SEP Business Plan Competitions

Southern Entrepreneurship Program (SEP) sponsors and operates multiple competitions each school year including the SEP Statewide Business Plan Competition held each May and regional qualifier Business Plan Competitions throughout the month of April.
  The 15 top-placing business plans (individuals and/or teams) from each region are selected to proceed to the SEP Statewide Business Plan Competition.

Rules & Regulations:

*  Follow the judging criteria -- the scoring sheet that the judges will use is provided HERE.

*  Come dressed to present!

*  Presenters (Teams/Individuals) will be divided into two (2) categories: 1st year participants (Entrepreneurship 1) and 2nd year participants (Entrepreneurship 2).

*  Presenters (Teams/Individuals) will have 12 minutes to present followed by 3 minutes of questions from the judges for a total of 15 minutes per presentation.  Any time remaining from the presenter's initial 12 minutes may be added to the Q&A segment.

*  Presentation rooms will not have Projectors--bring handouts/visuals/illustrations as needed.

*  Bring four (4) copies of each Business Plan for the judges to review during the presentation.

*  Presentation Teams shall have no more than four (4) members.

*  The weighted average of the competition's judging results will be used to determine rankings and associated awards. 

Awards:

*  1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place recognition will be given to presenters (Teams/Individuals) in both competition categories (Entrepreneurship 1/Entrepreneurship 2) at the SEP Statewide Business Plan Competition.

*  1st Place teams/individuals at the state level will receive a check for $150  $250

*  2nd Place teams/individuals at the state level will receive a check for $100  $150

*  3rd Place teams/individuals at the state level will receive a check for $50  $75

*  Cash prizes are currently not awarded at regional qualifier business plan competitions. 

*  W-9 Tax Forms for cash prize recipients must be on file with SEP before winnings will be dispersed.  Forms can be accessed on the IRS Web site HERE. 

MAKING MONEY NOW! - An SEP Competition

   To emphasize the concepts of business creativity and opportunity recognition within its students, SEP developed and introduced the MAKING MONEY NOW! competition as part of the 2009-10 program.

    Participating SEP students compete by using a "bootstrapping" method of business financing to launch multiple ventures during the school year, and the individual student who accrues the most wealth (highest Adjusted Profit Score) under competition guidelines (Grading Rubric PDF) is awarded $500.

Here is a quick informational presentation on the MAKING MONEY NOW! concept.

Rules & Regulations:

*  MAKING MONEY NOW! is currently open only to individuals students--no teams.

*  The competition begins each school year on October 1, and the last day of reportable income is April 15.

*  Participants must start their first venture with no more than ten dollars ($10).

*  Participants must fund their following venture(s) using only the profit generated from previous ventures.

*  The development of fewer than five (5) unique business ventures through this funding strategy will result in a reduction in the student's Adjusted Profit Score (APS, see grading rubric provided above).

*  Up to a 10% boost in one's Adjusted Profit Score (APS) is obtainable by providing:

   1) clear documentation and

   2) evidence of business sustainability beyond May 1 (see grading rubric).

*  The individual student that has produced the highest APS under these guidelines will be declared the winner and announced at the SEP Statewide Business Plan Competition.

*  Students are accountable to their school's SEP instructor, and both student and instructor must sign a statement acknowledging that no revenue/profit/cost statements submitted for the competition have been altered or fabricated in any way.

*  The deadline for submitting a completed MAKING MONEY NOW! application to SEP is May 1.  The application package should include:

   1) a simple cash flow sheet clearly stating actual profit,

   2) a separate 1-2 page description of the business ventures, and

   3) a signed statement as mentioned in the previous point.

*  Application submissions may be made to James Wilcox in 3 ways: email a PDF version to james.b.wilcox@usm.edu, fax to 601-266-6071, or mail to:
  James Wilcox
  CEEE at Southern Miss
  118 College Drive, #5022
  Hattiesburg, MS  39406

Awards:

*  The MAKING MONEY NOW! award will be presented to one (1) individual student each year, recognized at the SEP Statewide Business Plan Competition.

*  The winner will receive a check for $500.

*  W-9 Tax Forms for cash prize recipients must be on file with SEP before winnings will be dispersed.  Forms can be accessed on the IRS Web site HERE.