in full before using it, and then to re-read the activities for each particular
session before its held.
If you need to prepare others to use the manual, practice is also the key. Depending on the skills
and experience of the facilitators, you may want to introduce the activities gradually. For example,
in Somalia, young women with no training or business experience learned to use the manual. Each
morning, they participated in a session conducted by a facilitator-trainer. Then, in the afternoon,
they conducted the same session with the women in their program. That way, the facilitators
immediately applied what they learned and were not overwhelmed by too much information at
the outset.
A Word About Literacy

This training can be done with groups
of women who cannot read, women who
can read but not write, and those who can
both read and write.
If the activities are done with a group
who cannot read, they may require longer
time, and you may need extra outside help
with some sessions, particularly those that
involve financial analysis. Also, you will need
to work closely with your group during the
time they actually do their own study.
For groups who can read, it is important to
post the schedule and goals and put session
materials on the chalkboard or large paper
every day.
13
Notes:
Where to Meet
Since this is a training program for adults, it is best to conduct it in a location that does not remind
participants of their school days. As children, they probably thought that the teacher had all the
answers. They listened patiently and asked few questions. We want the opposite to happen in this
training. We want them to ask lots of questions, to contribute their own ideas, to think and behave
differently, and to see you as someone who seeks answers with them.
This means two things to you:
Find a location that is not the local school.
Arrange the meeting place in a way that does not remind the women of a classroom, such as:
Because this is the kind of training that will be new to some people, it is important to let them
know just what will be happening. The schedule and the goals of the training program should be
posted and left up every day. Also, put up the six feasibility study step posters as you complete
each step (see pp. 43, 51, 57, 62, 88, 101).
What Materials to Prepare

For all sessions, you will need a chalk board or large sheets of paper such as the paper on which
newspapers are printed. Call your local newspaper to find out where you can purchase newsprint.
Each session in the manual includes detailed instructions titled Preparation for the Session. Read
them well in advance of conducting each session in order to gather materials.
For the first session, Why Do a Feasibility Study?, you will need a local artist to create a series of
posters (see p. 33 for instructions).
In the section on Doing a Feasibility Study, take special note of the background information and
guidelines for assisting the participants.
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How to Arrange a Schedule

The entire Feasibility Study program usually requires about two to three months of parttime involvement to complete.
During the development of the materials in Latin America and Africa, every effort was
made to make them as concise as possible because of the womens busy schedules. At the
same time, business development is difficult. So, it is important to include all the necessary
steps for assessing business viability. Local trainers and participants helped define the
most essential activities. These are what the manual includes.
Participation in the Feasibility Study program involves the following time commitments:
A Feasibility Study
Learning the Steps
25 Hours
structured training activities
Doing Your Own

Feasibility Study
1-2 Months (part-time)

2-3 hour planning meeting
field visits to gather information
several 1-2 hour meetings to
discuss and analyze the information
and to make the business plan.
Depending on womens schedules, the initial 25-hour training can be held in one week
or spread out over twothree weeks. See the possible schedules for ideas on how to
arrange the activities.
Since the Feasibility Study program continues beyond this initial training, the program
should be planned for a period when women may have time available. For instance, in
Senegal, women participated in the program after the harvest season.
15
Possible Schedules for Learning the Steps

5-6 Hour a Day Training
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Begin the Day Activity
S tep two:
find out if people
will buy your product or
service
Looking at Customer
Demand
Will People Buy What We
Plan to Sell?
S tep four:
calculate business
expenses
Types of Business Costs
Finding Examples of
Business Costs
S tep four:
calculate business
expenses
What Do We Need to Buy?
How Much Will It Cost?
S tep SIX:
DECIDEIS The
BUSINESS A GOOD IDEA?
How to Calculate Profit
and Cash Flow
What Will Our Profit Be?
What Other Benefits
Are Important?
Is the Business a
Good Idea?
hy do a Feasibility Study?
W
What is a Feasibility Study?
What We Will Accomplish
We Can Do It!
S tep One:
Choose a product
to Service or Sell
Exploring Womens Work
Things to Consider in Identifying
Business Ideas
Which Business Should
We Study?
End the Day Activity
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S tep Five: Estimate

Sales Income
Selling a Product or
Service
How Much Can We Sell
and for How Much?
S tep Three:
Determine How
the Business Will Operate
What We Know, What We Need
to Find Out
How Will We Work?
Peace Corps
2-3 Hour a Day Training

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Step two:
S tep One:
find out if people
Choose a product
will buy your product or
to Service or Sell
service

Lookiing
at Customer
Demand
Business Ideas
Will People Buy What We
Which Business Should
Plan to Sell?
We Study?
S tep Three:
Determine How
the Business Will Operate
What We Know, What We Need
to Find Out
How Will We Work?
S tep four:
calculate business
expenses

Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
S tep four:
calculate business
expenses
Finding Examples of
Business Costs
S tep four:
calculate business
expenses
What Do We Need to Buy?
How Much Will It Cost?
S tep Five: Estimate

Sales Income
Selling a Product or
Service
How Much Can We Sell
and for How Much?
S tep SIX:
DECIDEIS The
BUSINESS A GOOD IDEA?
How to Calculate Profit
and Cash Flow
What Other Benefits
Are Important?
Is the Business a
Good Idea?
hy do a Feasibility Study?
W
What is a Feasibility Study?
We Can Do It!
Note: These sessions can be held over a two to three week period.
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For Women With Existing Businesses

This manual can serve as a guide for women who want to review the performance of their business, as well as for women who want to start a
business. Here are some ideas for focusing the program on an existing business.
Part 1: LEARNING THE STEPS:

If the women in your program already have a business; Step 1Choose a Product or Service to Sell from your plan. Begin with Step 2 and follow
through to Step 6, using the womens actual business in each step. For the sake of clarity, all the activities are written from the perspective of starting a business, but each step is also adaptable to a business review Further suggestions for adaptation are given in the Purpose sections of the
activities.
PART 2: DOING THE FEASIBILITY STUDY:

In Learning the Steps, women with existing businesses actually conduct a short review of their own businesses. Therefore, this second of the program may take less time. The women may not need to gather as much information as with a new business. However, the women may conclude
that their existing business is not viable and that they want to look for another business possibility. In this case, they need to carry out a feasibility
study for the new business idea.
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Tips for the Good Facilitator

Use this checklist to help make your program successful:
_____ Be a facilitator, not a teacher.
_____ Use another facilitator to help you, particularly for the activities involving financial analysis.
_____ Be well prepared and organized. Read the materials well in advance of the session.
_____ Read each activity and adapt it to your local situation as appropriate.
_____ Keep people working in different small groups and have different people in each group speak each time.
_____ Ask participants (rather than you) to read or write materials on the chalkboard or newsprint at every opportunity. Keep yourself as a
facilitator in the background as much as possible.
_____ Ask why questions of the group to encourage discussion, rather than questions that can be answered with a yes or no.
_____ Move around the room frequently. Do not stay at the front. Put posters and newsprint in different areas too.
_____ Be flexible and change the schedule or activities as needed to keep your groups interest. But read the Rationale before each session
so you know why the schedule is organized as it is.
_____ Remember that the more actively the women participate in the program, the more useful it will be for building new capabilities.
_____ Start and end each session with good energy and enthusiasm.
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My Training Plan
Does the manual seem useful for your situation? If your answer is yes, you are ready to plan your own program. Each community, each group,
each facilitator is unique. Adapt the program to your own special conditions.
The previous sections gave you ideas to think about in planning your program. Use this form to write your plan.
Who are the women who will participate in your program? What time do you have available for the program (on an average day, over the course
of a year)?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If the women in your program are interested in starting a business, what are some business possibilities in your area? If they have a business,
what kind of business is it and what problems do they have?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Where will your program be held? How will you arrange the meeting place?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What will be your training schedule? What months have you chosen for the program, and why? How will you arrange the 25 hour Learning the
Steps training? (Review the charts on p. 16/17).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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My Training Plan
_______ - day plan
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Activities to Begin and End Each Day

Illiterate women with no business experience have participated in the activities in this manual and understood them. But learning new concepts and
skills can be frustrating at times.
These activities are a way to begin and end each day of training on a positive note. The begin the day activities help create a comfortable atmosphere
and promote lively discussion. The end the day activities are a means to identify any problems with the training.
Use these activities or ones like them to begin and end each days session.
Examples of Begin the Day Activities

GETTING BETTER ACQUAINTED
Purpose: To get to know each other and feel more comfortable in the group.
Time: 30 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask each person to find a partner to talk with in the next 10 minutes. They should
pick a person they do not know very well.
2. Tell each person to ask her partner:
What is your name?
What would you do if someone gave you $100?
(Note: Use an amount appropriate for your situation.)
3. After 10 minutes, ask the women to sit in a large group again.
4. Ask each person to introduce her partner and to tell the group about her partners
answers to the questions.
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Our Strengths
Notes:
Purpose: To encourage the women to think about themselves and their good qualities.
Time: 15 minutes.
Steps:
1 A
sk the women to think for a few minutes about something they have done that is very creative or something they are very proud of.
2. Ask volunteers to share this with the group.
3. As volunteers decrease, ask those people who have not participated if they would like
to speak.
(Note: You may have to ask more questions to encourage the women to speak.)
THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE

Purpose: To share some good things about our lives.
Time: 15 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask the women:
What was the best experience of your life?
2. After everyone has spoken, you can talk about all the talent and abilities in the group and how
each person can help in a new business.
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MIRROR GAME
THE TELEPHONE CALL
Purpose: This is an activity purely for having fun. It should be done later in the
Purpose: To have the women talk about
training program when the women feel more confident. It will cause a lot of
laughter.
communication.
Time: 10 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask a volunteer to leave the room or area.
2. When she cannot hear what the group is saying, tell the group to imitate
everything she does when she comes back into the circle.
If she scratches her arm, everyone should scratch their arms. If she laughs,
everyone should laugh. If she talks, everyone should repeat what she says.
3. Ask the volunteer to come back into the circle. After a few minutes, ask the
volunteer if she knows what is happening.
Time: 15 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask the group to sit in a circle.
2. Whisper in one womans ear: Our goal is to work
together on a profitable business.
3. Tell the woman to whisper this message to the
woman sitting beside her...and continue passing the
message around the circle whispering.
4. When the whispered message reaches the last person,
ask her to repeat it aloud for the group. It could be
very different from the message you first spoke to the
woman beside you.
5. In a discussion, ask the group:
Why did the message change?
How can we avoid misunderstanding what
someone else says?
What do we learn from this?
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MEMORY GAME
Purpose: To help the women recall what they are learning in the
training and to have some fun.
Time: 15 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask all the women to stand in a circle.
2. Explain that the group will list some of the things they have been learning
about starting a business.
3. Have one person in the circle complete this sentence for the business in
which they are interested.
Example:
To start a chicken-raising business, you need _______
4. Ask the next person to repeat what the first person has said, and to add
another item.
Example:
First person: To start a chicken-raising business, you need feed.
Second person: To start a chick-raising business, you need feed and healthy
chickens.
5. Ask each person in turn to repeat what the previous person has said, plus add
another item.
6. When someone cannot remember what has been said, she should sit down.
7. Continue until one person is left standing: the memory expert!
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Examples of End the Day Activities

How effective is the training program? This is important information to learn from the women themselves. While you think you may know how they feel,
always ask the participants. They may surprise you. Remember that you are working together. If you take time to talk about the strong and weak parts of
the program, you may be able to make some changes so everyone feels even better about the training.
ACTIVITY #1
Purpose: To find out the participants reaction to the training program, what they like or do not like.
Time: 15-20 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask the people to sit in small groups of five or fewer.
2. Ask them to discuss:
What do you like best about the training so far?
What do you like least? Why?
3. A
sk the women to sit in a large group again. Have someone from each small group tell the rest of the group the most important things that were
said.
ACTIVITY #2
Purpose: To find out if parts of the training program should be changed or remain the same.
Time: 20-30 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask the women to sit in a large group and think about these questions:
If this training program were being done for another group of women, which two things would you keep exactly the same?
Which two things would you change?
2. Go around the circle and ask each woman to share her answers. Write them down.
3. Explain to the women that because each woman is different that no training program will completely meet everyones needs. But, their ideas are very
important in helping to make the rest of their training better and to help other groups of women.
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ACTIVITY #3
Purpose: Same as Activities #1 and 2
Time: 15 minutes.
Materials: Large paper and felt tip pen.
Steps:
1. Ask the women to think of one word that expresses their feelings or thoughts about the training. Encourage them to express what they really think. If
they want to choose a negative word, like boring, thats fine.
2. Have one woman state her word, and write it (the word or a symbol) on large paper posted on the wall. The other women should then state their
words in turn, without stopping for discussion. Write each word or symbol down as it is said.
3. Now, ask the group to look at the list of words:
Do most participants feel positive or negative about the program?
A
re many of the words similar, or different? Why?
Why does everyone choose the word she did? What is good and not so good about the training?
What should the trainer and group do tomorrow to make the training better?
ACTIVITY #4
Purpose: Same as Activities #1 and 2.
Time: 10 minutes.
Steps:
1. Ask each participant to imagine returning home this evening after the training. Participants can close their eyes if they like. Ask them to think about
talking to a specific family member or friend. What would they tell this person about the training?
2. Give the women a few minutes to think.
3. Ask each woman to tell her story.
4. Then, ask the group:
Have these stories given us any ideas about things we need to change in the training program?
What would you like to do differently tomorrow?
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ACTIVITY #5
Purpose: Same as Activities #1 and 2.
Materials: Pebbles, matches, or small objects that can be used for voting; cups; a piece of paper with a word or symbol, representing the different
training activities used that day.
Time: 15 minutes.
Steps:
1. Post the pieces of paper around the room. Explain what each piece of paper means. This is a way to review that days activities for the group. Put a
cup under each piece of paper.
2. Give each woman 3 of the voting markers. Ask her to vote for her favorite parts of the training. Participants can distribute the markers any way they
like. They can put all three markers in one cup, or they can put them in two or three cups.
3. Have participants vote.
4. Count the markers in each cup (Note: If participants can count, they can do this.)
5. Discuss:
What did the voting show? Were some activities better liked than others? Why or why not?
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Part One: Feasibility Studies:

