W r i te Your Bus iness Plan by Answer ing T hese Ques t ions Another great E-book brought to you by bucarotechelp.com War ranty, Disclaimer and Copyr ight Policy T his program is provided on an "as -is" basis, and Bucaro T ecHelp makes no war ranty or representation, express or implied, with respect to its quality per formance or fitness for a par ticular purpose. I n no event shall Bucaro T ecHelp be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages ar is ing out of the use of this program. No patent liability is as sumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, Bucaro T ecHelp as sumes no respons ibility for er rors or omis s ions. Neither is any liability as sumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. 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Contents Page 4 I ntroduction Page 5 Bus iness Plan Outline Page 6 Bus iness Plan Ques tions Page 7 I T he Bus ines s Page 11 I I Financial S tatements Page 13 I I I Suppor ting Documents Page 14 Resources Page 15 Download FREE e-Books at bucarotechelp.com I ntroduction Congratulations! You have made the decis ion to s tart your own bus ines s. You probably have a vis ion of your bus iness in your mind, but can you explain your idea to the bank, inves tors or in applying for s tart up capital? You need to define your idea in an order ly format, that is, you need to make a bus iness plan. Wr iting a bus iness plan will require you to refine your idea and flesh out the details. I t will require a lot of work and research, but having a bus iness plan greatly increases the chances that your bus iness will be a s ucces s. Without a bus iness plan, lenders and inves tors will not even be interes ted in talking with you. T he form of a bus iness plan depends upon the specific bus ines s, but most follow the same bas ic s tr ucture. Crank up your word proces sor and create the bas ic outline provided. T hen flesh out your plan by answer ing the ques tions posed in this e-book. Page 4 Bus iness Plan Outline Cover sheet T able of Contents Executive S ummary Management T eam 1. T he Bus ines s A. Descr iption of the Bus ines s B. Product or S ervice C. Bus iness Location D. Operating Procedures E. Per sonnel Policy F. Market Analys is G. Competitor s H. T he Mar keting Plan 2. Financial S tatements A. S tar t-Up Expenses B. Operating Expenses C. I ncome Projections D. Cash Flow Projections E. Balance S heet 3. S uppor ting Documents Mar ket S tudies T ax Returns Per sonal Financial S tatement Franchise Documents Building Lease or Purchase Agreement Licenses and Permits Letters of I ntent Other Legal Documents Page 5 Bus iness Plan Ques tions Cover Sheet T he cover sheet should have a title centered on the sheet, “Bus iness Plan of Your Bus ines s’ Name“. Just below that enter the date. In the lower r ight corner enter your name, addres s, phone number, fax number, and any other contact information. E xecut ive S ummar y T his is a br ief descr iption of your bus ines s’ goals and objectives. Explain why you want to s tar t the bus ines s. Answer these ques tions : * What is the company name? * What is the company’s product or service? * What makes the company special? * What will be the companies target market? * What will be the companies pr imary marketing s trategy? * What makes your , or your management team qualified to s tar t this bus ines s? Management T eam Descr ibe the people holding leader ship pos itions in the company. Answer these ques tions : * What special qualifications does each member br ing to the table? * What is the track record of each management team member? * What are the respons ibilities and duties of each individual? * Will the team member hold an inves tment pos ition in the company? * What is the ex it s trategy for a team member? Page 6 I T he B us ines s A. Descr ipt ion of the B us ines s Descr ibe the bus iness and its purpose or reason for exis tence. Answer these ques tions : * Is this a new bus iness or a franchise? * Why do you want to s tar t this bus ines s? * What are the goals and objectives of the bus ines s? * What is the bus iness form: sole propr ietor ship, par tner ship or corporation? * Does the bus iness provide products or services? * What are the products or services? * Does your product have special or unusual features that give it a competitive edge? * Does your company pos ses any copyr ights or patents that give it a competitive edge? * At what level does the bus iness operate: manufacturer, wholesale, or retail? * What federal licenses or cer tifications are required? * What federal regulations or s tandards will you have to follow? * What s tate, country and city licenses or permits are required? * What s tate, country and city regulations or s tandards will you have to follow? B . P roduct or Service Descr ibe your companies product or service. Answers these ques tions : * What are the benefits of your product or service from your cus tomers perspective? * What is special or unique about the product or service you’re company offers compared to competitor s? Page 7 C. B us iness L ocat ion Location can be a major factor in your bus ines s’ s uccess or failure. Descr ibe your bus ines s’ location. Answer these ques tions : * Will you rent space or operate your bus iness out of your home. * What kind of space will you need, warehouse, office, rer tail? * What area is the most des irable for this type of bus ines s? * What type of acces s ibility is required? D. Operat ing P r ocedur es Descr ibe how the bus iness will run on a day-to-day bas is. You may need to develop a S tandard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual. Answers these ques tions : * What will be your bus ines s’ operating hour s? * What will be your operating days, weekdays, Saturdays, S undays? * Where will you do your banking? * Will you accept credit cards? * Will you accept per sonal checks? * Who will your suppliers be? * How and where will supplies be s tored? * Will you ship products to cus tomer s? * What will be your shipping procedure? * Will you charge handling fees? E. Per sonnel