Create a cover page for your business
plan With the Following layout and Format
Business Plan
Name of Company
Address of Company
City, State ZIP Code
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Date of Plan Presentation
You
may also include:
Presented to:
Name
Company
Name of Owner/Contact
Person
Address
City, State zip
Telephone
e-mail
Table of Contents
Complete this section after the
rest of the business plan. Simply highlight the most important aspects of the
plan.
What business are you in? What are the key products or services of
your business?
What market do you believe exists for these products or services?
(Describe your current market).
What is the location of your business? Why is this advantageous?
How do you operate your business? Who is involved in the
operations? How much of your time is spent in the business?
In what stage of development is your business? (Development stage,
first year of operations, stable or mature business, stagnant mature business,
etc...)
Is growth a part of your plan for your business? If so, describe
what kind of growth you are projecting and how you think that growth will occur
(adding products or services, expanding your market, changing your product or
service mix, etc...)
What is the vision for the future of your business?
What is the purpose of your business – internally and externally?
Include your Mission Statement
What are your short-term (within one year) and long-term (two to
five years) goals and the objectives to reach your goals?
Identify your business industry
What are the current industry trends? Include growth patterns,
niche markets and size of the market.
What are the future industry trends?
Provide a brief history of your business, including when it was
founded, why it was started, profitability and growth patterns and how the
business has changed over time.
How does your business fall into the current and future trends of
the industry?
Describe the legal structure of your business (sole
proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company). Include
in this the ownership of the business.
Describe your management team. Include key positions and the
qualifications (or needed qualifications) of employees.
Describe the positions in your company, the job responsibilities
and skills (or needed skills) of employees.
What is your plan for filling positions? Explain how you will
recruit and what training might be needed.
Describe what outside advisors you will use to enhance your
business. This should include the cost to your business and what services they
will provide. Examples include: accountant, attorney, insurance agent and
marketing agency.
If you will use an advisory board, list potential members and area
of expertise.
What types of insurance will you require and what are the costs?
(Include proof of insurance or a quote)
What are your exit strategies, including succession planning?
Describe the process necessary to get your product/service to your
customer. This should include your inputs, how you will add value, packaging
and delivery. Also, include the type of labor inputs necessary.
Describe each product/service you will sell. List each quarterly.
What is special or unique about the product/service you offer?
What benefit does the customer get from your product/service?
Who will your primary suppliers be? Will you have credit terms
with them?
Describe the people buying or who are most likely to buy
product/service. (If you have more than one target market, describe each).
HINT: Resist the urge to say “everyone”. Some people will use the
products/service more often or in larger quantities than others.
Provide a customer profile including: gender, age, income, occupation,
education and family status, or if selling to other business, provide an
organizational profile including: purchasing decisions and procedures for
buying.
List your strongest three to five competitors and where they are
located. What customer profiles are they targeting?
What are their strengths and weaknesses? Include the following
factors: products, price, quality, location, selection, customer service,
expertise, reliability, reputation, management and advertising.
What are your key competitive advantages? Explain why customers
will buy from you rather than your competition.
Describe your geographic trade area.
Describe the size of your market in terms of potential customers.
Include whether this market is growing, stable, declining and why.
What is your market potential in terms of total potential sales?
This should be based on market size, target market size, number that will be
actual customers, average order size and number of orders per year.
How will you price products/services? If necessary, include price
strategy chart. Make sure you have considered your cost of goods.
How does this pricing position you in the market?
What advertising tools will you use and why did you choose these?
Tools could include: newspaper, magazines, direct mail, yellow pages, radio,
TV, Internet, business cards and brochures.
How often and how much will you spend on your advertising budget?
Explain if you will use public relations and what activities this
might include as a part of your promotional strategies. These activities might
include: trade shows, discounts, special events, sponsorship and customer
service.
What part does personal sales pay in the purchase of your
product/service?
Who will be responsible for selling?
What qualifications will your salespeople be expected to have?
What are your customer service policies?
This
is the part that scares many clients the most. Without realizing it, you have
gathered most of the information needed in this section just by completing the
previous sections. Your SBDC counselor can help you pull it all together.
a. Building or remodeling
costs
b. Equipment, furniture and
fixture costs
c. Inventory costs
d. Rent or mortgage,
utilities, insurance and employees prior to opening
e. Pre-opening advertising
f. Attorney(s), accountant(s)
and other consultants prior to opening
·
Profit and Loss statements:
1.
Month-end for every
complete month for the last 12 months
2.
Year-to-date for the
current year
3.
Year-end for the last 5
complete years
·
Balance Sheets
1.
Year-end for the last 5
complete years
2.
Year-to-date for current
year
·
Income Tax Returns for the
last 5 complete years
g. Personal savings
h. Bank loans
i. Personal loans from
friends or family
j. Outside investors
k. Other
2. What will your monthly
sales be for the first year? What will your sales be for years 2 and 3?
3. What will your monthly
expenses be for the first year? What will they be for years 2 and 3?
4. Complete Monthly Income,
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Projections for Years 1, 2 and 3. Be sure to
include an explanation of how you came up with these numbers. It is critical
for you to provide assumptions so that development of numbers can be
understood.
Following this page, attach:
·
Resumes
·
Letters
of endorsements
·
Copies
of contracts and agreements
·
Licenses,
certifications, and other credentials
Copies of market study material and other data
used to develop elements in the