Learning the Steps
The training activities in this section enable participants to learn
how to do a feasibility study.
A feasibility study involves collecting and analyzing a lot of information
about customer demand for a product, estimated business costs, and
expected sales. The manual tries to make this process as simple as
possible, dividing a feasibility study into six steps.
Take a look at the chart on the following page. The training activities in
this section of the manual will enable your group to find out what to
do in each step on the chart. In the activities, they will choose one idea
for a product or a service as an example. They will then follow the steps
to determine if this idea seems feasible. They will carry out a practice
feasibility study in a short amount of time.
Then the group will have the skills needed for carrying out the actual
study, which is more extensive and requires a few more weeks or even
months of time to complete.
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The Six Steps For a Feasibility Study
Choose a product or service to

sell.
Find out if people will buy the product

or service.
Determine how the business

will operate.
Calculate business expenses.
Estimate sales income.
Decide: Is the business a good

idea?
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Peace Corps
Why Do a Feasibility Study?

WHAT IS A FEASIBILITY STUDY?
Purpose: To introduce the idea of a feasibility study and why it is important, in a way that
participants can easily understand. (Note: For women with existing businesses, this activity gives an
overview of things to consider in assessing business performance.)
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: For many people, starting a business means buying materials and producing something.
But there is much more that needs to be considered in business development, from who will buy the
product to production costs to likely sales income. Without this broader analysis, a business is about
certain to fail. The story and posters in this activity show the contrast of starting a business without a
feasibility study and with a feasibility study.
PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION:

Materials:
Posters and poster story. See Instructions for adapting the story and posters
(p. 33) and sample story (p. 34) and posters (p. 151-170).
1. Read the Instructions for Adapting the Feasibility Study Story and Posters.
2. Rewrite the story. Create posters appropriate for your locale.
3. Practice telling the story with the posters, before you do this activity. Prepare to ask the
participants questions to encourage them to discuss the story.
Steps:
1. Welcome everyone to the session. Start with a begin the day activity. (Note: If participants do not
know each other, Getting Better Acquainted is a good activity to usesee p. 22).
2. Explain to participants that you are going to tell them a story about women like them who wanted
to have a successful business.
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3. Present the story and posters. Go slowly, and ask lots of questions to get the participants reactions.
4. After the story is over, ask the participants:
H
ow are these women like us?
What did we learn about starting a business?
5. To end the session, explain that:
There is a name for what the women in the story didit is called a feasibility study. A feasibility study is a way to find out if a business is a good idea.
In this program, you will learn how to do a feasibility study so that you can choose and plan a business that has a chance for success.
A Feasibility Study ....

is gathering and analyzing information to find out if a business is a good idea or not. You will ask questions and organize your information. This
helps you to know if your idea is feasible or possible. Then you can decide if your business idea is really one that can increase your income.
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Instructions for Adapting the Feasibility Study Story and Posters

The Feasibility Study story and posters provide a simple, true-to-life
introduction to why a feasibility study is important and what it means.
The story and posters have proven to be an invaluable visual reference
for women who cannot read. They identify with the characters, discuss
the issues with great excitement, and later refer back to the story when
learning the steps for their own study.
The story has been used in many different settings, from urban areas
of Central America to isolated refugee communities in Somalia. The
amount of time it takes to present and discuss the story depends
greatly on your group. In one community, women spent over two
hours on the story. In another, the story plus a spontaneous role play
by the participants took less than thirty minutes.
Lack of literacy or numeracy skills has not been a problem for
participants in analyzing the story. Women typically have had
experience in dealing with money and are able to do most of the
calculations called for in their heads.
Second Requires some technical skill to produce

product: Sufficient market demand warrants more producers
to produce
Potential for profitability (i.e., costs are less than the
expected sales income)
3. Change the name of Aminta and her friends to local names.
4. For #28: a. Substitute the first product you chose for the
tie-dying.
b.
Remove all amounts of money. Write in the
actual amounts for the product you chose.
Make sure to use a higher expected sales price
in #2 than in #6.
5. For #918: a. Substitute the second product you chose for the soap.
b.
Change the details on equipment and
supplies to fit your product.
To make the story real for the participants in your program, you will
need to adapt it to your locale. The story and posters included here
were created in Senegal for rural women. The following steps will
enable you to adapt the story and posters (located at the end of the
manual on pp.151-170).
c.
Remove all amounts of money. Write in the
actual figures for the costs, expected sales,
and profit for your product. If ten production
cycles is too many for the product you have
chosen, use a smaller number.
1. Read the story, with the posters (the numbers on the story and
posters go together).
CAUTION: If the business projections do not show some profit,

choose another product for #918.
2. Choose two products from your own locale:
6. Prepare real money or play money to use for the story presentation.
(Note: Using real or play money greatly helps participants to see
what is happening in the story.)
First product: Requires some technical skill to produce

Many local producers exist
Limited market demand
7. Find a local artist to draw 18 posters that illustrate your story (use
those included in the manual as a guide).
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Poster Story From Senegal

1. This is Aminta. She lives in a village near here, and shes a lot like you. She has similar
desires and similar problems. What do you imagine shes thinking about? (Discussion)
One of her big concerns is her children. She would like them to go to school, but she
cant afford the notebooks and pens they need. Shed also like them to have better
food. Aminta has been thinking about what she can do to solve these problems. Shes
saved some money.
2. Aminta has 10,000.* She wants to use the money to start an activity that can make
more money. She remembers that her sister-in-law in another part of the country
makes tie-dyed cloth. She watched her sister-in-law make the cloth, and shes also
heard about tie-dying on the radio. Aminta says to herself, Im going to make 5
pieces of cloth and sell them for 2,500 each. Then, Ill make 12,500! Aminta is very
excited about her idea.
3. Aminta goes to town and stops at the first store she sees. She buys the supplies she
needs, and shes surprised that she must spend her entire 10,000. She doesnt even
have money left to take the bus home.
4. But she walks home feeling happy thinking about how successful her tie-dying
will be. When she gets home, she goes right to work. Shes never done tie-dying
before, and she isnt sure of some of the steps. Its a lot of work to make the five
pieces of cloth.
5. Whats happening here? Why is her husband upset? (Discussion) Yes, the tie-dying
took so much time that Aminta couldnt watch the children and do work around the
house. What will happen if Amintas husband isnt happy with her tie-dying work?
(Discussion) Aminta thinks, My husband may be mad now, but hell be happy when
he sees the 12,500 I earn.
* Note: The figures represent Senegalese francs (cfa). 10,000 cfa equals about $30 US.
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6. Aminta goes outside to collect her cloth to sell at the market. Shes shocked to see that two
pieces didnt turn out. Why? (Discussion) Aminta thought she would make 12,500 from the
sale of the cloth (Note: Show actual money or play money here). Now Aminta cannot sell
two pieces of cloth; how much less money can she make? (Discussion) Thats right, 5,000 (2
x 2,500). (Note: Remove this amount from the money.) So, how much can Aminta still make?
(Discussion) Yes, 7,500. (Note: Show the money that remains). However, Aminta already
spent 10,000 on supplies! Aminta is discouraged, but shes very motivated and knows she
made a mistake. She decides to sell the three pieces and do better next time.
7. She gets up early the next morning to go to the market, planning to be home by
lunchtime. What does she see when she gets to the market? (Discussion) There are
many women selling cloth like Amintas, for 1,000 each. Since people bargain with the
women for the cloth, the actual price is less than 1,000 each. She wont even make
3,000! She had planned to make 7,500. Aminta sits down to sell the cloth. How long do
you think she stays at the market? What happens? (Discussion)
8. Now Aminta is very, very discouraged. She cant understand what she did wrong.
Shes asking for help: what should she have done differently? (Discussion) Note: In the
discussion, encourage the group to consider these issues:
Aminta should have found out how to produce good quality tie-dye. (She could have
worked with her sister-in law; practiced on old pieces of cloth; etc.)
She didnt realize how much time the tie-dye production and selling would require.
Aminta needed to visit the market to find out: the selling price of the cloth; how long
it takes to sell; how much the women make in a day, a week, a month; who takes care
of things at home when theyre at the market; where the women buy supplies; why
people buy from one woman and not another, etc.
Aminta worked on her own, rather than with a group. (Note: Review the posters #27
and ask how working in a group might have helped.)
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9. Aminta listened to your advice. She wants to try again, and has called together
four friends. She tells them what happened. One of her friends wants to try tie-dye
again. But Aminta says that there are too many other women already making the
cloth. Lets think of something else, she says. Hadi, one of the friends, responds:
My grandmother used to make soap, and I helped her. I know how to make soap.
Who needs soap? (Discussionpoint out that everyone needs soap; that it can be
sold locally; that it is something people use and then buy again.)
10. Here is a cake of manufactured soap thats sold in the store. It is 500 grams and
sells for 150. The women think they can make and sell good quality soap for a
cheaper price.
11. Two of Amintas friends go to the market, following your advice. They want to be
sure they can make money producing and selling soap. What do they see? How
many women are selling soap? Is there much left? (Discussion) The women find
out that the demand for the soap is great, and that it costs 100 per cake. What else
do you notice about the soap, is it all the same? (Discussion) There is black soap
and white soap. The white soap sells better. This is the kind of soap Hadi knows
how to make. What about competition? The sellers say that they sell so much that
theres room for the women to start selling too. What else do you think the women
asked about? (Discussionsuggest these questions if the group does not: Where
do you buy supplies? Do you know of sources for cheap palm oil? How much
profit do you make? etc.)
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12. The women decide that they need to be careful about how much money they
would spend on soap making and how much they would earn. First, they find
out the cost of starting soap production. They will need a large steel tub for
boiling2,700; a small bucket for carrying water1,700; and three wooden
molds1,500. The total cost of the equipment is 5,900. (Note: Use real or play
money in #12-17.)
13. Now the group calculates how much it will cost to produce one batch of soap,
or three molds full. They need 2 liters of palm oil1,400; 500 grams of lye
200; and 10 liters of water, which is free. The total cost of supplies is 1,600.
14. Next the women figure out how much they can earn from each batch of soap.
Each mold can make 17 cakes of soap. 17 x 3 molds yields 51 cakes. If a cake
is sold at 100, total sales will be 5,100 (51 x 100). The women know they must
deduct the cost of the palm oil and lye for each batch. They subtract 1,600
from 5,100 which leaves 3,500 profit per batch.
15. However, the women remember the cost of equipment, 5,900 for the tub,
pail and molds. How many batches will it take to pay back these costs?
(Discussion) The answer is two batches.
16. The women think some more about their production and sales. Lets say they
have already made two batches and paid back their initial investment. How
much will they make on 10 batches? (Discussion) [Answer: Sales income is
51,000 (5,100 per batch x 10). Supplies cost 16,000 (1,600 per batch x 10).
51,000 minus 16,000 equals 35,000 profit on 10 batches.] Besides profit, what
else do the women need to think about? (Discussion) (Suggestions: How long
it takes to make the soap; how quickly they can earn a profit; whether the
demand for soap is constant or varies; etc.)
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17. The women think they can make money making soap. But
they ask themselves, Have we taken all the costs involved into
account? Have they? (Discussion) (Suggestions: The group
needs to think about transportation and their time as well).
The women still think the business can be profitable. Now
they discuss how they will work: how might they organize
themselves? which tasks would take the most time? how would
they take care of their children and responsibilities at home?
18. The women have now studied the soap making idea.
They each have 2,000 to use for starting the business,
or a total of 10,000. Should they start the soap-making
operation? Why or why not? (Discussion: encourage the
group to consider profit, as well as time, the production
process, acquisition of supplies, transportation, etc.)
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Purpose: To discuss and agree on the goals and schedule of the training program.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: You, the facilitator, have a plan of activities for the Feasibility Study
program. It is important to present this plan to your participants, so that they can
discuss how it fits with their interests and schedules. They should decide on the final
schedule for the program and on any other rules they want to set. This will help them
feel that the training is for their benefit and belongs to them.
Preparation for the Session:

Materials:
Large paper and felt tip pen.
1. Write the goals and schedule on a large piece of paper to post at your meeting place. For groups that cannot read and write, use symbols or numbers
for the days of the week that they will be involved in the training program.
2. Re-read Notes to the Facilitator and write down ideas youd like to present to your participants about the purpose and results of the training
program.
Steps:
1. Ask the participants to respond, one after the other, to the following questions:
Why did you come to this training program?
What do you hope to gain?
2. Tell the group your ideas about why the training program is important and what they can expect to accomplish. Post and read the training goals. Ask
the group if they have any questions. If the participants ideas about what they hope to gain are very different from the training goals, discuss further
how the program can meet their needs.
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Notes:
Training Goals
As a result of this training, participants will:

Understand the importance of a feasibility study.

