BUSINESS
BASICS
Hii! I am Prisha Arora, a freshman at
The Wharton School. It’s so good to see
you here :)
ICEBREAKER
WHAT BUSINESSES DO YOU
INTERACT WITH DAILY??
WHAT IS A BUSINESS?
An organization that
sells goods/services
Aims to make profit
Solves a problem or fills
a need
Can be:
Product-based (Apple)
Service-based (Uber)
Platform-based (Airbnb)
WHAT IS A BUSINESS?
An organization that
sells goods/services
Aims to make profit
Solves a problem or fills
a need
Can be:
Product-based (Apple)
Q: Can a business Service-based (Uber)
be free for users Platform-based (Airbnb)
and still make
money?
TYPES OF BUSINESS STRUCTURES
Sole
¡Idea Community
genial!
Proprietorship Partnership LLC Service
Corporation
Business Models – How Do They
Make Money?
Popular Models:
💳 Subscription
🎁 Freemium
🛍️ Direct Sales
📢 Ads-based
🧑🍳Franchise
📦 Marketplace
Which model do you think TikTok uses?
What Makes a Great
Business Idea?
What Makes a Great
Business Idea?
"Every big company started with a small idea."
Common Spark:
Seeing a problem or pain point
Examples:
🏨Airbnb – hotels too expensive
🚖Uber – hard to find cabs
🍔Doordash – no food delivery from small restaurants
🧠 What frustrates you in your daily life?
How to Brainstorm Ideas???
Ask yourself:
What annoys me every week?
What do people around me always complain about?
Can I make something faster, cheaper, easier?
Framework: Problem → Solution → Business
Intro to Business Finance
Key Terms:
💵 Revenue = Money you earn
💸 Cost = Money you spend
📈 Profit = Revenue - Cost
Other Concepts:
Fixed Costs (don’t change): Rent, salaries
Variable Costs (change with sales): Ingredients, packaging
Break-Even Point: When profit = $0 (you’ve covered your costs)
Let’s Brainstorm!
Case Study – Lemonade Stand
You spend:
$20 upfront on ingredients + cups
$0.25 per cup
You sell each cup for $1
Let’s Brainstorm!
You're starting a mobile coffee cart that sells cups of coffee at $4 per cup.
Here are your costs:
Fixed Costs per day (cart rental, permits, etc.): $120
Variable Costs per cup (coffee beans, cups, milk): $1.25
❓ How many cups do you need to sell in a day to break even?
Break even question---
You’re launching a snack box subscription service. Customers pay $25 per box,
which contains several items.
Your costs:
Fixed Monthly Costs (website, marketing, storage): $1,500
Variable Costs per box:
Packaging and fulfillment: $4
Snacks: $8
Shipping: $3
→ Total variable cost per box = $15
BUT — here’s the twist:
After you sell 100 boxes, your shipping provider gives you a discount:
shipping drops from $3 to $2 per box for all boxes sold after that.
❓ How many boxes do you need to sell to break even?
(Don’t assume break-even happens before the discount. Calculate both
scenarios.)
Let’s Brainstorm!
P&L Activity – Cookie Business
Given:
Rent = $50
Cost per cookie = $0.50
Revenue?
Selling price = $2 Total cost?
Sold = 100 cookies Profit?
Intro to Marketing – The 4 Ps
Product – What are you selling?
Price – Affordable or luxury?
Place – Online, local, national?
Promotion – How will people find you?
📦 Example:
For a smoothie stall:
Product = Organic fruit smoothie
Price = $5
Place = Farmers market
Promotion = TikTok videos, free samples
Branding 101
Your brand is your personality.
Examples:
Apple = sleek, innovative
Nike = motivation, performance
Lego = creativity, imagination
Good branding builds trust and recognition
Branding 101
Branding Activity
Take your business idea and:
Create a short tagline
Choose a color or font vibe
Define your audience (kids, teens, busy
parents, etc.)
PSYCHOLOGY OF
BUYERS
Understanding what makes people buy
Psych tricks:
Scarcity (“Only 3 left!”)
Social proof (“Everyone’s doing it!”)
Price anchoring ($9.99 vs $10)
Emotional triggers (fear, joy, status)
Q&A
THANK
YOU!
Linkdin : Prisha Arora
