| Course | MT209 Small Business Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Business profile |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT209 Unit 2
Nine Years, One Automatic Press and a Calendar Set by School Sports: A Unit 2 Business Profile
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT209: Small Business Management
Unit 2 Business Profile
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Northfork Print and Stitch, its owner, staff, customers and every figure are composite and illustrative; bracketed figures stand where the shop's books would supply the numbers; the sources cited are real.
History
Renata Kovac opened Northfork Print and Stitch nine years ago in a former auto-parts store on Boise's west side, with two manual presses and a used conveyor dryer. In year four she bought a used six-color automatic press for [$38,000], financed over seven years, which roughly tripled the shop's hourly output on large orders. In year six she added a single-head embroidery machine after several business customers asked for embroidered polos. The shop has never had a second location and has grown mainly through school referrals. Renata worked for six years at a larger print shop before opening her own, running a press and later managing its school accounts, which is how she knew the athletic directors who placed Northfork's first orders. She still handles every school relationship personally, and several coaches call her cell phone directly.
Customers
Three customer groups account for nearly all sales. School athletic departments and booster clubs bring in about [40] percent, mostly team shirts, warm-ups and spirit wear. They order in large batches, often 100 to 300 pieces, and pay by school purchase order about fifty days after delivery, or by booster club check, which can take longer. Local businesses ordering uniforms and workwear bring in about [35] percent, in smaller and steadier orders, and pay on thirty-day terms. Events and walk-in customers, such as family reunions, charity runs and small clubs, bring in about [25] percent and usually pay at the counter.
People
The shop has four people on payroll besides Renata. Two full-time press operators run the automatic press and the manual presses; the senior operator, Hector, has been there seven years and mixes most of the ink colors by eye. A part-time embroidery operator works about twenty hours a week. Renata's spouse, Dan, keeps the books about ten hours a week in the evenings. Renata does all quoting, artwork approval, purchasing, scheduling and customer contact, and fills in on the press during the fall rush.
Seasonality
The sales calendar is uneven. August, September and October together bring in close to [half] of annual sales, because fall sports, homecoming and back-to-school orders all arrive at once. February and March are the slowest months, at about a third of a September's volume. Spring brings track and baseball orders and a smaller bump for graduation, and December adds holiday orders from businesses. The pattern means that the press and the people are underused for about four months and overloaded for three, and that cash flows out ahead of the busy season and back in after it. Renata described the slow months as the time she means to fix things, document processes and plan, and the busy months as the time she finds out what she did not fix.
Financial Snapshot
Annual sales are about [$640,000]. Gross margin, after blank garments, ink, thread and direct labor, is about [38] percent. Blank garments are the largest single purchase, about [$150,000] a year. Rent is [$4,200] a month, and the press loan costs about [$560] a month for two more years. The shop holds a [$50,000] line of credit at its bank and draws on it most falls. Net income after the owner's draw has been modest, about [$30,000] last year, which leaves little cushion for a bad season or a major repair. Renata takes an owner's draw of about [$5,000] a month.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The shop's strengths are its school relationships, built over nine years, and its quality, which customers mention in reviews. Its location helps too: the shop sits ten minutes from four high schools, and coaches can pick up orders on the way to practice. Its weaknesses all trace back to concentration: one automatic press, one owner handling every customer decision and one operator who knows the color recipes. Churchill and Lewis (1983) described small firms in early growth stages as depending heavily on the owner, who does most of the important work personally, and Northfork fits that description closely even in its ninth year. Welsh and White (1981) called the underlying condition resource poverty: a small firm cannot spread risk across several machines or managers, so one breakdown or one resignation reaches the whole business.
Every strength the shop has runs through one press, one owner or one operator.
Open Questions for Later Units
Four questions follow from the profile. Where do orders actually lose time between inquiry and pickup? How deep does the fall cash shortfall go, and when? Would one new hire relieve the owner more than a new machine? And could the shop take on more school business without breaking? Scarborough and Cornwall (2019) recommend that small business owners study their operations and cash flow before pursuing growth, and the later units follow that order.
References
Churchill, N. C., & Lewis, V. L. (1983). The five stages of small business growth. Harvard Business Review, 61(3), 30-50.
Scarborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. (2019). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management (9th ed.). Pearson.
Welsh, J. A., & White, J. F. (1981). A small business is not a little big business. Harvard Business Review, 59(4), 18-32.