Policy Even if you plan to s tart a one per son bus ines s, there may come a time when your bus iness will need employees. I f you will need per sonnel immediately or soon, you need to develop a Human Resource Manual. Descr ibe your personnel policy. Answer these ques tions : * What are your cur rent and future per sonnel needs? * How will you hire the per sonnel you need? * Will you hire par t-time, full-time, temporary, permanent employees , or contractors? * What are your plans for training employees? * What salar ies will be required to attract qualified per sonnel? * What benefits will you offer employees? Page 8 F. Mar ket Analysis Identify the cus tomer for your companies product or service. Answer these ques tions : * Define your target mar ket. Who are your cus tomers? * What are the demographics of your cus tomers: education, economic s tatus, age and gender? * I s your market growing, or declining? * What are the trends in your market? * How will you attract, hold and increase a s hare of the mar ket? G. Compet itor s T he key to the success of your bus iness is to have a competitive s trategy and to cons tantly monitor your competitor s s trategy. S tudy your competitors marketing and pr icing s trategy. Answer these ques tions : * Who are your nearest competitor s? * How does their product or service differ from your s? * Does a competitors pos sess a copyr ights or patent that will impede your companies operation? * Does your company pos ses a copyr ight or patent that gives it a competitive edge? * What is each competitor s s trength and weaknes s? * Are your pr ices in line with the competition? H. T he Mar ket ing P lan If you had a choice between two companies, one with a great product but a poor marketing plan, and another with a poor product but a great mar keting plan, which would you choose? You would be smar t to choose the company with the great marketing plan. A great sales and mar keting depar tment can sell anything. T hey can make a blank piece of paper seem like the greates t thing in the wor ld. You just have to buy one. A company with a poor marketing plan will not last long, because nobody will know the product even exis ts . Page 9 Your marketing plan will be the most impor tant factor to determine the success or failure of your bus ines s. T he most impor tant thing is to know your cus tomers des ires and needs. Develop a mar keting s trategy that will let you fulfill their des ires and needs . * What s trategies will your company use to develop brand recognition? * What kind of adver tis ing will your company use? * What type of promotional products will you create? * What can you learn from how your competition markets their products? * How will you satis fy cus tomer complaints? * What type of sales force will you use? Commis s ioned, salar ied or combination? Will you use sales representatives or dis tr ibutors? Page 10 I I Financial S tatement s How well you manage the finances of your bus iness is the corner s tone of every succes s ful bus ines s. T he success of your bus iness will depend upon how well you monitor your products pr icing and operating cos ts to ensure profits. Prepare the following budgets to build a sound financial plan. Answer to these ques tions : * What type of accounting s ys tem will you use? * What kind of inventory control sys tem will you use? * What will be your source of s tar t-up funding? * What kinds of bus iness insurance will you need? A. S tar t -Up E xpenses How much money will you need to s tar t the bus iness (one-time-only expenses )? B . Operat ing E xpenses How much money will you need to cover the fir s t three to s ix months of operation? Page 11 C. I ncome P r oject ions What are your sales goals for the coming year? What as sumptions are these projections based upon? * Detail by month for the fir st year. * Detail by quar ter for the second year and third year. D. Cash F low Project ions What are your profit goals for the coming year? What as sumptions are these projections based upon? * Detail by month for the fir st year. * Detail by quar ter for the second year and third year. E. Balance S heet T he balance sheet is the difference between the bus ines s’ as sets and its liabilities. I f you can’t project a pos itive balance sheet after three year s, maybe you need to rethink your bus iness plan. * Detail by month for the fir st year. * Detail by quar ter for the second year and third year. * Projected summary for the fir s t three year s . * Any other financial projections you want to include in your bus iness plan? Page 12 I I I Suppor t ing Document s Attach copies of any documents related to your bus iness plan, especially financial documents and mar keting s trategies . * Independent market s tudies and s tatis tics . * S tate and federal tax returns for the las t three year s . * Personal financial s tatement. * I f a franchise, a copy of all documents provided by the franchiser . * Building lease agreement or purchase contract. * Any cer tifications, licenses or permits. * Letters of intent from companies which have agreed to do bus ines s with you. * Any other legal documents related to the bus ines s . Page 13 Resources Small B us iness Adminis t r at ion www.sba.gov * Publication # CO 0028 S tar ting a Small Bus ines s Nuts -and-bolts financial, marketing and other information on s tar ting a small bus ines s . * Publication # CO 0042 Resource Directory for Small Bus iness Management A list of, and an order form for, the S BA's low-cost publications and videotapes for s tar ting and managing a s ucces s ful small bus ines s . * Publication # FS 0014 U.S . Bus iness Advisor T he One-S top Electronic Link to the Federal Government for Bus ines s T he I nter nal R evenue S er vice www.ir s .gov/smallbiz/index.html * Publication # 334 T ax Guide for Small Bus ines ses . * Publication # 583 S tar ting a Small Bus iness & Keeping Records . Page 14 Download FREE e-Books at bucarotechelp.com T his FREE ebook is for anyone who wants to learn more about their computer. 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