Universities

Every sound business in universities begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.

• In universities: Define the learner and the employer outcome in one line per programme.
• Write the customer in one sentence: a student and an employer. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
• List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
• Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
• Count the market in units: how many student terms could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
• Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.

Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.

Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.

Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.

• In universities: Higher education programmes are authorised and evaluated by the national education authorities; check recognition before enrolment.
• Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
• Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
• Find the sector rules for universities: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
• Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
• Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.

Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.

Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.

An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a degree-level teaching programme, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.

• In universities: Design from outcomes backwards: task, condition, standard, then assessments, then lessons.
• Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a degree-level teaching programme), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
• Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
• Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
• Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
• Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.

Longer notes. Start from a gap that students or local firms can name, such as no hands-on course in spreadsheets for first-year commerce students. Write the path from entry to outcome: prerequisites, weekly hours, a graded project with a real local partner and the support offered on the way. Check the catalog for overlap and keep only what is new. Cost the course from instructor hours, room and materials, then split by seats. State the outcome in one plain sentence, for example: a graduate can build a monthly cash plan for a small shop. Ask the education authority's current rules whether the course needs approval before credits are promised.

Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.

Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.

Good operations make results repeatable. For universities, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.

• In universities: Run a term calendar with teaching, assessment and moderation; keep student records safe.
• Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the student term, check, payment, follow-up.
• Name the key resource at each stage: qualified staff and clear outcomes. Note what happens if it is missing.
• Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
• Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
• Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.

Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.

Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.

The most serious risk in this field is teaching that does not match the task. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.

• In universities: Academic integrity and student welfare are risks; set clear policies and support routes.
• List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
• For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
• Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
• Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
• Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.

Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.

Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.

People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.

• In universities: Train teaching staff in assessment design and feedback.
• Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
• Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
• Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
• Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
• Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.

Longer notes. Hire assistants to carry the part of teaching that needs small groups. Train each assistant to run a ten-minute pair exercise, to read a gradebook for students who missed three sessions and to write a first message that is kind and short. Sit in a colleague's lecture once a term and trade written notes the same week. Collect a three-question mid-term form and change one thing before week eight. Keep office hours posted outside the door and reply to messages inside two working days. Give every new teacher a mentor for the first semester and a workload that leaves time to prepare.

Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.

Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.

A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.

• In universities: Cost per student includes staff, space, and platform; compare with fee-free alternatives when the learner pays nothing.
• Contribution per student term = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
• Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
• Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
• Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
• Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?

Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.

Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.

Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.

• In universities: Grow through employer projects and graduate tracking.
• Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
• Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
• Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
• Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
• Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.

Longer notes. Follow each cohort from first day to what graduates do six months later. Count enrolled, attending in week four, finished and working or studying after the course. Divide finishers by starters and compare cohorts side by side. Ask students who left to name the moment they decided, then test one fix, such as an evening group. Meet employers and alumni each year to revise the content list, and tell new students what changed before they enroll. Publish weak results as well as strong ones and discuss them with teachers. Keep a placement rate out of the brochure until the education rules on advertised outcomes have been read.

Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.

Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.