Learn the six steps for conducting a feasibility study.
Plan a feasibility study.
Carry out their own feasibility study.
Decide whether to start a new business or how to strengthen a current business.
Prepare a business plan.
3. Post and present the training schedule. Explain that the first part of the program enables them
to learn how to do a feasibility study and the second part involves them in actually doing a
study. At the end, they will have a plan for starting or strengthening their business. Ask the
participants if they have any questions or concerns about the schedule. Ask if they have any
ideas for changes.
4. Now, tell the participants that you would like to talk about how they will learn to do a feasibility
study. Ask them these questions:
How do your children learn in school? What does the teacher do? What do the students do?
If you want to learn to do something, such as fix a bicycle, how do you learn? (Note: Point
out that if we are trying to learn to do something, we usually learn best if someone shows us
and then we practice ourselves.)
5. Explain that in the training program, you, the facilitator, will usually not lecture. Instead you will
help them discuss ideas and do things together. Everyone will have something to contribute to
doing a feasibility study. And everyones ideas and opinions are valuable.
6. Ask the group if they would like to set any rules for the program, such as:
time and length of breaks
what to do if people come late or miss a session
any other rules the group feels are important.
7. Ask for any other comments or thoughts about the training program.
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Peace Corps
We Can Do It!
Purpose: To talk about courage and fear in beginning a project.
TIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Rationale: Your participants may be hesitant about the training program and about starting or changing a business. This activity helps them understand that their feelings are natural and can be dealt with positively.
Steps:
1. Tell the participants that this training involves doing new things. Ask the women:
Are there times in your life when you have been afraid, but did something anyway?
Could you tell the group about them?
How did you feel after doing these things when you felt fear at first?
What gave you the courage to go ahead?
What happened as a result?
2. Now, ask the women to think about starting a new business. Read the first phrase below and ask for volunteers to complete it. Then do the same for
the second phrase.
When I think of starting a new business, I am afraid of...
When I think of starting a new business, I have good feelings about...
NOTE: For women with existing businesses, ask their feelings about changing their business.
3. Divide the women into groups of three or four members. Explain that each group will present a skit about a particular fear and how to overcome it.
A skit is a short drama or play. The players create the words and story themselves.
4. Ask the women if they have any questions about what to do. Here is an example you can use to clarify what the skits should be about. For instance,
one group was hesitant about meeting government officials to obtain certain resources. In their skit, they showed women visiting an official together
and supporting one another to speak up.
5. Give the group about 15 minutes to prepare the skits. Visit each group during this time to help them prepare.
6. Ask the groups to present their skits, one by one.
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7. After the skits are completed, ask

How do you feel about starting (or changing) a business
now?
8. In closing, share some of these thoughts.
Many of us feel nervous or worried when we begin a new
project. We cannot avoid these feelings. Every one of us
feels fear about the unknown or that we may not succeed
at something. Sometimes we are even afraid that we may
succeed and it will bring new responsibilities for us!
These are not bad feelings. Many times we go ahead and
do something even though we are afraid. Then we may feel
extra good afterwards because we have done something in
spite of our fears.
We feel strong because we have had the courage to
go ahead. We have done something to be proud of.
9. If this is the end of your first day of training, make sure to
use one of the end the day activities on p. 26.
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Peace Corps
Step One:
Choose a Product or Service to Sell
43

Purpose: To expand womens views about the kinds of work women can do and to present some
ideas for nontraditional work.
NOTE: If the women have an existing business which they want to review, skip to Step Two.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: Women are often brought up to see themselves doing some kinds of work but not
others. However, the kinds of work that may be new to them also may be most profitable. This
activity helps women look at their assumptions about what women can and cannot do.

Materials:
Prepared skit (see Womens Work Skit Instructions, p. 45); Another
facilitator or participant to act in the skit; Step One poster.
1. This activity begins with a short skit which shows that women can work in many kinds
of businesses. Read the Skit Instructions and practice your skit with another facilitator or
participant before the session. Make sure to emphasize kinds of work that women do not
traditionally do in your area, but that are possible for them to do.
Steps:
1. Have the participants sit in a semicircle. Tell them you are going to put on a short play about
women and work.
2. Introduce the two characters and perform your play.
3. After the skit, ask the participants:
What did you think of the play?
What did you think of the first persons ideas? the second persons ideas?
What did you agree with? What did you disagree with?
Do you have any new ideas about work women can do? work you would like to do?
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4. To end the session, show the

participants the poster with the
symbol and words for Step One:
Choose a Product or Service to Sell.
Tell them that this is the first step in
doing a feasibility study. The next
activities will help them identify
some possible business ideas.
Womens Work Skit Instructions

This is a skit or play about work opportunities for
women in your community. Every community is
different. So, your skit will be different than a skit
done somewhere else.
Here are some guidelines for creating your skit:
1. Prepare the skit before the meeting. In the skit,
you can talk without a script like you would
in a conversation. Or, you can write down
the words and read them. The skit should be
about 10 minutes long.
2. Include at least two people in the skit. The two
can be two women or a man and a woman.
Give them local names. You will take one part.
Another facilitator or participant takes the
other part.
3. The first actor thinks that women are good
only at cooking, sewing, and caring for
children. If women work, they should only be
teachers, seamstresses, or have other similar
jobs.
4. The second actor thinks that womens income
is important, even essential, to their families.
He or she thinks women can do many things.
Women should try new kinds of work. They
should try to find work that is interesting and
profitable.
5. In the skit, the first actor meets the second

actor. They have tea or some refreshment,
then start talking. They talk about what kinds
of work their daughters can do when they get
older. They argue about kinds of work women
can do and cant do.
SOME IDEAS FOR KINDS

OF WORK
Have the skit include some ways to
earn that people think of as mens
work, such as carpentry, electrical
repair, or animal raising.
6. Make the skit funny! The actors can get very

angry!!
7. Remember: Try to talk about kinds of work
women may not have considered. Help them
think about new ideas. And also remember to
have fun!
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Business Ideas
Purpose: To enable participants to identify a wide range of business possibilities, which take into
account local economic needs as well as the womens own values.
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Rationale: The first business idea that someone identifies is often not the best. In this activity,
women have the opportunity to discuss the kinds of businesses their communities might need
and what they hope to gain from a business.
Materials:
1. Before the session, seek out information on the community economy. This information might
be available in reports from community offices or a university. Or, you might need to interview
people who have a lot of contact with community members, such as extension agents or
health workers. In particular, find out the kinds of economic activities that presently exist in
the community and identify products or services that the community may need but does not
presently have.
STEPS:
1. Ask the participants to remember the poster story.
What was the first business idea the woman had? How did she choose it?
What happened to the business?
2. Tell the participants that choosing a business idea is a big decision. Here are three things we
need to consider:
what people buy or want to buy
what we can do and how we want to work
what benefits we want to gain.
Lets discuss each of these considerations.
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3. WHAT PEOPLE BUY OR WANT TO BUY

Tell participants that a business cannot succeed if people do not want to buy what we have
to sell.

Ask them:
What kinds of businesses do we have in our community now?

What products or services do people need? Are there already businesses that provide
these things?
What are some products or services that are not available in your community?
NOTE: Give the participants some ideas from your own information-gathering and from the
chart below.
Examples of Kinds of Business Activities

Commerce: Stores, storage facilities, transportation, restaurants, service (petrol station,
barber shops)
Industry: Repair shops, tailors, construction, food processing, bakery, cloth dying,
household goods (e.g. brooms, dishes)
Agriculture: Food production, animal raising
4. WHAT WE CAN DO AND HOW WE WANT TO WORK

Explain that we must also think about the skills we already have or need and the kind of work
conditions we want.
Ask each participant to choose a partner. Tell the partners to ask each other:
What skills do I have that could be useful in a business?
NOTE: Encourage them to include things they can do with their hands (such as making dried
herbs), things that would help the business operate (like counting skills), things they can do
with people (such as settle arguments, organize groups, and so on).
After a few minutes, have each woman report what her partner told her. When all have
spoken, comment on the diversity of abilities and strengths within the group. Show
appreciation for their abilities.
Doing
Doing a
a Feasibility
Feasibility Study
Study
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Now, tell the group you would like them to think about their work conditions. Ask them: What work schedule would you prefer?
Would you like to work near your home or away from home?
How will your children be cared for while you are working?
What else is important to you about your work?
5. WHAT BENEFITS WE WANT TO GAIN
Explain that everyone thinks of making money when they think of having a business. This is the most obvious benefit, but there can
be other benefits too.
Draw the diagram below on large paper. Explain that there are some businesses which mainly benefit the individual, some that benefit her family
as well, and others that benefit the local community.
Ideas for Business Benefits

Increasing pride in ourselves
Improving our status in the community
Working with other women
Learning new skills
Creating jobs
Providing locally needed products or services

Ask participants:
Buying supplies from local merchants
Besides money, what would you personally like to gain

from working in a business?
What would you like to gain for your family?
How might your business contribute to your community?
NOTE: Add ideas from the box to the right if participants do not suggest them
6. To end this session, ask everyone in turn to complete this sentence: I want a business that....
(Examples: I want a business that makes more food available in my community; I want a business that only requires a few hours of work
a day; I want a business that will give me the most income possible.)
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Which Business Should We Study?

Purpose: To choose a business to examine in the feasibility study training activities.
NOTE: The participants may decide to choose another business for the actual study.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: After listing many business possibilities, the women choose one idea
that interests them and may be economically viable.

Materials:
Large paper and felt tip pen
Small pieces of paper and tape for voting
Steps:
1. Begin by summarizing what participants discussed in the two previous activities (Exploring Womens Work and Things to Consider in Identifying
Business Ideas). Talk about some of the ideas related to work women can do and about some of the things the women said are important to them in
a business.
2. Present the Step One poster (p. 43). Tell participants that the purpose of this session is to choose one business idea they want to study. First, they will
make a long list of possible businesses. Then, they will vote on their preference.
3. Explain that they will brainstorm ideas to create the list. Read the guidelines for brainstorming (below) and ask if there are any questions.
Brainstorming Guidelines
Brainstorm means listing ideas very quickly, with no discussion.
Everyones ideas are valuable. Remember:
Quantity of ideas is important, not quality.
No criticism or judgment is allowed until all ideas are out.
Unusual or crazy ideas are encouraged!
Try to add on to anothers ideas.
Be creative!
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4. Write ideas down as the women say them (using words or symbols). When you have a long list
and no new ideas are coming, stop and read the list to the women.
5. Ask the women to recall things that are important to consider about a business from the
previous session.
Ask:
Do you want to add any ideas to the list?
Do you feel some ideas are not appropriate? If so, why?
6. Divide the participants into groups of three or four. Tell the groups to discuss the business ideas
and choose four possibilities. Have the groups meet for 10-15 minutes.
7. Ask one person from each group to list the business ideas chosen. Put each idea on a separate
piece of paper and post it on the wall (if a business is listed more than once, just use one piece
of paper).
8. After all the ideas are posted on paper, tell the group that you would like them to vote on the
business idea which seems most viable and most interests them. Give each woman a small
piece of paper and tape. Ask everyone to tape the paper to their choice.
9. With the participants, count the number of votes for each idea:
If one idea has more votes than any other, ask the women:
Is this the business you want to study? Why or why not?
NOTE: Allow time for group members to discuss possible differences of opinion. If there is a tie,
ask participants:
Which of the businesses would be the best to study? Why?
NOTE: Allow time for discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the various ideas.
10. When the group seems to have reached a consensus, state the business the women have
decided to study and explain that they will examine this business in the other five steps of the
feasibility study.
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Step Two: Find Out if People Will Buy

Our Product or Service
51
Looking at Customer Demand

Purpose: To introduce the concept of customer demand as the key factor in developing a viable business.
NOTE: For participants with existing businesses, this activity requires no adaptation.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: Before starting a business, it is essential to know whether there are customersa marketfor a particular product or service. This activity
helps participants understand what motivates people to buy and enables them to identify ways to find out whether people will buy their products. This
step prepares them to do a local market survey during the actual feasibility study.

