As a group you are planning a garden renovation service to take advantage of the current popularity of television programmes dealing with garden design. Within the group, allocate the following roles:

• Design skills;

• Labouring and building skills;

• Business planning skills;

• Marketing skills.

As a team discuss the approach you would take to estimating the cost of a job for quoting to an intending customer. Discuss also the proposal in a gardening advice magazine that those starting out in a new business should seek only to recover variable costs until the reputation is established. Report back to the rest of the class on:

• The costs to be recorded;

• The extent to which team members agree or disagree on costs to be included;

• Your views on the suggestion that only variable costs should be recovered initially.