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- @249 CHAP ZZ
-
-
- > BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE
- >
- > FOR: @NAME
- > [Delete this line and insert title, company, etc.]
- >
- > A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
- > [This should be an overview and lead-in to the rest
- > of the business plan. It should emphasize your
- > competence in three key areas: marketing, technical
- > capabilities, and financial management.]
- >
- > (1) Description of Proposed Business.
- > [Describe below your product or service. Where
- > possible, supplement with diagrams, illustrations
- > or pictures in the final package you show to
- > prospective lenders or investors. Insert as many
- > extra lines as needed--delete these instructions,
- > using "-" key.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (2) Marketing Approach.
- > [Provide a brief description of the market segment
- > you will be trying to reach. Then outline the
- > channel(s) you will use to reach this market, such
- > as direct mail, retail, or wholesale distributors.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (3) Projected Financial Performance.
- > [Give your estimated dollar amount of sales and net
- > profits that you project for each of the first 3 to
- > 5 years of operating, then set forth the amount of
- > starting capital you will need. Where cash flow is
- > negative (as is usual) in the first few years, it
- > may be helpful to show your net cash "exposure" or
- > cumulative negative cash flow for each month or
- > quarter, to show that your initial starting capital
- > will be more than sufficient to cover such maximum
- > exposure.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > B. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES.
- > [In this part, you need to do a selling job on the
- > prospective investor, discussing the unique advantages
- > your product or service has over existing products and
- > services. State both your short-term and long-term
- > business objectives for the business, and describe the
- > image you want to create for your product or firm.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > C. QUALIFICATIONS OF PRINCIPALS.
- > [Describe in this section your background qualifications
- > to run this particular business, citing education,
- > overall business experience and particularly any suc-
- > cessful experience in a closely-related type of business
- > operation. Also describe, if applicable, the qualifica-
- > tions of your partners or other co-owners who will be
- > part of the management (or board of directors, in the
- > case of a corporation) of your proposed business.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > D. DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT.
- > D. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE OFFERED.
- > [Delete one of the above headings.]
- >
- > [Provide a complete technical description of the product
- > or service to be offered, in considerable technical de-
- > tail, including a summary of any test data if any sort
- > of testing work has been done, or describe any tests
- > that are currently planned. Also, show that you are
- > already anticipating the future by outlining any further
- > refinements or logical next steps for developing an
- > improved or different product later (or comparable plans
- > for further innovations in a service business). This is
- > your chance to show that you really have something that
- > is a better mousetrap and is also technically feasible.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > E. BACKGROUND OF PROPOSED BUSINESS.
- > [Spell out here the background conditions in the
- > business in question, including how, where and when
- > the product is being used, as well as where trends in
- > the business or industry seem to be leading. Also
- > discuss who the main players (i.e., your competitors)
- > are, or are likely to be, in the case of a fledgling
- > industry. Then explain where your business will fit in
- > to this picture. Will you be on the cutting edge of
- > what is happening, or just one of the pack that is
- > not in the same league as the leaders? If the latter,
- > you will need a very convincing rationale to show why
- > you can garner enough business to meet your financial
- > objectives, which are discussed in the next section.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > F. MARKETING PLAN.
- > [Discuss here your marketing plan or strategy. This will
- > include identifying the market segment you are seeking
- > to reach, and the various means through which you intend
- > to reach it, such as door-to-door sales, retail sales,
- > direct mail, media advertising, selling through sales
- > reps, jobbers, Amway-type multi-level distributorships,
- > or whatever else you plan to do. Mention also the
- > degree of market penetration and market share you expect
- > to achieve, year-by-year, for the period for which the
- > business plan is making projections (say 3 to 5 years).]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > G. SALES STRATEGY AND TACTICS.
- > [Discuss in this segment how you plan to go about cre-
- > ating an awareness of the product among its ultimate
- > consumers, through advertising, publicity or otherwise,
- > even though most of your sales may be made to middlemen
- > such as wholesalers or retailers. Cover all methods you
- > will employ, such as telemarketing, circulars, print or
- > electronic media advertising, direct mail, catalogs, or
- > other means. Here it will be useful to include photo-
- > copies of dummy ads, brochures or other promotional
- > materials that you may have already prepared, if you
- > feel they will be effective in selling your business
- > plan.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > H. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN.
- > [Here it is important to spell out in a convincing way
- > your plans for structuring the organization, including
- > a description of the key positions and the people who
- > you have lined up to fill them, with their (hopefully
- > impressive) qualifications. Include in this section an
- > operational plan, describing in detail the type, and, if
- > known, location of facilities that will be required, and
- > equipment that must be obtained. Also discuss what
- > portions of any production work will be done by outside
- > subcontractors, and what parts will actually be done by
- > your people. For the 3 or 4 key people in the company
- > (including each top person in the sales, finance and
- > technical departments), include their resumes at this
- > point, or place them in an Appendix at the end of the
- > business plan, but refer to them here.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > I. FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL DATA.
- > [Here is where you include detailed pro-forma financial
- > statements and other important data in support of the
- > conclusions you have set forth in other parts of this
- > business plan. These should include most or all of the
- > following:]
- >
- > 1. Financial Projections:
- > (a) Profit and Loss Projection.
- > [These should be on a monthly basis for the first year or
- > two, and quarterly for subsequent years, in most cases.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (b) Pro-Forma Balance Sheets:
- > [These should show your projected ending financial pic-
- > ture for each of the periods covered by the P & Ls.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (c) Cash Flow Projection.
- > [Show monthly or quarterly and CUMULATIVE pro-forma cash
- > flows, which should tie into the P & L and balance
- > sheets for each period covered.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (d) Break-Even Analysis.
- > [In chart form or otherwise, show the level of sales you
- > will need each year in order to break even for that
- > period.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- > (e) Acquisition Schedule for Fixed Assets.
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > 2. Other Supporting Data.
- >
- > . Technical Drawings of Product.
- > . Detailed Description of Services To Be Offered.
- > [Delete one of the above lines, unless both apply.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > . Itemization of Capital Equipment Required & Cost.
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > . Pricing Schedule.
- > [Detailed list of prices for products or services
- > to be offered, in their different configurations.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > . Plant Layout.
- > [Include floor plans or layout of a proposed manu-
- > facturing plant, including a manufacturing flow-
- > chart and costing estimates for producing the
- > product, broken down into cost accounting detail.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > . Tooling Required for Production.
- > [Describe here all tooling that will be required,
- > and the estimated costs thereof.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > . Market Survey Data.
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
- > J. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.
- > [This is where you make your final pitch, so make it
- > convincing. Tell what your total capital requirements
- > are and how much of a safety margin that will provide.
- > Describe who will put up what debt and equity capital
- > to get the business off the ground, and when each in-
- > fusion of capital will be required. This will tell the
- > prospective investors how much of an ownership interest
- > they will be getting for X amount of money. Reiterate
- > the amount of profits you expect the business to make,
- > when you will make it, and how much of your own money
- > and property you are putting into the venture, as
- > evidence of your commitment. Most outside investors
- > are likely to be leery of investing unless it is clear
- > that you have put your own financial neck on the line,
- > so there's no chance of you simply "losing interest" and
- > walking away to do something else after awhile.]
- > ____________________________________________________
- > ____________________________________________________
- >
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- --END OF CHECKLIST--
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