Materials:
Four local products and a symbol of a service business to show:
A product with limited demand, such as a book.
A product that is a luxury such as a television.
A product that is a necessity, such as a food item.
A symbol of a service with high demand, such as bicycle repair.
NOTE: Do not include the product or service chosen by participants in the previous activity.
1. Before the session, select four of the participants to be in a short play.
Choose participants that have participated actively in the previous
sessions. Meet with the women and give each one of them a product
or symbol. Then, explain that each will pretend to sell the item to the
group, in short 5 minute presentations. Each in turn will:

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Stand in front of the group.

Talk about her product or service.
Give its price.
Tell the group why it should be purchased.
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2. Help the participants prepare the presentations if necessary. Ask them to practice together.
Steps:
1. Present the Step Two poster. Explain that before starting a business, we must be sure
people will buy what we plan to sell.
2. Explain that several participants have prepared a short play to aid everyone in thinking
about why people buy or do not buy something. Have the four sellers present their
products one by one.
3. After the products and services have been shown to the group, tell the women to choose one item
to buy. They should raise their hands if they would buy the first, second, third or fourth items.
4. Discuss why people made their choices of what to buy:
What did you think about when you made your choice?
Why was one product or service demanded more than others?
Why was one product or service demanded less?
NOTE: The women may suggest such reasons as the product is more useful or attractive or less
expensive.
5. Ask the participants to remember the poster story. What did the woman do after she decided on
the second product? Why did she go to the market and what did she find out?
6. Now, ask the participants all to pretend that they are sellers: For each of the four items, how can
you find out if people will buy it?
Ways to Find Out What

People Will Buy
Visit and Observe:
Customers in a market or
a store.
Where would you go, whom would you talk to, what would you ask?
What people have in

their homes.
NOTE: Add ideas from the box to the right, if participants do not suggest them.
Talk to:
7. Review the ideas the participants have stated. Tell them that they will use these methods of finding
out customer demand when they do their actual study.
People who are already

selling an item.
People you think might be
interested in an item.
Experts, such are extension
agents who might have
access to written reports.
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Notes:
Will People Buy

What We Plan to Sell?
Purpose: To determine whether there is a market for the participants planned business NOTE:
For women with existing businesses, use this activity to reassess the market for their actual
product or service.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: This activity helps participants examine more fully whether their product or service
is something people will buy. They consider the demand for their business and the existing
competitors.
Preparation for the Session: None

Steps:
1. Tell participants that they will now examine customer demand for their own
business idea.
2. Divide the group in half. Tell one small group to think of all the reasons they can that people
would want to buy their product or service. Tell the other group to think of all the reasons that
people would not want to buy. Allow about 10 minutes for discussion.
3. Ask one or two members of each group to present the groups ideas. Now, ask the participants:
Do you think people will buy your product or service? Why or why not?
4. Ask the participants to think more about whom their customers might be:
Where do the customers live?
What age are they? Are they men, women, or children?
How much income do they have?
How might they find out about your product or service?
What else do you know about them?
Will they still want to buy your product or service in one year? in two years?
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5. Explain to the participants that beside knowing customer demand, we must know about competition.
Discuss:
Are other businesses producing what we plan to produce?
Is there enough customer demand for another business of this kind? How can we
find out?
Why would someone buy from us instead of from a competitor?
NOTE: If participants do not discuss them, suggest these factors: convenience, quality, personal
relationship/trust, price, attractiveness of the product, and good promotion such as free samples or
posters around town.
6. Now, tell participants that it is time to decide whether they think there is a market for their business idea.
Ask them:
Do you think there are customers
for your product or service?
Will they continue to want your
product or service?
Do you think you can compete with
the existing competitors?
NOTE: If participants are unsure, remind
them that they will do their full feasibility
study later. If they can answer a tentative
yes to these questions, it is sufficient.
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7. If the participants answer yes to the questions in #6, proceed to Step Three. If not, return to
Step One and choose another product or service to study. Women with existing businesses
who cannot answer yes to these questions may also want to go to Step One and consider
alternative businesses.
8. Tell participants that in the next meeting they will talk with someone who knows about the
kind of business they have chosen. Ask them if they can suggest a good resource person. To
end, ask them to think about questions they would like to ask the person.
Special Note: The first activity in Step Three involves arranging for a visit to a business or
Notes:
56
for a resource person to attend your meeting. Make sure to allow enough preparation time
for you to make these arrangements. See Preparation for the Session for details.
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Step Three: Determine How the Business

Will Operate
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What We Know, What We Need to Find Out

Purpose: To provide a means for participants to learn more about the operation of the proposed
business, particularly its technical processes.
NOTE: This activity can serve as a review for women with existing businesses.
Time: 2 hours.
Rationale: Technical know-how is another factor in developing a successful small business. Even
if women think they are experts in producing whatever they plan to sell, this activity enables the
group to discuss the technical process together and to define ways to improve the process.

Materials:
Resource person (visit to workplace or presentation at meeting)
1. Before the session, contact someone who has a business like the one the participants are studying
or someone who knows about this kind of business. Meet with the person and explain that the
women would like to talk with her/him about how the business operates. If at all possible, arrange
to take the women to the site of the business, so they can observe how things are done. If the
resource person comes to your meeting, ask her/him to be prepared to demonstrate aspects of
the technical process for your participants.
Steps:
1. Arrange to meet with the participants for about 30 minutes before they meet with the resource
person. Put up the Step Three poster.
2. Ask the participants to think back to the woman in the poster story. What happened when she
tried to make her first product? Why did she have problems producing the items?
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3. Tell the participants that today they will have a chance to talk with an expert about the
business they are studying. Before the meeting, it is important for the group to decide what it
needs to know.
4. Ask the participants:
What do you already know about the business, particularly the production process?
Have any women with experience or ideas speak in turn.
5. Now, we also need to think about:
What dont we know about the business or what are we unsure about?
6. Encourage the participants to think of specific questions they would like to ask the resource
person, such as:
What is involved in the production process, from start to finish? How long does one
production cycle take?
What resources/supplies do you need and where do you get them? How much do these
cost?
Notes:
What skills do you need and how do you learn them?

Who buys your product? Why?
What problems have you encountered?
What advice could you give us?
7. Now the participants are ready to meet with the resource person. Make sure the resource
person provides time for the participants to ask their questions.
8. After the meeting, talk with participants about what they learned. Ask them what they found
out during the meeting that they didnt know before. To summarize what they found most
valuable, ask:
The most useful information I found out for our business is....
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How Will We Work?

Purpose: To enable participants to discuss how they will organize their business, in terms of
production, finance, and administration.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: Besides technical know-how, operating a business involves management of people,
money, and resources. This activity helps participants plan how their business will be organized.

Materials:
Steps:
1. Ask participants if they have any other ideas from the meeting with the resource person. Explain
that the resource person helped them learn about the technical processes in their business. To
operate a business, we also need to think about how we will organize ourselves to do the work.
2. Tell the participants you would like them to think about something they have done with other
women, such as plan a celebration or a school event. Ask for several women to talk about how
the work was divided up and who decided who did what.
3. Explain that operating a business involves:
Production Who will do what to make the product or service? What will be our
production schedule?
Finance
Who will keep the accounts, and how will profits be shared?
Administration Who will take care of ordering supplies, filing any required papers,
making contracts, and so on?
(Write each item, in words or by symbol, on large paper as you present it.)
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4. Talk with participants about these three functions. Answer questions they may have on what is
involved in each function. Ask the participants for examples of businesses that are organized in
different ways. How does a store owner usually organize her/his business? How is a cooperative
organized?
5. Divide the participants into groups of four or five. Ask each group to discuss:
How will we organize our business: production, finance, administration?
6. Take about 15 minutes for the small group discussion. Visit each group during the discussion to
clarify issues or provide additional information.
7. Ask one or two people from each group to summarize the discussion. After the reports, pose
these questions:
For organizing our business, what do we agree on?
What do we disagree about?
What do we need to find out more about?
Notes:
8. If the legal requirements of a business do not come up during the discussion, ask the
participants:
What are the legal requirements for operating a business or cooperative?
How can we find these out?
9. End the session by reminding the participants that they will seek out more detailed information
on business organization in their actual feasibility study.
Special Note: The second activity in Step Four, Finding Examples of Business Costs
involves a field trip. Make arrangements for the visit, particularly
transportation, well in advance of the meeting.
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Step Four:
Calculate Business Expenses
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Purpose: To introduce participants to the kinds of costs they will have in their business.
NOTE: For existing businesses, use this activity to review current expenses.

Rationale: In planning a business, some costs are obvious and others are more hidden.
For example, participants may think of supplies they need to purchase but not include the
cost of training to improve their skills. This activity presents eight categories of expenses the
participants need to consider for their own business.

Materials:
8 Business Cost posters
(see pp. 65-82 for samples)
1. Before the session, review the sample Business Cost posters. If you think your participants will understand these symbols, use these posters (or
copies of them) in your meeting. If not, have a local artist draw symbols that are appropriate for your group.
2. Read the sample questions on p. 65.
Steps:
1. Put up the poster for Step Four. Explain to the participants that they will now learn about business expenses.
2. Ask the women to think again about the poster story. What expenses did the woman think about for producing her second product?
3. Have the participants think about another example. Ask them:
If you were starting a new cooking business and people would
come to buy your cooked food, what are all the things you
would need to spend money on?
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4. Discuss the question for about 10 minutes. Suggest these things if the participants do not mention them:
Food, cooking pots, fuel to cook food, bowls to eat with.
Animals or vehicle to go and buy the food.
Cooking area, electricity or fuel, perhaps a market stall.
Wages for people who help in the cooking.
Training for additional helpers to do the cooking.
Containers for the food.
Posters that advertise the cooking business.
5. Now, explain that the business costs they have identified can be grouped into eight types. Present and put up the eight posters one by one.
6. Now, divide the women into teams of three. Tell the teams to prepare one or two minute pantomimes to act out the posters. For example, the team with transportation might pantomime a
bus. Assign the posters to each team (some teams may have more than one), but do not let the
other teams know.
7. Ask each team to present its pantomimeand the other teams to guess what poster they are
presenting.
8. After the pantomimes, use the posters again. Discuss each poster one by one. For each poster,
ask:
What are the questions you need to ask to find out your costs?
(See p. 65 for examples of questions.)
9. As the women give their ideas, write the questions down for future use.
NOTE: It is important for the facilitator to keep a record of these questions even if the participants cant read and write.
10. End the activity by explaining that the next session involves a trip into the community to look
for examples of business costs.
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Sample Posters and Questions
MATERIALS:
training:
W
hat materials do you need to start
a business?
How would you find this out if you
dont know?
Where would you get the materials?
W
hat skills do you need? How will
you learn them, if you dont have
them already?
Transportation:
packaging:
W
hat transportation do you need to get
supplies and to sell your product?
D
oes the business require packaging? What
kind? Where will the materials
come from?
facilities:
promotion:
W
here will your business be?
Do you need electricity, water or other
resources?
How will you advertise your business?
workers:
money:
Who will do the work?

How much is our time worth?
Do you need to hire other workers?
W
here will you find loans or grants to start
and operate your business?
How much are the interest payments?
65
Finding Examples of Business Costs

Purpose: To enable participants to identify some of the actual expenses in their business.
NOTE: This activity can be omitted for existing businesses or used to identify ways to reduce
expenses.
Time: 3-4 hours.

Rationale: This activity makes the eight types of business costs real rather than abstract. Going
into the community and finding examples of expenses helps the participants remember the
cost categories. It also enables them to identify different options for a particular expense, such as
different means of transportation.

Materials:
One or more Polaroid cameras and film (if not available, give each participant
a paper and pencil for drawing)
1. Make arrangements for the community visit. Choose a place or places to visit where participants
can find examples of expenses for the business they are studying.
2. The Polaroid camera is used for taking pictures of the examples of business expenses. This gives
participants a visual record of what they find. If a camera is not available, have participants draw
pictures of what they see.
3. Be sure to allow at least 30 minutes for discussion before the trip and an hour for discussion
after the trip. If this is too much for one day, have the post-trip discussion the next day!
Steps:
1. Before the trip, meet somewhere with the participants where you can have a 30 minute
discussion.
2. Ask the participants to name the eight types of costs. Tell them that the purpose of the trip is to
find examples of costs for the business idea they chose.
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3. Divide the group into teams of five. Explain:

Each group should find one example of all eight of the cost categories and photograph
(or draw) it. Each team will take (or draw) eight pictures. The members must decide
among themselves which pictures to take (or draw). If a type of cost does not apply to
your business, find an example for another business.
NOTE: If using a camera, encourage the teams to allow each woman to have a turn taking a
picture.
Ask if there are any questions.
4. Show the women how to use the camera and let them practice.
5. Give the women a few minutes to meet in teams before leaving.
6. Arrange a time and place for all the teams to meet after
they are finished taking or drawing the pictures. If you
have only one camera, work out a way to share it.
7. Go on the field trip.
8. After the trip, meet with the women for about one hour.
Ask:
Will each team show your photographs and
describe why you selected them?
How did you, as a team, decide which
photographs to take?
What new ideas do you have about costs for
your business?
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What Do We Need to Buy? How Much Will it Cost?

