Business Plan Outline

Transcription

1 Professor Myles Bassell Brooklyn College City University of New York Small Business Management and Minority Entrepreneurship Business Plan Outline Sections A to K

2 WRITING THE BUSINESS PLAN The business plan should be comprehensive enough to give a potential investor a complete understanding of the venture and will help the entrepreneur clarify his or her thinking about the business. A. Introductory Page. 1. The title page provides a brief summary of the business plan s contents, and should include: a. The name and address of the company. b. The name of the entrepreneur(s), a telephone number, fax number, address, and website. c. A paragraph describing the company and the nature of the business. d. The amount of financing needed. e. A statement of the confidentiality of the report. 2. It also sets out the basic concept that the entrepreneur is attempting to develop. B. Executive Summary. 1. This section is prepared after the total plan is written. 2. It should be two to three pages in length. 3. The summary should concisely the key points in the business plan. 4. Questions that should be addressed include: a. What is the business concept or model? b. How is this business concept or model unique? c. Who are the individuals starting this business? d. How will they make money and how much? 5. If strong growth is expected, the executive summary should also include an exit strategy such as an IPO. 6. Any supportive evidence that might strengthen the case should be included. 7. What is the visual theme for The Spot? Remember that this section is meant to highlight key factors and provide a strong motivation to the potential investor to read it in its entirety.

3 C. Environmental and Industry Analysis. 1. The entrepreneur should first conduct an environmental analysis to identify trends and changes occurring on a national and international level that may impact the new venture. 2. Examples of environmental factors are: a. Economy. b. Culture. c. Technology. d. Legal concerns. e. All of the above external factors are generally uncontrollable. 3. Next the entrepreneur should conduct an industry analysis that focuses on specific industry trends such as: a. Industry demand. b. Competition. c. There are numerous sources that the entrepreneur can consult to attain general industry and competitive data. 4. The last part of this section should focus on the specific market. a. This would include such information as who the customer is and what the business environment is like. d. This information is significant to the preparation of the marketing plan section. e. There are also numerous sources of data for this information as well. ***We are writing a business plan for, The Spot, the café game room at the Brooklyn College Student Center. You must search Business Source Premier and other databases online for articles and information regarding Best Practices in retail, game rooms, and food service. Those are the 3 relevant industry sectors for The Spot. Identify 3 5 game rooms. What are their website addresses? What have they done well? Include a snap shot of their website. Identify 3 5 restaurants. What are their websites? What have they done well? Include a snap shot of their website. Identify 3 5 retailers.. What are their websites? What have they done well? Include a snap shot of their website.

4 D. Description of the Venture. 1. The description of the venture should be detailed in this section. 2. This should begin with a new mission statement or company mission, which describes the nature of the business and what the entrepreneur hopes to accomplish with that business. 3. Key elements should be described in detail, including the product or service, location, personnel, background of entrepreneur, the visual theme, and history of the venture. 4. The emphasis placed on location is a function of the type of business. a. In assessing the space the business will occupy, the entrepreneur should consider parking, access from the roadway, access to customers and suppliers, and zoning laws. b. An enlarged local map is helpful. 5. Maps that locate customers, competitors, and alternative locations can be helpful. 6. If the building or site decision involves legal issues, the entrepreneur should hire a lawyer. E. Production Plan. 1. If a new venture is a manufacturing operation, a production plan is necessary. 2. This plan should describe the complete manufacturing process, including whether or not the process is to be subcontracted. 3. If the manufacturing is carried out by the entrepreneur, the plan should describe the physical plant layout and machinery and equipment needed. 4. If the new venture does not include any manufacturing functions, this section would be eliminated. F. Operations Plan. 1. All businesses manufacturing or non-manufacturing should include an operations plan as part of the business plan. 2. This section goes beyond the manufacturing process and describes the flow of goods and services from production to the customer. 3. This would be a convenient place to discuss the role of technology in the business transaction process. 4. If the venture is not manufacturing, this section would be titled operational plan. 5. The entrepreneur would need to describe the chronological steps in completing a business transaction.

5 G. Marketing Plan. 1. The marketing plan describes in detail how the products will be distributed, priced, and promoted. The 4P s of marketing should be address Product, price, place, promotion. 2. You should create 3 print ads to advertise The Spot. The ad should include a headline, visual, website, and body copy. 3. You should design 3 promotional concepts that include an offer and visual. The offer might be Buy 1 Hot Dog Get 1 Free Potential investors regard the marketing plan as critical to the venture s success. H. Organizational Plan. 1. The organizational plan section is the part of the business plan that describes the venture s form of ownership. 2. If the venture is a partnership, the terms of the partnership should be included. 3. If the venture is a corporation, this should include the number of shares authorized, share options, and names and addresses of the directors and officers. 4. It is helpful to provide an organization chart indicating the lines of authority. 5. This chart shows the investor who controls the organization and how members interact. I. Risk Analysis. It is important that the entrepreneur make an assessment of risk in the following manner: 1. The entrepreneur should indicate the potential risks to the new venture. 2. Next should be a discussion of what might happen if these risks become reality. 3. Finally the entrepreneur should discuss the strategy to prevent, minimize, or respond to these risks. J. Financial Plan. 1. The financial plan determines the investment needed for the new venture and indicates whether the business plan is economically feasible. 2. Three financial areas are discussed: a. The entrepreneur should summarize the forecasted sales and expenses for the first three years. b. Cash flow figures for three years are needed, with the first year s projections provided monthly. c. The projected balance sheet shows the financial condition of the business at a specific time.

6 K. Appendix. 1. The appendix contains any backup material. 2. Possible documents: a. Letters from customers, distributors, or subcontractors. b. Secondary or primary research data. *** Articles regarding best practices Other information you gathered from the internet c. Leases, contracts, and other agreements. d. Price lists from suppliers and competitors. e. List of sources of information and the web addresses