There are two Information Interviews the first involves meeting and interviewing an entrepreneur or business owner, and the
second involves interviewing a commercial banker or financial professional, to gather information. You should not wait until the
due date to prepare, as meetings may be difficult to arrange at short notice. If your work schedule inhibits such preparation, you
may conduct the interview by telephone or via online/email
format.
Required Elements to include in the Informational Interview Write Up:
Students are responsible for developing questions that will garner the responses necessary to address the key elements of the assignment.
Include all of the following elements in your interview report:
The type and nature of the business (products/services offered) and the scope of the business (whether it is local in nature, national, or international in scope);
Why did the person decide to go into business, and how he/she proceeded;
The business form (is the business is operated as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporationeven an individual can
form a corporationa franchise, etc.) and the particular advantages and disadvantages of that form from the owner’s perspective
when compared with other forms he/she might have chosen;
The challenges and rewards of business ownership;
The business owner’s position on ethical behavior and responsibility;
The impact of each environment of business (economic, competitive, technological, legal, and global) on the company and the
owners response;
The owners strategy for gaining and maintaining new business opportunities;
Keys to success, from the owner’s perspective;
What the person would do differently if he/she had it to do all over again.
Critically assess the current status of the business based on concepts presented in class. What would you say is the future for
this business? Would you invest in this business? Why or why not?
As to the financial interview, discuss with a commercial banker the loan approval process and what the lender looks for in a
business plan, loan proposal, and management. If interviewing an investor, consider targeted returns on investment, the
business plan, the management, and whether said investor group would take a passive or active role in management.
· Interview questions must be included as an addendum to the assignment; however, these should not be counted toward the
length requirement of the paper.
Required Formatting of Informational Interview Report:
This report should be double spaced, 12point
font, and five or more pages in length excluding the title page and reference
page;
Title page;
Introductory paragraph and a summary paragraph;
Use headings;
Write in the third