Purpose: To enable the participants to decide the specific needs of their business for each of the eight types of business costs.
NOTE: Existing businesses can use this activity to review costs or determine ways to reduce costs.
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes2 hours.

Rationale: The financial calculations for the participants planned business begin in this activity. They figure what they need to start and to operate the
business and how much it will cost. They must know this to be able to determine if the business can be profitable.

Materials:
8 Business Cost posters (pp. 65-82)
Charts for start-up and operating expenses (see pp. 86-87)
1. Read this activity carefully and practice using the charts to calculate costs for a business with which you are familiar.
2. Think about the expenses that will be involved in the participants planned business. Estimate the price of specific items, so you will be prepared to
help the participants with the calculations.
3. Participants who cannot read and write may have some difficulty with the financial calculations. Schedule breaks so they do not become tired, and
provide lots of encouragement!
Steps:
1. Put up the eight cost posters. Once again review the eight types of business costs. Tell the women that they will determine the costs for their
business idea in this activity. Remind them that much of this will be guessing at costs and not to worry if they do not have exact figures. The main
purpose of the activity is to learn how to calculate costs for their full study.
2. Ask the women to remember the poster story. For the second product, how did the woman decide her business costs?
3. Remind participants that she first decided what she needed to start the business and then decided what she needed to operate it. They will do the
same thing.
4. Put up the chart for start-up expenses:
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Notes:
Start-Up Expenses
RESOURCES
WHAT WE NEED

WHERE WE
CAN GET IT
HOW MUCH IT
WILL COST
Materials
Transportation
Facilities
Workers
Workers Training
Packaging
Promotion
TOTAL:
5. Ask participants to decide what they will need to begin the business. For each type of cost,
decide:
What do we need? And, how much?
Where can we get it?*
How much will it cost?
* Participants may want to contribute something, such as a bucket, to the business so that they
can lower costs. Even if they do not have to buy a particular item, help them understand that
it has value and it is part of their business investment.
6. Write the answers (in words or symbols) on the chart and calculate the total start-up expenses.
7. Now, ask the participants to determine the cost to operate the business. Ask them:
How many items will you make in one production cycle?
(Reminder: A production cycle is the period of time needed for producing one batch of items.)
8. Then, use the chart to calculate the costs: first, for one production cycle and second, for one
year of operation.
NOTE: Participants should count their labor as an expense. Have them estimate an hourly wage
and then multiply that by the number of hours worked.
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Operating Expenses
RESOURCES
WHAT WE NEED
WHERE WE

CAN GET IT

HOW MUCH IT
WILL COST FOR
ONE CYCLE
HOW MUCH IT
WILL COST FOR
ONE YEAR*
Materials
____________
____________
____________
____________
Transportation
____________
____________
____________
____________
Facilities
____________
____________
____________
____________
Workers
____________
____________
____________
____________
Workers Training
____________
____________
____________
____________
Packaging
____________
____________
____________
____________
Promotion
____________
____________
____________
____________
Loan Payments
____________
____________
____________
____________
TOTALS:
____________
(*Yearly Costs = Cost of one cycle multiplied by number of cycles in a year.)

9. Complete the Operating Expense chart.
10. Tell the participants that besides calculating start-up expenses and operating expenses, it
is a good idea to plan a small reserve fund for repairs, replacements, or unplanned expenses.
Discuss how much they think they need as a reserve for their business.
NOTE: In business terms, their reserve can be considered a depreciation allowance.
11. Now, point to the Money poster. Ask the group to think about the money they have for the
business:
What money do you have? How much might you need to borrow to start the business
and begin operating?
Where can you get a loan, if needed?
What will the interest be? (Tell participants that loan payments on principal and interest
need to be included in expenses.)
12. Save the charts and loan information. They will be needed in Step Six.
13. To end the session, congratulate the group on all its hard work!
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Step Five:
Estimate Sales Income
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Selling a Product or Service

Purpose: To introduce participants to the kinds of decisions they need to
make related to selling their product or service.
NOTE: Existing businesses can use this activity to identify gaps or problems
in their sales practices.

Rationale: The participants have already thought about production and
business operation. Careful attention also needs to be given to sales. In
most cases, businesses have options regarding how much to sell, what
price, when and where. These decisions greatly affect sales income. This
activity raises issues about sales decisions for the women to consider in
planning their own business.
Materials:
Rhodas Story and Zenabs Story (see pp. 90-91)
The Cloth Seller instructions (see p. 92)
1. Prepare the play about a woman who buys and sells cloth (see
instructions on p. 92).
Steps:
1. Show the Step Five poster. Explain that this activity presents decisions
that need to be made for selling a product or service.
2. Tell the women this story is about Rhoda, a woman like them who had
her own business.
3. Read the story.
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RHODAS STORY
One day Rhoda decided to sell vegetables at the market like her other friends. With 50 coins in savings, she
bought 50 potatoes from a nearby farm for one coin each. She decided to sell the potatoes for two coins
each.
She found an empty table and placed her potatoes for people to buy. Her friends told her the man, who
owned the stall tables, would come to collect in the afternoon. She thought she would sell all her potatoes
and pay the man from the profit of 100 coins.
By the afternoon, Rhoda had sold all her potatoes. Her price of two coins each was so inexpensive that all
the people wanted to buy from her. She had 100 coins from her sales.
Then the man came to collect for the stall table and told her the cost was 100 coins. That is all that I
earned today! said Rhoda.
She had to give him the 100 coins and went home without any money. She had lost the 50 coins from her
savings and she lost the 50 coins she had earned.
4. After telling the story, ask the women:

What was Rhodas problem?
What should she have done?
What would have happened if Rhoda priced her potatoes at three coins each?
What would have happened if the man had asked 150 coins for the table?
What things did Rhoda need to think about when she began her business?
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If the women do not come up with these ideas, suggest:

How many potatoes to buy; how many potatoes she might sell; what
other costs she would have; the price of other sellers potatoes.
5. Read Zenabs story.
ZENABS STORY
Zenab decided she wanted to sell some fruit. She asked herself: What does it cost to
get started in a fruit business? She went to the farmer and asked what it would cost
to buy 50 pieces of fruit. Then she went to the man with the stall tables and asked
how much it would cost for a table for one day.
Finally, she went to the market and visited other fruit sellers to see what kinds of
fruit they had and how much they charged for each piece. She now had enough
information to answer the question: What will my costs be?
Now she thought about: What shall I sell the fruit for? How much can I sell in one
day? She went back to the market. She stood near the fruit tables and counted the
people who passed. Then she counted how many people bought the fruit. She
decided that people would buy her fruit if she sold it at the market.
She went home and wrote down her costs and possible income. She figured out
how many pieces of fruit she would have to sell at what price to make a profit.
The next day she bought her fruit and started her business.
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6. Ask the women to discuss:

What is different about Zenab and Rhoda?
Is Zenab likely to be more successful than Rhoda? Why, or why

not?
What decisions did Zenab make before selling fruit?
What did you learn from Rhoda and Zenab that is important to
think about for selling your product or service?
7. Now present the play about the woman who buys and sells cloth.
8. After the play, ask the group:
How much did the woman pay for each piece of cloth? How
much in total? Did she have any money left?
How much did she sell the cloth for? How much was her profit?
9. Next, ask the participants how much the woman really made:
What were her expenses? (Examples: transportation to buy the
cloth, hours of her time to buy and sell, and rent on the market
stall.)

How much do these expenses cost?
Subtract these costs from the sales price of the cloth. Compare
this amount to the amount she paid for the cloth.

Did the woman make money or lose money?
10. To end, ask the participants:

How could the woman have made a profit (or more of a profit)?
Discuss ways to reduce expenses, or the need to find another business.
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Instructions
The Cloth Seller

In this drama, a business woman will buy some cloth from a seller and
then sell the cloth at her market stall. Two women customers come to
buy.
The four actors in the drama are:
A Cloth Seller, who has two pieces of cloth to sell. She can charge
no more than 3 coins for each piece.
A Business Woman, who has 6 coins. She must buy some cloth and
decide how much to charge for each piece when she sells it at her
market stall.
Two Customers, who have 4 coins each to buy some cloth.
The drama proceeds like this:
The Cloth Seller decides how much she will charge for
each piece of cloth (no more than 3 coins each).
The Business Woman then goes to the cloth seller to buy
the cloth. She can bargain with the cloth seller if that is the
custom in your country.
The Business Woman then goes to the market stall and
tries to sell her pieces of cloth.
Two customers come up to examine and buy some of her
cloth. When the buying is finished, the drama is ended.
NOTE: At any time, the women watching the drama may give
suggestions on pricing.
Peace Corps
How Much Can We Sell, and

For How Much?
Purpose: To enable participants to project sales income for their business idea.
NOTE: For existing businesses, use this activity to reassess current prices and competition.
Time: 2 hours.
Rationale: The Step Four activity, What Do We Need to Buy? How Much Will It Cost?, involved
the women in calculating their business expenses. This activity presents the next financial calculation
in studying a business, estimating sales income. In the activity, participants set a price for their
product or service and project income on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Materials:
Price and Competition posters (see pp. 97 and 99 for samples)
Cost-Plus-Profit Chart and Sales Chart drawn on large paper (see pp. 94-95)
1. Before the session, look at the price and competition sample posters. If you think your participants will understand the symbols, use these posters
(or copies of them) in your meeting. If not, have a local artist draw symbols that are appropriate for your group.
2. Practice completing the Cost-Plus-Profit Chart and Sales Chart for a product with which you are familiar. Think about the price participants might
set for their item, based on what you know about existing prices or what you think people would be willing to pay. Be realistic.
3. Provide breaks and encouragement so participants do not become discouraged by the financial calculations.
Steps:
1. Tell participants that estimating sales is the risky part of a business. It is possible to determine costs fairly exactly. But, the volume of sales will always
be an estimate. This activity will help them be realistic about their projected sales. If we overestimate sales, we may choose a business that is not
actually profitable.
2. Put up the two posters, for price and competition. Remind the women that they used eight posters to estimate their business costs. These two new
posters show things we must think about to estimate how much we can sell: price and competition.
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3. Point to the price poster. Explain that setting the price of a product
should be a very careful decision. Ask:
How much money will you charge for one of the items you plan
to sell? (For example, how much would one potato cost?)
How did you decide this price?
Can customers pay this amount?
4. Tell participants that Cost-Plus-Profit is a method many businesses
use to determine price. Use the chart to help participants set their
price:
5. Take a break.
6. Now, show the next poster on Competition. Point out that it is
essential to know our competition for estimating our sales income.
Discuss:
COST-PLUS-PROFIT = PRICE
1. List monthly costs:
Materials ____________________________________________
Transportation ________________________________________
Facilities _____________________________________________
Labor/Salaries ________________________________________
Packaging ___________________________________________
Promotion ___________________________________________

Loan Payments/Taxes __________________________________
Other _______________________________________________
Who are your competitors?
What do you know about them?
2. List the number of items you produce each month ____________
How much do they charge for an item?

How much do they sell each day? (each week? each month?)
Did you consider this price when you set your price?
If your price is:
(1) h
igher than the competitor: why do you think people will
buy from you?
(2) lower than the competitor: will you be able to make a profit?
7. Ask the participants if they want to change their price. Have them
agree on a sales price.
(Remind them that this is a guess, and that during the full study
they will have more information
on which to base their decision.)
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Total Costs ___________________________________________
3. Divide: COSTS (total of #1)

= PER ITEM COST
ITEMS (#2)
EXAMPLE
Costs: 100 coins per month
= 5 coins per item
20 items
4. Discuss: How much do I add to each items cost for my profit? What
is a reasonable amount to add as profit? How will I know if this is
reasonable?
NOTE: Market tests are a good way to find out what customers are
willing to pay.
5. Add the PER ITEM COST and the PROFIT MARGIN for each item and
you have your SALES PRICE for each item. EXAMPLE: 5 coins + 1
coin = 6 coins per item
Peace Corps
8. Now, present the Sales Chart, and work with them to fill in the amounts to determine
sales income.
9. Ask the women if they have any questions or need more explanation before moving on to the next step.
SALES CHART
ONE DAY:
Item Price
x Number of Items Sold
= Daily Sales Income
____________________
x ____________________
= ____________________
WEEKLY:
Daily Sales Income

x Number of Days Worked

Per Week
= Weekly Sales Income
x ____________________
= ____________________
MONTHLY: Daily Sales Income

x Number of Days Worked

Per Month
= Monthly Sales Income
____________________
x ____________________
= ____________________
YEARLY:
Add Monthly Income for 12 Months =
_______ + _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ +
_______ + _______ + _______ + _______ = ________
____________________
95
Step Six:
Decide: Is the Business a Good Idea?
101
How to Calculate Profit and Cash Flow

Purpose: To present the concept of profit and how it is determined.
NOTE: If women with existing businesses have a good understanding of profit and cash flow, this
activity can be omitted.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: Women in your program cannot afford to lose money on a business venture. This
activity enables them to understand that profit = sales income minus business costs.

