The document provides an overview of key components of a business plan, including: 1) A business plan is a written document that describes all relevant internal and external elements of a new business venture, along with strategies for the first three years of operation. 2) An effective business plan considers the perspectives of the entrepreneur, potential investors, and marketing when determining its scope and level of detail. 3) A well-written business plan helps determine a venture's viability, guides planning activities, and serves as an important tool for obtaining financing. Developing a business plan provides entrepreneurs a process of self-assessment.

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The Business Plan

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What is the Business Plan?
• A written document describing all relevant internal and external
elements, and strategies for starting a new venture.
• It is an integration of functional plans; addresses short-term and
long-term decision making for the first three years of operation.

3. 7-3
Scope and Value of the Business Plan—
Who Reads the Plan?
• Who is expected to read the plan can often affect its actual content
and focus.
• In preparing the plan it is important to consider the:
• Entrepreneur’s perspective.
• Marketing perspective.
• Investor's perspective.

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Scope and Value of the Business Plan—
Who Reads the Plan? (cont.)
• Depth and detail in the business plan depend on:
• Size and scope of the proposed new venture.
• Size of the market.
• Competition.
• Potential growth.

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• The business plan is valuable because it:
• Helps determine the viability of the venture in a designated market.
• Guides the entrepreneur in organizing planning activities.
• Serves as an important tool in obtaining financing.
• This process provides a self-assessment by the entrepreneur.
Scope and Value of the Business
Plan—Who Reads the Plan? (cont.)

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How do Potential Lenders and Investors
Evaluate the Plan?
• The business plan must reflect:
• The strengths of management and personnel.
• The product/service.
• Available resources.
• Lenders are interested in the venture’s ability to pay back the debt.
• Focus on the four Cs of credit - Character, Cash flow, Collateral, and equity
contribution.
• Banks want an objective analysis of the business opportunity and
the risks.

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• Investors, particularly venture capitalists, have different needs:
• Place more emphasis on the entrepreneur’s character.
• Spend much time conducting background checks.
• Demand high rates of return.
• Focus on market and financial projections.
How do Potential Lenders and
Investors Evaluate the Plan? (cont.)

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Presenting the Plan
• The entrepreneur is expected to “sell” the business concept.
• Focus on why this is a good opportunity.
• Provide an overview of the marketing program; sales and profits.
• Address risks and how to overcome them.
• Audience includes potential investors who may raise questions.
• Investors describe these presentations as elevator pitches.

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Information Needs
• Before creating a business plan, the entrepreneur must undertake
a feasibility study.
• Information for a feasibility study should focus on marketing,
finance, and production.
• Feasible, well-defined goals and objectives need to be established.
• Based on this, strategy decisions can be established.

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• Operations Information Needs
• Location.
• Manufacturing operations.
• Raw materials.
• Equipment.
• Labor skills.
• Space.
• Overhead.
• Most of the information should be incorporated directly into the business
plan.
Information Needs (cont.)

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Financial Information Needs
• The entrepreneur has to prepare a budget of all possible
expenditures and revenue sources, including sales and any
external available funds.
• The budget includes capital expenditures, direct operating
expenses, and cash expenditures for nonexpense items.
• Industry benchmarks can be used in preparing the final pro forma
statements in the financial plan.

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Using the Internet as a Resource Tool
• The Internet can provide information for industry
analysis, competitor analysis, and measurement of
market potential.
• It is a valuable resource in later-stage planning and
decision making; provides opportunities for marketing
strategy.
• An entrepreneur can access:
• Popular search engines.
• Competitors’ Web sites.
• Social networks, blogs, and discussion groups.

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Writing the Business Plan
• A business plan should be comprehensive enough to give any
potential investor a complete picture and understanding of the
new venture.
• It should help the entrepreneur clarify his or her thinking about
the business.