The Purdue Global MT209 Unit 2 instructions
Unit 2 usually asks you to profile one existing small business that later units will analyze. Most prompts want a brief history, the customers and how they buy, the people and who does what, the seasonal or monthly pattern, a financial snapshot with whatever figures the owner will share, and an assessment of strengths and weaknesses. Many sections let you use a business you work for or one whose owner agrees to talk, and some require permission. Financial figures can be ranges or estimates if labeled. The profile should end with questions the later units will answer, so it works as a foundation rather than a description. Keep the business anonymous or renamed if the owner prefers. Expect about four pages with labeled headings, often with a customer table and a sales chart in your own version, and APA 7 citations for any small business sources.
How this MT209 Unit 2 example is built
The history section covers the opening in a former auto-parts store, the press bought in year four and embroidery added in year six, plus the owner's earlier job managing school accounts. Customers are split into three groups with their shares, order sizes and payment habits. The people section lists two press operators, a part-time embroidery operator and the bookkeeper spouse, and a margin note points out how much depends on the owner and one operator. Seasonality shows the fall peak and the slow February and March. The financial snapshot gives sales, gross margin, blank garment spending, rent, the press loan, the credit line and a modest net income. Strengths include school relationships, quality and location, and weaknesses trace to concentration, with Churchill and Lewis and Welsh and White. The highlighted line names the three single points, and the closing section assigns four questions to later units.
Where the points sit in the MT209 Unit 2 rubric
Business profiles are typically graded on completeness, specificity and usefulness for later units. Each section should contain facts about this business, not general statements about the industry. Customer groups described with their share, order size and payment pattern earn more than a list of customer types. The people section is strongest when it shows who does what, since that reveals dependence on the owner. Seasonality should be described with months and proportions. Rounded financial figures are fine when labeled and consistent with each other. Strengths and weaknesses earn credit when they follow from the facts above rather than from a generic template. Closing questions that set up the operations, cash, hiring and growth units show the writer understands how the course builds. Sources such as Churchill and Lewis, Welsh and White and Scarborough and Cornwall should be cited correctly.
Common MT209 Unit 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Profiles often go wrong by reading like a company website, full of mission statements and praise. Another frequent problem is missing financial information, which makes later units on cash and growth hard to write. Some writers describe customers without saying how they pay, though payment timing drives the cash flow unit. Others list strengths and weaknesses that could apply to any business. The people section is sometimes reduced to a headcount, which hides how much of the critical work sits with the owner. Watch for figures that do not fit together, such as sales and staffing that could not both be true. If the owner will not share figures, use ranges and observable facts and label them. Describe the business you plan to adopt, and our writers can help organize the profile so each section sets up a later unit.
Get an MT209 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Send a few facts about the business you plan to follow this term, whatever you already know of it, plus the MT209 Unit 2 instructions and rubric. The profile arrives organized around payment habits, knowledge holders and seasonality, and it closes on questions for later units. Your first custom sample is free, within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT209 Unit 2 questions, answered
How do I find a business to profile?
Many students choose a business they work for, one a relative owns or a local shop whose owner agrees to talk. Your instructions may require the owner's permission or an interview later in the term, so asking early helps. The sample uses a composite shop, which lets it show specific figures without describing any real firm's finances, and your custom version can do the same.
What if the owner will not share financial figures?
That is common, and the profile can still work. Rounded ranges, industry averages from trade associations or published small business data, and what can be observed, such as staff numbers and posted prices, fill the gap if labeled honestly. The sample marks its financial snapshot as the owner's rounded figures, and a profile built on estimates says so in the same place.
Should the profile name the real business?
Check your instructions first; many sections prefer the business kept anonymous or given a changed name, especially when owners share private details. The sample describes its shop without a name and alters identifying facts. What matters for grading is that the business is specific, with real segments, people and seasons, not that a reader could find it.
Where can I find a free MT209 Unit 2 sample paper?
This page holds a full MT209 Unit 2 business profile of a composite screen printing and embroidery shop. It covers history, customers, people, seasonality, finances, strengths and weaknesses and ends with questions for later units, with margin notes.
Why does the profile stress the shop's concentration?
Because one press, one owner and one senior operator carry most of the business. Later units on operations, hiring and risk all return to that concentration, so the profile names it early as the shop's main weakness.