Materials:
3 bags of candy with 20 pieces each
Poster Story and posters
Blank cash flow chart (see p. 107)
Steps:
1. Show the Step Six poster. Explain that this is the last step in doing a feasibility study. The
participants will now determine what benefits they will get from the business and whether it is
worth their time and effort.
2. Divide the women into three groups. Give each group a bag of candy. Tell them:
Each bag was bought in the nearby town for 100 coins.
(Change this amount to fit your locale.)
Decide how much you will sell each piece of candy for and how much profit you will make.
Give your reasons for the price.
You have 10 minutes to discuss and decide.
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3. Ask each group to report. For each group, write down:

PRICE
SALES INCOME
EXPENSES
PROFIT
Group 1
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
Group 2
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
Group 3
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
Can We Buy a Bed?
(Check that their calculations are correct.)
Rosa, Pablo and their children live

together in a small village. They would
like to buy a bed which costs 50 coins.
They must find out if and when they will
have enough money to buy the bed in
the coming year.
4. Discuss:
INCOME:
Are the figures different or the same? If different, why?
Rosa earns 20 coins by doing ironing

work in January, March, June, August,
October, and December. Put 20 under
the months on the chart.
Are any of the groups actually losing money? Why? What did you learn from the candy
exercise?
NOTE: Make sure the group discusses costs in addition to the 100 coins spent to purchase the
candy, such as: transportation, packaging, labor, and so on.
5. Now, present part of the Poster Story again. Read and show the posters for #12-16. Discuss.
Answer any questions the women have.
6. Ask them:
In May and September, Pablo gets paid

50 coins for his vegetable crops. Put 50
under May and September.
EXPENSES:
What do you think the women in the story should do with their profits? (at the end of 3
months, 6 months, a year?)
Rosa and Pablo estimate that they need

10 coins every month for their expenses.
Put these on the chart each month.
NOTE: Talk about the importance of saving for emergency expenses and for reinvestment in the
business.
Now add up the expenses (10 coins per

month) for the entire year (120 coins).
7. Explain that besides determining if we can make a profit, we need to determine when we will
make a profit. We need to know our cash flow.*
Subtract the expenses (120) from the

income (220), which will show that they
have 100 coins profit for the year.
8. Tell the story of the couple who want to buy a bed. As you tell the story, write their earnings and
expenses on the chart for each month.
*For a more detailed explanation of cash flow, see p. 143
103
9. Ask:
Can Rosa and Pablo buy the bed? (yes)
When?
Help the participants calculate how much Rosa and Pablo have left each month.
Should they buy the bed in June? August? September? Why or why not?
If they buy the bed in June, they will not have enough money for July expenses. If they buy the bed in
August, they will use up all their money. Discuss the importance of keeping some money for unplanned
expenses or emergencies.
10. To end, pose this problem:

You have a friend who has decided to sell eggs at the market. She wants to make sure she does not lose
money. How would you explain to her how to calculate profit?
REMEMBER: Sales Income minus Business Expenses = PROFIT
CASH FLOW
MONTHS
JAN.
FEB.
MAR.
APR.
20
MAY
JUNE
50
20
JULY
AUG.
SEPT.
OCT.
20
50
20
NOV.
DEC.
TOTAL
20
220
SALES INCOME
20
EXPENSES
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
120
ACCUMULATED
PROFIT
OR LOSS
10
10
40
50
40
50
90
100
90
100
100
NOTE: This is the form with the answers. Use a blank chart in your activity and write in the numbers as you tell the story.
NOTE: This is the form with the answers. Use a blank chart in your activity and write in the numbers as you tell the story.
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CASH FLOW Chart
105

Purpose: To calculate the projected profits for the participants business idea.
NOTE: With existing businesses, use this to project profits for one to three years.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: This activity uses the earlier calculations on business expenses and sales income to determine
possible profit. This calculation is what businesses call the bottom line. A business must be profitable,
unless it is supported by subsidies.

Materials:
Profit Chart below
Start-Up Expenses and Operating Expenses Charts from Step Four
Sales Income Chart from Step Five
Steps:
1. Tell the participants that the purpose of this activity is to predict whether they can make a profit in their
proposed business.
2. Put up the previous three charts on expenses and income, and the Profit Chart.
PROFIT CHART

YEAR ONE
YEAR TWO
YEAR THREE
Sales Income
_____________
_____________
_____________
Expenses
_____________ _____________ _____________
Profits
_____________ _____________ _____________
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EXPENSES
3. The first information to put on the chart is the costs for their business idea. Show them the start up expenses and operating expenses charts they
developed in the last activity of Step Four on costs. Put this information on the Profit Chart. Start up expenses should be included in Year One costs.
If the women plan to borrow money to start a business, the loan payments (principal and interest) must then be added in. If the women are using
their own money to start, help them calculate how long it will take to pay back this investment.
INCOME
4. Now, present the Sales Chart information from Step Five. Put these amounts on the Profit chart.
PROFITS
5. Subtract the expenses from the sales income on the chart to find the profits. Now ask the women:
Does the business show a profit? When?
If there is a loss, is there a way to make the business profitable?
Here are some ideas to discuss:
Borrow money to cover some costs
Sell more products
Sell each product for a higher price.
Is the business a good idea in terms of the money you can make?
SPECIAL NOTE: Your participants may be discouraged if they do not see an immediate profit.
However, some good business ideas may take longer to make a profit, especially if you have big
costs at the very beginning.
For example, you might have to buy a large amount of cloth in order to make dresses to sell. The
cloth is much cheaper if you buy a large amount. But, it might take longer than a year to make
and sell all the dresses from the cloth. Therefore, it would take more than a year to make a profit.
In the real feasibility study, participants will calculate more closely how much the expenses and
sales income will be each month.
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What Other Benefits Are Important?

Purpose: To discuss other gains from the business, for participants, their families, and communities.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: A business must be economically viable. However, there are other benefits that women may
want from the business, such as working with other women or making a needed food item available in the
community.
Materials:
Participants ideas of benefits from Step One
Things to Consider in Identifying Business Ideas (p. 46)
Steps:
1. Ask the women to remember the things that were important to them when they were choosing a business
idea in Step One. Add points if they do not remember them.
2. Divide the participants into three groups. Ask each group to discuss for about 10 minutes:
Can I gain what I hoped for in this business, for myself, my family, my community?
3. Have a member of each group summarize the discussion. If the business does not meet their expectations,
ask them if there are ways the business operation can be changed.
4. Continue on to the next activity, without a break.
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Is the Business a Good Idea?

Purpose: To enable the women to decide if they actually want to pursue the business they have been
studying.
NOTE: For existing businesses, use this activity to decide whether participants think the business is worth
continuing, how it can be improved, or whether they should consider other business options.
Time: 30 minutes
Rationale: This activity gives the participants a chance to think about the profits and other benefits of the
planned business and to choose: yes or no.
Materials:
Charts from previous Step Six activities Large paper to cover part of the wall, floor, or ground
Crayons or pencil
Steps:
1. Remind the women that they have examined the economic benefits and the social benefits of the business idea on which they have been working
throughout the six steps. Review these benefits with them. Although some of the information has required guessing, they should decide whether or
not they think it is a business idea worth pursuing.
2. Ask them to raise their hands and vote:
Yes, I think it is a good idea
No, I do not think it is a good idea.
3. Have the women discuss why or why not they voted for the idea.
4. Discuss until the group reaches consensus on whether or not they are in favor of the business idea.
NOTE: In the actual feasibility study, they may choose to study this business idea or another. So, at this point, they are not committing themselves to
really start a particular business. However, based on the information they have, they should decide whether they are in favor or not in favor of the
business idea.
5. Since this is the last activity, tell the women that you would like them to express how they feel about the training program and to have some fun
while doing it. Ask each one to draw a picture on the same large piece of paper to depict how she feels. The group will make a mural together.
6. When they have finished, have the women walk around and view each others work. Then have each woman explain her picture.
7. Set a time and place to meet to begin the actual feasibility study.
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Part Two:
Doing A Feasibility Study
Participants have learned
about a feasibility study and
how to do one. Now they
will put their knowledge and
skills into action. They will
carry out their own feasibility
study.
This section includes
activities and guidelines for
planning the study, gathering
information, and analyzing
the information. At the end of
the study, the women will be
able to decide: should we go
ahead with this business?
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Tips for the Facilitator

During the study, the group will make many visits and ask many
questions. This section gives the facilitator ideas about how to
keep up group spirit and avoid problems while the women gather
and report their information.
There are tips for logistics, holding meetings, and recording
information. Support and encouragement from the facilitator are
essential for a successful feasibility study.
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Helping Them Help Themselves

Your role during the feasibility study is very active. You must be a manager, an organizer, a resource person, an investigator, and a problem-solver.
The study can take from three weeks to two months, depending on how much time the women have. In Honduras, two groups of women in rural
communities did their study in only three weeks, but they worked two or three afternoons every week. In Peru, a group of women worked on the study
only once a week and took much longer to complete their feasibility study.
Mobility is the most important thing in a good feasibility study. Each person must be willing to go to other communities to visit similar businesses or to
talk with suppliers of materials they may need. Finding transportation is essential.
The groups in Honduras and Peru chose to have all members of the group make each visit together. Another way to work is for the group to divide up
and collect different kinds of information. You will need to help the group decide how it wants to work. Transportation can be more difficult if everyone
participates in every visit. But, this builds solidarity and enables everyone to learn about all the aspects of a business.
Your work is to help set up appointments for the women, arrange for their transportation, and help them with ideas of whom to talk to and where to
get their information. In some cases, you may need to find an expert in a specific area to help the group determine where to look for information and
which questions to ask.
As the study progresses, you will see how well the women cooperate and how well they will be able to work together in a business. Some women may
be unhappy and wish to stop participating in the work. Your job is to help the women through the difficult times and to help them work out their own
problems. The more things they are able to do for themselves, the more they will learn about running a good business.
There is a Chinese proverb that tells about this idea:

Give a person a fish

And he or she will eat for a day.
Teach a person to fish
And he or she will eat for a lifetime.
This is your work: helping the women to help themselves.
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Notes:
Setting the Schedule

Before you begin the study you will make a plan and a schedule with your group (see Getting the
Information We Need). Its important to include:
Things we will need to find out
Where we will go to find out
Whom we will talk to
What questions we will ask
When we will do it
Who will do it
While you may want to work on information step by step, sometimes it may not be possible. The
people you need to speak with may not be available exactly when you want to meet with them.
Sometimes several sources for different kinds of information may be in the same community. It will
be easier to make one trip there and to get different types of information at the same time.
You will constantly need to assess:
What information do we have?
What other information do we need?
Whom else should we talk to?
Expect to revise your schedule and plan
from time to time.
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Holding Meetings During the Study

During the study, weekly meetings will help keep up your group spirit and momentum. Also, its useful to have brief meetings before and after each visit
for gathering information, if these visits are scheduled at a different time than the weekly meetings. The women themselves should decide when and
how often to meet. But, encourage them to meet often enough so they do not lose interest in the study.
At the group meetings, you will need to review the schedule and plan. Sometimes you will need to make changes. For example, the group may meet
with someone who suggests a visit with someone you hadnt planned to meet.
The brief meetings before visits will help the women prepare to get the most out of these visits. At this time, you should talk about: Why are we making
these visits today?
Who are we visiting?
What questions should we ask?
What was our experience at the last visit? What should we remember to do, or not to do, at this meeting?
The women should meet again, when possible, at the end of each days activity. At this time, group members can tell what information they have
discovered. They can also talk about any problems or suggestions to improve future work on the study. The women may have ideas on how to help
each other solve the problems. They may have other concerns to bring up. Before the meeting ends, its important to record all the information the
group found out that day.
Making the Meetings Interesting

If you meet often, the women may become a little bored if each meeting proceeds in the same way. Try to think of ways to vary the reporting of the
information.
For example, the women might act out in a small play what happened during the dayrepeating the questions they asked and the answers they
received. This might bring some laughter and fun to the work. And it is important to enjoy the work.
Be sure to ask the women every few meetings:
How are you feeling about the work?
Do you have any special worries or concerns?
What are you enjoying most? Why?
What are you learning?
What would you like to change?
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If the Women Miss a Meeting...