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• Introductory Page
• Name and address of the company.
• Name of the entrepreneur(s), telephone number, fax number, e-mail
address, and Web site address.
• Description of the company and nature of the business.
• Statement of financing needed.
• Statement of confidentiality of report.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Executive Summary
• About two to three pages in length summarizing the complete business
plan.
• Environmental and Industry Analysis
• The environmental analysis assesses external uncontrollable variables that
may impact the business plan.
• Examples: Economy, culture, technology, legal concerns, etc.
• The industry analysis involves reviewing industry trends and competitive
strategies.
• Examples: Industry demand, competition, etc.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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Critical Issues for Environmental and Industry
Analysis

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Describing the Venture

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Production Plan

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• Operations Plan
• All businesses (manufacturing or nonmanufacturing) should include an
operations plan as part of the business plan.
• It goes beyond the manufacturing process.
• Describes the flow of goods and services from production to the
customer.
• The major distinction between services and manufactured goods is
services involve intangible performances.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Marketing Plan
• It describes market conditions and strategy related to how the
product/service will be distributed, priced, and promoted.
• Marketing research evidence to support any of the marketing decision
strategies as well as for forecasting sales should be described in this
section.
• Potential investors regard the marketing plan as critical to the success of
the new venture.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Organizational Plan
• It describes the form of ownership and lines of authority and
responsibility of members of new venture.
• In case of a partnership, the terms of the partnership should be included.
• In case of a corporation, the following should be included:
• Shares of stock authorized and share options.
• Names, addresses, and resumes of directors and officers.
• Organization chart.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Assessment of Risk
• Identifies potential hazards and alternative strategies to meet goals and
objectives.
• The entrepreneur should indicate:
• Potential risks to the new venture.
• Impact of the risks.
• Strategy to prevent, minimize, or respond to the risk.
• Major risks could result from:
• Competitor’s reaction.
• Weaknesses in marketing/ production/ management team.
• New advances in technology.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Financial Plan
• It contains projections of key financial data that determine economic
feasibility and necessary financial investment commitment.
• It should contain:
• Summarized forecasted sales and appropriate expenses for at least the first three
years.
• Cash flow figures for three years.
• Projected balance sheet.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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• Appendix
• It contains any backup material that is not necessary in the text of the
document.
• It may include:
• Letters from customers, distributors, or subcontractors.
• Secondary data or primary research data used to support plan decisions.
• Leases, contracts, or other types of agreements.
• Price lists from suppliers and competitors.
Writing the Business Plan (cont.)

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Using and Implementing the Business Plan
• The business plan is designed to guide the entrepreneur through
the first year of operations.
• The strategy should contain control points to ascertain progress
and to initiate contingency plans if necessary.
• Without good planning employees will not understand the
company’s goals.
• Businesses fail due to entrepreneur’s inability to plan effectively.

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• Measuring Plan Progress
• Business plan projections are made on a 12-month schedule but the
entrepreneur should frequently check on:
• Profit and loss statement.
• Cash flow projections.
• Inventory control.
• Production control.
• Quality control.
• Sales control.
• Disbursements.
• Web site control.
Using and Implementing the Business Plan
(cont.)

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• Updating the Plan
• Entrepreneurs must be sensitive to changes in the company, industry, and
market.
• Determine what revisions are needed if changes are likely to affect the
business plan.
• This helps entrepreneurs to:
• Maintain reasonable targets and goals.
• Keep the new venture on a course to high probability of success.
Using and Implementing the
Business Plan (cont.)

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Why Some Business Plans Fail
• Goals are unreasonable.
• Objectives are not measurable.
• Entrepreneur has not made a total commitment to the
business or to the family.
• Lack of experience in the planned business.
• No sense of potential threats or weaknesses to the
business.
• No customer need was established for the proposed
product or service.

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BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

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A) BUSINESS PLAN SUMMARY
1) Describe your products and services.
2) Describe the history of your business if it is an existing business, or how you developed your idea to
start a new business.
3) Describe the legal structure of your business- sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation.
4) Describe your experience in this business and how it will help you succeed.
5) Describe you reason for believing the business will succeed.

