Business plan outline

Transcription

1 Note: Some of the following information may not be relevant for your business type. However, this should provide you with a clear guide so that you cover everything you need to write a comprehensive business plan for your new venture. 1 Table of contents Insert a table of contents, including any appendixes you provide to support your business plan. 2 Business details You should provide the following details in your plan. 2.1 Contact details Business name Business address Contact person(s) and position title(s) Telephone Mobile Fax Website 2.2 Company profile Date of establishment / incorporation Company structure (indicate structure type): company provide the ACN partnership sole trader. Registered for GST yes / no ABN Business insurance: public liability provide the dollar amount professional indemnity provide the dollar amount.

2 Number of proposed employees: full-time part-time casual. Proposed type of business 2.3 Additional information (as applicable) For example, planning or licence applications Lease details 3 Executive summary This section should be written after you have completed all the other sections of your business plan. It should be short no more than an A4 page and to the point, comprehensively collating the information contained in the rest of the business plan. The Executive summary should answer the following questions in an interesting and informative way: What will your type of business be? What is your target customer base? (Define it as clearly as possible, such as age range, income range, special interests) Who are the owners? What do you think the future holds for your business and your industry? 4 General description Here, take the time to describe your mission and goals in starting your business. Explain the points of difference your business will achieve. Describe your strengths and weaknesses. Also describe the capabilities and experiences of those involved in the business enterprise. Describe the type of company structure and explain reasons for this choice. It might also be appropriate to describe any ethical and sustainable business considerations in this section. 5 Products and services In this section you need to define what your establishment will offer. What will your new venture offer to customers? What factors will provide you with a competitive advantage? At what price point will your new venture be established (if relevant)?

3 6 Marketing plan In gathering your research material you can rely on both primary and secondary sources. The City of Melbourne, VECCI and industry specific associations are vital sources of up-to-date information relating to the industry sector you are planning to join. You can check industry profiles, newspapers, journals and online sources for more secondary information economic trends, growth potential and current demand. You can also conduct your own research around your preferred location, counting people numbers, observing competition and checking local features, if relevant or necessary. Your marketing plan should give statistics, numbers and sources. The information you gather here will provide the basis for your sales projections. 6.1 Market analysis and competition Outline all forms of market research that you have undertaken to support your market analysis. Do not assume that you know everything about the market you are about to enter. Even if you have previously run a highly successful business, specific location, timing and other factors will have a bearing on this particular venture. Describe the results of your market research: market size market segmentation who your target market is why you are going to succeed. Who are your main current and potential competitors? How will your product and service compare with your competitors on: price? quality? service? How will you keep your product and service competitive? Note: Competing on price is not a particularly good policy. Low prices do not guarantee business. Sometimes consumers will pay more for other perceived benefits such as quality and service. And anyway, major competitors may have capacity to under price you. 6.2 SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis provides an opportunity to highlight the strengths and weaknesses within the business

4 and identify opportunities and threats in its external business environment. Be brutally honest with yourself in this analysis the more honest you are, the more it will benefit you in the long run. Remember, strengths and weaknesses are internal to the business and can be worked on. However, opportunities and threats are external and may be beyond your control. What are your business strengths? What do you see as your weaknesses? What opportunities does the location / timing present for your new venture? What are your major threats? From the SWOT analysis, you can now outline the key issues for the business. 6.3 Marketing strategy Provide an outline of your proposed marketing strategy. Describe the strategy for each component and how it will work with other parts of the strategy. Product / service mix Pricing policy Promotion / advertising 6.4 Ownership and management List all key management and staff current or proposed including their skills, qualifications and experience. If your new venture is composed of 10 or more people, provide an organisational structure chart to show who is responsible for which tasks and functions. A sample organisational chart is available here. 6.5 Sales forecasts Once you have described your new venture and fleshed out your marketing plan, you should compile a sales forecast. It should be based on historical sales data and other information from your research. You should compile two forecasts: a best guess forecast, based on what you really expect a worst case forecast, based on a lowest estimate of what you think you can achieve, no matter what you encounter. 7 Action plan Your action plan should cover information relating to location, equipment, people, processes and the surrounding environment. You will need to consider the following items in particular.

5 7.1 General Planning and other permits and zoning or building code requirements Insurance coverage Health, workplace and environmental regulations Talk to your WorkCover insurer. Most are happy to provide a free onsite occupational health and safety (OH&S) check. Special regulations covering your industry Start-up expenses Starting a new business almost always costs more than anyone anticipates. We recommend providing an item for contingencies in your budget say 20 per cent of all start-up expenses. However, talk to others who have started similar businesses perhaps seek a member of the local business community to act as a mentor. 7.2 Personnel Personnel required, both at start up and for the few months following, will include details such as: number of employees type of labour numbers of skilled and unskilled where and how you will find the right employees your pay structure Check the relevant industry award and required compliance. You can check with Fair Work Australia. any training methods and requirements information about who does which tasks schedules and written procedures position descriptions. If you don t have position (job) descriptions prepared, take time to write some as they are really helpful with internal communications. Sample position descriptions are provided in the toolkit. Finally, if your business is more successful than initially anticipated, you need to consider where you will obtain suitable additional employees. 7.3 Stock on hand What kind of stock will you keep?

6 What will the average value in stock be in other words, what is your inventory investment? What is the expected rate of turnover of items and how does this compare to the industry average? Is seasonality a consideration? What is the lead-time for ordering? 7.4 Suppliers Identify key suppliers and gather names, addresses and contact details. As a back up, you should try to have more than one supplier for critical items. When looking for suppliers, consider history and reliability. Are there any short-term problems that you can anticipate, such as stock shortages or delivery issues? What credit facilities do your preferred suppliers offer? And are supply costs steady or fluctuating? If fluctuating, how will you deal with changing costs? 7.5 Other In the action section of the plan you also need to consider what methods of payment you will accept from customers and how you can best approach this. Will your bank provide the necessary electronic equipment for reliable EFTPOS at a reasonable rate? Do you need to shop around for another financial institution for this venture? 8 Financial information 8.1 Funding Will the proposed activity proceed without financial support from third parties? Provide details and sources of financial support for all or part of the proposed initiative, including overdraft facilities and lines of credit. 8.2 Financial statements Provide projected financial statements for the first two years of operation: profit and loss statements (years 1 and 2) balance sheets (assets and liabilities as at the end of years 1 and 2) start-up expense sheet monthly cash flow statements (years 1 and 2). Include all assumptions adopted for the projections. Notes to financial statements and sample financial statements are provided here.

7 9 Appendixes Here include all supporting documents, including brochures of equipment and fixtures and fittings, plans, legal documents and other financial documents.