Occasionally some people will not be able to come to a meeting. Emphasize to
the women that the meetings are very important. Talk with the other women
about what to do about it.
When the group first met, members may have set up rules to handle this
situation. You may need to remind them of these rules now.
Recording the Information

The women will collect a large amount of information during the study. It is important to have a system to record this information so that it is easy to
find and use.
Here is a system that has worked well for other groups. After each visit to get information, write down what has been learned. The sample form on p. 117
can be used, or you might want to create your own. The collection of formsone for each person or place visitedwill provide a diary of the study.
If there are women in the group who can write, ask for volunteers to record the information. Keep the information in a safe place, because you will need
it in the next section of this manual.
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Sample Form
Feasibility Study Information Form
Note: Use one form for each visit.
We visited (place):____________________________________________________________________ Date:___________________________

We met with (name and title):
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We found out:
These people will buy our product
or service:
How the business will operate:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Business expenses will include:
Sales income may be:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Attach any cost estimates or other written information to the form.
Name of person recording the information
117
Getting the Information We Need

The following four activities can
be used in a 3-4 hour meeting to
enable a group to plan its feasibility
study. Before the planning meeting,
review the Tips for the Facilitator.
That way you will be prepared to
help participants decide what they
need to find out, how, and when.
119
Notes:
Selecting a Business to Study

Purpose: To complete the first step for doing a feasibility study: Choose a Product or Service to
Sell.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: In the actual feasibility study, the participants follow the same six steps as in the
training. This activity enables them to reassess the business options they previously identified and
to select one that they would like to pursue.

Materials:
Six Steps Chart (see p. 30)
Steps:
1. Tell the women that this is an important day. They have completed many activities in learning
how to conduct a feasibility study. It is time to begin on the real one.
2. Present the Steps chart and ask group members to explain each step, one by one.
3. Now, the group is ready to start with Step One: Choose a Product or Service to Sell.
4. Review the entire list of ideas which they developed in the final activity of Step One (see pp.
49-50). While they may be enthusiastic about the idea they worked on while learning the steps,
they should reexamine all the old ideas just to make sure they have the best choice.
5. Ask them to vote by raising their hands for the one business idea they want to study.
NOTE: If you have more than one facilitator and a group of at least 16, they might decide to
choose two ideas to study.
6. If there is a tie vote, or strong differences of opinion, discuss the pros and cons of the idea,
until the group reaches agreement.
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Why Planning is Important

Purpose: To define the important elements of a plan.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: Doing a feasibility study involves thinking ahead, about what information to collect and about how a business will perform in a one to
three year period. This activity lays the foundation for the forward thinking by identifying why planning is important and what it involves.
Materials:
Six Steps Chart
Steps:
1. Show the Steps chart again. Remind the group that they already have completed Step One. It is now time to plan how to carry out the other steps.
But first, it is important to talk about how to make a plan.
2. Tell the women that:

Making a plan is very important before beginning a project. In making a plan, you do several things:
List your resources
Decide what needs to be done and in which order
Decide who will do it and by when.
3. Help the women to understand planning by using a personal example, such as making tea or coffee. Ask the group:
What resources do you need?
What tasks (or steps) have to be done to make the tea or coffee?
What steps need to be done first, second, etc.?
Who will do what and when?
4. Ask the women to give other examples of planning in their lives, such as community or family celebrations, trips, and so on.
5. Conclude the activity by asking:
Why is planning important? What happens if we dont plan well?
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Planning Our Feasibility Study

Purpose: Prepare a plan for doing a feasibility study.
Time: 2 hours.
Rationale: This activity enables the participants to decide what information they need for their feasibility study and how to get it.
Materials:
Six Steps Chart (see p. 30)
8 Business Cost posters (see pp. 67-82)
2 Sales Income posters (see pp. 97 and 99)
A large calendar
Steps:
1. Put up the Six Steps Chart and the 10 posters. Tell the participants that these posters will help them remember the information they need to find out
for their study.
2. Divide the women into four groups and assign one group each step:

Group 1 Step two: Find out if people will buy our product or service
Group 2 Step three: Determine how the business will operate
Group 3 Step four: Calculate business expenses
Group 4 Step five: Estimate sales income.
3. Ask each group to discuss:
What do we need to find out for our step?
How can we find out this information?
4. Visit each group as they are working to give them help if needed. Allow about 20 minutes for discussion. Have each group choose someone to
present its ideas.
5. When the small group discussion seems to have ended, have the groups present their reports one by one. After each presentation, ask for other ideas
on what the participants need to find out and how.
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6. After the presentations, show the group the calendar. Explain that you would now like them to decide what visits they will make and when.
Emphasize that they may be able to find out information for more than one step in one visit. Ask them:
What information would you like to find out first?
Where will you go?
When?
Who will participate?
7. Write the first visit on the appropriate date on the calendar. Note: For groups with literacy skills, you can write a schedule for several visits over the
next few weeks.
8. Also, decide how often your group will meet to discuss the information they find and to keep up a sense of unity during the feasibility study.
9. At the end of the activity, be sure everyone is clear on the date and time for the first visit.
123
Gathering Information From Experts

Purpose: To practice interviewing experts and officials to gather information for the feasibility study.
Time: 1-2 hours.
Rationale: In their feasibility study, the women will need to talk with experts and officials in their community. In some cases, they may have little
experience contacting people, particularly men, at this level. This activity enables them to prepare for these meetings.
Materials:
Calendar from the previous session
Steps:
1. Explain that the purpose of the activity is to practice for meetings with people who will provide information for their study.
2. Divide the group into teams of three or four. Ask each group to think about one of the visits they have planned to get information from an expert or
official. They should decide who they will visit and what information they need to find out. Suggest that the group think about:
What is the purpose of your visit?
Who are you going to meet with?
What do you want to find out?
What questions will you ask? How will you behave?
3. Ask each group to plan and present a short play on their meeting. Give the group at least 20 minutes to plan their plays. Visit each group to assist as
needed.
4. Have the groups present their plays one by one. After each presentation, ask the group:
What was effective about the meeting?
Can you add any other questions?
What ideas do you have for your own visits?
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Deciding on Our Business

The activities in this section enable the
participants to organize and analyze the
information they have gathered, so they
can make their big decision: should we
pursue this business?
This final step takes about seven hours and
can be divided into two meetings.
125
Notes:
To the Facilitator
The group, with your assistance, is now ready to perform some basic financial analyses, using the
information they have collected. It is important to have all the completed information forms
on hand and to read the activity guidelines before the meeting. Some of the activities look
complicated; but if you take them step by step, they are not so difficult.
Do not worry if you feel you are not good at math. A small hand-held calculator will be very
helpful to you and to the group as well.
Not all the group members will fully understand each part of the financial analysis. This is all right,
as long as some of the women do. These individuals may take on positions in the business that
deal with money, such as administrator or treasurer.
Dont let the fancy names of the activities fool you. Remember that a short time ago the words
feasibility study sounded threatening. Look how far the group has come in that short time.
There are some important points to stress during this final analysis of the feasibility study materials.
REMEMBER
Businesses dont generally make a profit during the first year.
You will have to work very hard before there are monetary benefits.
Satisfaction and frustration will be commonly felt; it seems they go hand in hand.
Starting a business is a real growth experience and you must not lose faith.
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Business Plan
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Groups Name and Number of Members)
Our Business
Our proposed business is:

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
We need to learn these skills:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Our business location:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Our Market
We will sell to (who, where, when):
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Our competitors are (who, where, why):
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We will publicize our business like this:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Business Operation
Our production plan for one year (schedule and quantities) is:
each day__________________________________________________________________________________
each week_________________________________________________________________________________
each month________________________________________________________________________________
The total amount to be produced in one year is:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The people who will work are (who and how many):
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We will divide the work like this:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The people responsible for managing our business are (list any positions like manager or treasurer and what they do:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Business Expenses
Our start-up expenses will be:
Our operating expenses for one year will be:
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
We can borrow money from:

_____________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_____________________________
Our interest rate will be:

_____________________________
Our monthly payments will be:
_______________________________________
_____________________________
and will start in:
TOTAL __________________________________
TOTAL __________________________________
_____________________________
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Sales Income
Our price of our item/service is:_________________________________________________________________
We estimate we can sell this quantity:
each day ____________________________
Our competitors price per item/service is:

They sell: each day___________________________
each month__________________________
each month________________________
each year____________________________
each year___________________________
We estimate our sales income for one year to be: __________________________________________________
Business Benefits
Our business has these benefits:

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Our business has these risks:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
135
Making Our Business Plan

Purpose: To organize all the information about the proposed business on
one form.
Time: 2-3 hours.

Rationale: The group has gathered a lot of information about the proposed
business. The Business Plan provides a way to compile all this data, in a way that
describes their business and its operation.

Materials:
Forms on the previous pages, copied on large paper and
posted
Information forms completed during the research for the
feasibility study
NOTE: This activity requires some reading and writing skills. If no one
in the group can read and write, the facilitator needs to serve as recorder.
Steps:
1. Tell the group that they will now make their business plan. This means they will
describe their business, including expected costs and sales.
2. Using the chart, go through the items one by one. Refer to the completed
information forms as needed.
3. The group may still have differences of opinion about aspects of the business.
Completing the form will help them clarify what they plan to do. End the activity
when the form is completed.
4. Take a break.
137
Determining Cash Needs to Start the Business

Purpose: To determine more exactly how much money the women will need to start their business.
Time: 1 hour.
Rationale: The Business Plan gave an overview of the entire business. This activity identifies the capital needed to begin.
Materials:
One of the three investment plan forms (see pp. 141-142)
Product/Service
Agriculture
Animal raising
Steps:
1. Tell the participants that it is essential to determine how much money they need to start their
business.
2. Choose the form that is appropriate for your groups business.
3. Explain that an investment plan is a one year budget for the business. This includes startup
expenses plus one year of operating expenses.
NOTE: Do not include any loan payments in the first year operating expenses for the
investment plan.
4. Using the information on the business plan, write in the amounts for each item. You may
need to refer back to some of the Information Forms for specific numbers. Depending on the
numeracy skills in your group, you may need to provide a lot of support and encouragement
during this activity.
5. When the form is completed, ask the group if members have any questions about what they
have been doing. Discuss any areas that need clarification.
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Peace Corps
6. Now, help the group determine how much money they need to borrow. Explain that the group needs cash to cover the start-up expenses and part
of the operating expenses that will not be covered by income (in some cases, a full year of operating expenses must be included, in others, this
amount can be less; see the example Making Jelly in Costa Rica on p. 144 ).
7. Ask the group:
How much cash do you need to start the business?
How much cash do you need for operating expenses?
How much cash, if any, do you have on hand?
How much do you need to borrow?
Where can you get a loan? at what interest rate?
NOTE: The women may not be able to calculate the portion of operating expenses they need to borrow until they complete the cash flow analysis in
the next activity. If so, return to these questions about the amount of loan needed after that activity.
Investment Plan: Product/Service

ITEM what we need what we have cost
Equipment
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Raw Materials
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Transportation
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Construction
_______________________________
_______________________________
____________________________
Labor
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Training
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Packaging
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Promotion
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Other
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________

TOTAL:
___________________________
139
Investment Plan: Agriculture

Land
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Equipment
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Seeds
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Inputs (such as fertilizer)
_______________________________
_______________________________
____________________________
Transportation
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Labor
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Packaging
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Promotion
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Other
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
TOTAL:
___________________________
Investment Plan: Animal Raising

Animals
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Materials
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Food
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Medicine
_______________________________
_______________________________
____________________________
Construction
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Labor
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Transportation
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________
Training
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Packaging
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Promotion
_______________________________
_______________________________
___________________________
Other
_______________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________

140
TOTAL:
___________________________
Peace Corps
Determining Cash Needs to

Operate the Business
Notes:
Purpose: To determine when money will be needed in the business and if it will be available
when it is needed.
Time: 2-3 hours.

Rationale: A business can end a year with a profit, but have several months during that year
where it is operating at a loss. This activity enables women to anticipate the monthly income and
expenses situation of their business. This is called analyzing your cash flow or cash flow analysis.
Materials:
Business and Investment Plans
Cash Flow Chart for three years, copied on large paper
and posted (see sample on pp. 146-147)
Notes on Cash Flow Analysis (pp. 143-147)
1. This activity will probably be the most difficult of any for your participants. Be well prepared,
so that you can help them through it, since it is a vital calculation for their business. The Notes
on Cash Flow Analysis on pp.145-149 provide an actual example of a business and its monthly
and yearly projections. This is background information for you, and is not designed to be used
with your participants. However, if the group is literate, it may be a useful example for them to
consider.
Steps:
1. Remind the women of the story of Rosa and Pablo, the couple who wanted to buy a bed. Ask:
Why is it important to know when we will make a profit?
2. Explain that they will project their monthly income and expenses for a three year period.
3. Use the cash flow chart and enter the expenses from the Business Plan for each month.
141
4. Enter the estimated sales income.