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B) MARKETING PLAN
1) Products or Services
I) What customer need or want is being filled?
II) What are the features and benefits of your products or services?
III) How will your product be made or how will your services be provided?
IV) Who will supply the materials?
V) What future products/services will you offer, and when?
2) Distribution
I) How will your products or services be distributed?
3) Industry
I) what is happening in your industry (is it growing, stable or declining)?
II) What do you believe the future hold for this industry?
V) What information do you have support your decisions about growth?

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4) Customers
I) Who are your customers- what does your customer profile look like?
II) How many customers will your business have?
III) What information do you have that supports your decisions about your customers?
IV) What is the growth potential for this business? What is your plan for growth?
5) Competition
I) Who are your main competitors?
II) What are their strengths and weaknesses? Your Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis)
6) Position
I) What will your market position be?
II) What is your competitive advantage- why will customers buy from you instead of the competition?

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7) Image and Packaging
I) What will the image of your business be?
II) What will your packaging look like (attach samples)
III) What do your business cards and promotional material look like (attach samples)
IV) Where will your business be located, and why did you choose this location? Include a sketch of
your floor plan.
8) Pricing
I) How did you determine your pricing strategy?
II) How do your prices compare to the competition?
9) Marketing Goals
I) What is your dream-where do you see your business in the next 2 to 5 years? Example goals: I want
to start a successful business. I want to expand my existing market share I want to add new
products/services.
10) Marketing Strategy
I) What is your promotional plan? Market Size & Segments

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C) MANAGEMENT DESCRIPTION
1) Who will handle which functions in the business?
2) What will their duties and qualifications be?
3) If employees, how many will you have and what will their duties be?
4) Who will hire, train and supervise them?
5) What will it cost your business for the first two years?
6) What will your owner draw be for the first two years?
7) What will your employee salaries be for the first two years?
8) Who will your lawyer, accountant, insurance agent, and other advisory team members be?
9) How will you manage your record keeping, finances, and inventory?
10) What licenses, permits or regulations will affect your business? (Attach copies of licenses, permits or
regulatory forms)
11) Will you have to collect and pay sales tax, and if so, how much and for which entity (state or city)?
12) What types of insurance will you need (Attach bids or copies of policy summary page)?
13) What types of payments will you accept (cash, check, credit cards, house accounts. etc.)?

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14) What contingency plans have you made for you?
I) What will you do if you become sick or are injured, or in the event of a family or personal
emergency that takes you away from the business? Who will take care of the business? How much
will it cost?
II) What will you do if your car breaks down? What will you do if your day-care provider can’t take
care of your kid/s today or if your kid/s are too sick to go to school?
15) What contingency plans have you made for the business?
I) What will you do if sales are not what you expected? What will you do to increase them?
II) What will you do if costs are higher then you expected? What will you do to decrease them?
III) How will you make decisions to continue to stabilize or increase your cash flow and profits? What
will you do if a competitor lowers their prices?

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D) FINACIAL PLAN
1) Include a month by-month cash flow projection for at least the first two full years. Include written
assumptions (explanations) supporting your projections. If your business starts or the plan starts during a
year, the first year projection will be a partial year. There should also be two full years of projections after
the partial year.
2) Include at least two years of financial statements for existing businesses. (If not in business two years,
include what is available). Include, if possible, balance sheets and profit and loss statements.
3) Include your personal financial data: Personal Financial Statement (Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth)
and a monthly income and expense statement (your personal financial plan).
E) OPERATIONS PLAN
1) Locations & Facilities
2) Technology
3) Equipment & Tools
4) Milestones & Metrics
Milestones
List your key milestones and the dates that you hope to accomplish them by. If you’ve already
accomplished key goals for your business, list them here as evidence that your business is getting traction
– in other words, it’s getting positive attention from potential customers.
Key Metrics
Explain which performance metrics are most important for understanding how your business is doing.
What does success mean for you, and how will you know it when you see it?

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THANK YOU