5. Subtract expenses from income each month to determine each months
profit or loss and available cash.
6. Calculate the accumulated profit from month to month.
7.Calculate the yearly totals for income, expenses, and profit or loss.
8. Ask the women:
Is the business profitable?
Are there some months when you will have a loss?
How can this be avoided? (for example, by delaying expenses or
having a longer period for loan repayment)
SPECIAL NOTE:
There is no magical formula for determining a reasonable profit
margin or rate of return for the level of small business your
participants are probably considering. However, one standard is
to compare the profits to the amount the women invested and
the value of their time worked (i.e. the equivalent amount they
would have made in a local salaried position for someone with
their skills). This can help them assess whether the business is
worth the investment of their money and time.
If it cannot be avoided, how will you cover your expenses for that
month?
Yearly Cash Flow Chart
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Peace Corps
Notes on Cash Flow Analysis

Depending on the business chosen by the women, the cash flow analysis could be very complicated for the women to understand. Make it as simple
as possible for them, but someone in the business (or a business advisor) must understand and work out the cash flow before the business begins. And,
obviously, someone will have to monitor the cash flow month by month during the year.
A cash flow analysis means studying the money that will come into a business and the money that must be paid out over certain periods of time.
Usually, the money coming in and going out is not the same amount every month. One month there may be more than enough income to pay the bills
and another month the bills may exceed income. Doing a cash flow analysis helps plan, month by month.
To help you understand some of the possible complications in setting up a new business and doing a cash flow chart, here is a story of a small business
started in Costa Rica. This example is provided to give you, the facilitator, more background on cash flow analysis. However, if you think it useful, it can
also be used with the group as another example like the Rosa and Pablo story (pp. 103-104).
143
Making Jelly in Costa Rica

In a rural area outside of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, a group of four
women are starting a business making jelly. They plan to make mango,
guava and orange jellies and sell them to stores in San Jose. They will be
using the family recipe of one of the women which is very simple and
does not use any artificial colors or preservatives. While all of the women
have had experience making jelly, they have never worked collectively.
One woman has a large enough kitchen so that the four can work there
and cook two large batches of jelly in one day. However, they need to
purchase a machine that will help them cut the fruit into pieces. Cutting
the fruit by hand was fine when they only made small amounts for their
families, but they need to prepare much more to make two large batches
of jelly. To buy this machine, they need $100. They also need to buy two
very large pots and ladles, which will cost $20.
that they use in the recipe will cost $150 monthly. They estimate the cost
of the water that they use to make the jelly to be $3 each month.
Based on their feasibility study, the women realize that they will have
transportation costs, utility costs and other costs related to keeping
records and taking orders that will total $160 each month.
The women have spoken to the owners of the stores in San Jose, and they
are willing to pay $1 for each jar of jelly. A small shop that caters to tourists
might be willing to pay more, but the women are basing their sales price
on what the majority of stores are able to pay. They want to sell 2666 jars
each month, so they are estimating their sales at $2666 monthly.
The women will be able to sell their product the very first month it is
produced, but they will still need a loan to buy the machines, pots and
ladles, as well as the ingredients for the first month. This will cost $1569.
The women have free access to some oranges, mangoes and
They have investigated various banks, and think that they will have to
guava that grow near their homes. However, for the large quantities of
pay 15% interest on the money they borrow. They will have to begin
jelly they are planning to sell, they know they will also buy some fruit
repayment in the third month that the business is in operation, and will
from local producers. Because of the local growing seasons, they will be
able to make mango jelly in May, June and July; guava jelly in September make payments every month for one year. The payments will be $150
a month ($1569 + $235 interest = $1804 total divided by 12 months =
and October; and orange jelly in December, January and February. This
means that in March, April, August and November, they will not be able to $150).
produce any jellies. They will have to plan their business very carefully and In order to keep the costs to a minimum, and to be sure that there is
calculate their costs to make sure that their small business can survive
enough money to pay back the loan and pay bills during the months
these months when they will have no sales.
when they are unable to make jelly, they have agreed not to take
Once the women have bought the machine, pots and ladles, they will be salaries at first. They will volunteer their time until the business has been
established for six months, then they will each take a salary of $250
ready to buy the ingredients for the jelly and the jars to put it in. These
jars and ingredients are the major costs of the business. The women plan per month during those eight months when they are selling jelly. They
to make jelly three days a week in the months when they have fruit. Two will not take salaries during the months when no jelly is produced. The
large batches of jelly make a little over 222 jars, so the women will need to remaining profit they will leave in the business accounts, so that in case of
an emergency, a need to replace equipment, or a desire to expand, they
buy 2666 jars each month. These jars with lids and labels cost $640 each
will have the money needed.
month. The fruit they have to buy will cost $496 each month. The sugar
144
Peace Corps
Investment Plan
Use the appropriate investment plan (pp. 139-140 ) and fill out the budget for one year.
It should look similar to this when finished.
Machine, pots and ladles
120
Jars 5120
Sugar 1200
Water 24
Fruit 3968
Misc. (transportation, utilities, etc.)
1920
Labor 3000
TOTAL
$ 15,353
Expenses
Put the expenses for each month on the expense line of the chart:
1. Start-up and first month operation: put $1569 in Month 1.
2. Production:
put $1449 in each month of production (jars$640; fruit$496; sugar$150;
water$3; and administration$160).
3. Loan repayments:
put $150 in Year I/July-April and Year II/May-June ($1569 principal + $235 interest
@ 15% = $1804 total divided by 12 months = $150 per month).
4. Non-production months (August, November, March and April): Year Iput $310 in
each month ($150 loan payment + $160 administration) Year IIput $160
administration in each month
5. Salary:
Put $1,000 for salaries, beginning Year I/December, except in the non-production months
(August, November, March and April).
145
Sales Income
Put the income for each month on the income line of the chart: $2666 for each month, except August, November, March and April.
Profit or Loss
Subtract each months expenses from income to determine that months available cash. Calculate total income, total expenses, and total profit for Year I,
II, and III.
NOTE: Point out that in some months, such as August, there is a loss. However, the cumulative profit is sufficient to cover this loss. If the cumulative profit
were not sufficient, the business women would have to reduce salaries for the month or make arrangements for credit with suppliers.
Analysis
The business shows a profit each year, though minimal in Year II. The women are each paid a salary of $2,000 a year, so they have personal income from
the business even if they do not yet share in the profits. At the end of Year III, they have $6368 in their account, and consider raising their salaries or
expanding their business.
Year I
146
Peace Corps
Year II
Year III
147
Should We Pursue This Business
DECISION-MAKING CHECKLIST
Purpose: To decide whether to pursue the business activity or not.
ECONOMIC FACTORS
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
Time: 1 hour.
Will there be a profit?
_________
_________
Can we get credit?
_________
_________
Is the market steady?
_________
_________
Rationale: This activity gives the group a chance to consider all the data and decide:
yes or no.

Materials
SOCIAL FACTORS
Decision-Making Checklist (in box)
Do we provide a
needed product/service?
_________
_________
Will this business help

our community progress?
_________
_________
Will we make our

own decisions?
_________
_________
Do we have sufficient
time to dedicate
to the business?
_________
_________
Do our families
support the idea?
_________
_________
Steps:
1. Tell the group that they are now ready to make the decision on whether to go
ahead with their business idea or to look for another. This is the moment they have
been building up to since the program began!
2. Remind the group that the previous activities gave a pretty good indication of the
profitability of the business. But, they may still have some other concerns besides
profits.
3. Present the Decision-Making Checklist, either orally or on large paper. Have them
say whether each factor is positive or negative.
4. When all the items are completed, ask:
Are most of our answers in the positive or negative column?
Is there any negative factor, such as lack of credit, that makes the business
impossible?
What is our decision about the business: yes or no? Why?
INTUITIVE FACTORS
What are the risks?_______________________________
5. If a yes decision is made: Break into small groups and ask the women to discuss
what they are looking forward to most about starting a business and what they fear
the most.
_____________________________________________
If a no decision is made: Refer back to the earlier activities where the group listed
a number of business possibilities and plan for a time to convene and reexamine
other options.
_____________________________________________
148
What is our feeling about the business?______________
Peace Corps
Business Start-up: First Steps
Notes:
Purpose: To enable the group who has made a yes decision to plan their next steps.
Time: 30 minutes.
Rationale: This activity builds on the momentum of the feasibility study by immediately
involving the women in starting their business.
Steps:
1. This activity is an informal discussion for the women to identify what to do next. To begin, just
ask:
You decided what business to pursue. What do you need to do now?
2. The group may focus on credit. Help the group review sources of credit and how to apply for it.
Once the credit sources are lined up, the process should not take more than a month. Also, the
group may need to purchase equipment or rent a workplace.
3. Set a time and place for the next meeting. Decide who
will do what before that meeting. Its important to
keep up momentum and start the next phase as soon
as possible.
4. Congratulate everyone on the hard work shes done
and how much has been accomplished. Have a
business launching party!
149
Poster Story Illustrations
The following eighteen posters are to be used with the Poster

Story on pages 34 through 38, or they can be adapted for your
own group, as described on page 33.
151
Women, Ink
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is pleased to announce the establishment of Women, Ink, a project to
market and distribute women and development resource materials. Women, Ink. is supported by a major new UNIFEM communications
programme whose mandate is to document and distribute information about UNIFEMs 15 years of experience working on women and
development issues. The new programme also involves assisting partner organizations to document their experiences and exchange
information.
Women, Ink. will distribute women and development resource materials published or produced by both UNIFEM and other women and
development organizations. These will include books, journals, occasional papers, technical guides, training materials and videos. The
new programme will also provide opportunities for Third World women and organizations to publish their experiences in an international
arena.
As part of this initiative, UNIFEM was able to acquire the valuable publications of the Overseas Education Fund (OEF) International when
that agency ceased operations in 1991. We are delighted to be able to give these very practically-oriented publications a new home, and
will work towards extending their distribution and usefulness.
This, and the many planned initiatives of Women, Ink. will, we hope, help to respond to the enormous and fast growing demand for
advocacy and learning materials among women at all levels of society in all parts of the world.

Sharon Capeling-Alakija
Director

United Nations Development Fund for Women
Appropriate Business Skills for Third World Women

OEFs Appropriate Business Skills for Third World Women series makes years of how to experience readily
available to trainers and programmers.
Throughout the Third World, women microentrepreneurs make a vital contribution to their families and
national economies. Since 1978, OEF International has enabled low-income women in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America to start businesses and make their businesses more profitable.
From pig producers in Honduras to rope makers in Sri Lanka to a soap-making cooperative in Senegal, OEF has
assisted women to successfully plan, finance, manage, and promote many kinds of small businesses. All of these
women had encountered similar obstacles to success: lack of awareness of non-traditional work options; lack of
marketable skills; lack of access to credit; and lack of knowledge of ways to market and manage a business.
Through collaboration with local Third World organizations, OEF has developed three technical training
manuals to help women entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles. Through learning by doing with women
entrepreneurs, OEF has found what works.
The manuals are designed to be used by experienced trainers, extension agents, or programmers who
work with Third World entrepreneurs. The training activities are based on the same participatory educational
approach as in OEFs training manuals Women Working Together for Personal, Economic and Community
Development and Navamaga: Training Activities for Group Building, Health and Income Generation. The
material in the series is highly adaptable to groups that include men, to urban or rural settings, to different sizes
of enterprises, and to illiterate or literate groups. The manuals may be used singly or as a series.
Appropriate Business Skills for Third World Women brings the experience of the field back to the field.

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Doing a Feasibility Study

Training Activities for Starting or Reviewing a Small Business

Overseas Programming and Training Support

Doing a Feasibility Study:

EDITOR: SUZANNE KINDERVATTER

APPROPRIATE BUSINESS SKILLS FOR THIRD WORLD WOMEN

1987 by OEF International

Spanish edition entitled

Library of Congress Cataloglng-ln-Publlcatlon Data

(Appropriate business skills for Third World women; 2)

Part One: Feasibility studies-Learning the Steps . . . . . . . . . . 31

STEP FOUR: CALCULATE BUSINESS EXPENSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Part TWO: doing a feasibility study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Elise Fiber Smith

Doing a Feasibility Study

Notes to the Facilitator

Doing a Feasibility Study

Letting Women Decide: Is This Business Viable?

Feasibility Study: What it Means

THE SIX STEPS FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY

Doing a Feasibility Study

Choose a product or service to sell.

Find out if people will buy the product

Determine how the business will operate.

Calculate business expenses.

Estimate sales income.

Decide: Is the business a good

What is in the Manual

Doing a Feasibility Study

Planning Your Program

Doing a Feasibility Study

Who Can Use This Manual

ABOUT THE WOMEN

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR

Preparing Facilitators to Use the Manual

Doing a Feasibility Study

A Word About Literacy

What Materials to Prepare

How to Arrange a Schedule

Doing Your Own

1-2 Months (part-time)

Doing a Feasibility Study

Possible Schedules for Learning the Steps

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

S tep Five: Estimate

End the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

2-3 Hour a Day Training

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

Begin the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

End the Day Activity

S tep Five: Estimate

S tep Five: Estimate

CAUTION: If the business projections do not show some profit,

2. Choose two products from your own locale:

7. After the skits are completed, ask

4. To end the session, show the

5. In the skit, the first actor meets the second

6. Make the skit funny! The actors can get very