BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE COVER PAGE

BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE COVER PAGE Owner's name(s) Business Name Address Telephone Cell Phone Best time to call Fax e-mail Website Type of Business Service Retail Wholesale Manufacturing Child Care Tourism/Recreation Art/Product Products and or services offered Business Structure Sole Proprietorship General Proprietorship Limited Partnership Limited Liability Partnership S Corporation C Corporation Limited Liability Company Who will manage the business and what are their specific experiences to the business? Who will provide bookkeeping and tax reporting services? Location of the business - Benefits and Drawbacks 228 West Washington Street, Marquette, MI 49855 • Phone: (906) 228-5571 • Toll-Free: 1-800-254-2156 Fax: (906) 228-5572 • Web: www.northerninitiatives.com TARGET MARKET Geographic Area What counties will you serve? States Countries Population How many potential customers are in your geographic area? The below section describes the types of customers you will be selling to: A. Represents individual customers (example: Retail Customers) B. Represents sales to other businesses (example: Retail stores (wholesale)) If your business will sell to both individuals and businesses fill out both A and B A. Individual Customer Profile - If you are selling to individuals not companies Income range Age range Lifestyle/Activities (e.g., families who like to do things together, people who like to spend time at home, people who do not drive, people who like to travel, ski, read, sew, camp, fish, garden, etc.) Social or business trends affecting your target market (e.g., aging baby-boomers concerned with health and fitness, young families purchasing their first home, corporate downsizing, personal safety concerns, environmental issues, etc.) Other key characteristics or similarities your target customers share B. Company Customer Profile - If you are selling to businesses and not individuals Type of industry or businesses you will sell to (example: government, non-profits, retail, distributors, etc.) COMPETITION AND RISK FACTORS Competition Who are they? Competitors greatest strengths (financial resources, key employees, location, distribution network, etc.) Competitors greatest weaknesses (poor management, heavy debt load, poor customer service, etc.) How will your business, products and services be different from your competitors? Why will customers buy from you over your competition? Risk Factors What major things could go wrong and what would you do to overcome them? (delivery truck or equipment breaks down, you or a key employee become ill and can't work for a week, your computer goes down, etc.) The purpose of identifying and addressing your competition and risk factors is to help prepare you for emergency situations and to get you thinking in ways that could help strengthen and grow your business. 228 West Washington Street, Marquette, MI 49855 • Phone: (906) 228-5571 • Toll-Free: 1-800-254-2156 Fax: (906) 228-5572 • Web: www.northerninitiatives.com SALES AND PRICING Projecting sales figures is the most critical part of planning your business. This number is the key to your cash flow projections and the future viability of the business. Overestimated sales is one of the leading causes of business failure. The root cause of overestimating sales is not understanding the market, costs, competition and how many target customers there really are. How have you estimated your sales figures? What are your numbers based on? Pricing your products or services - Are you charging enough to cover ALL your fixed and variable expenses? LOAN REQUEST BREAKDOWN Item(s) being purchased with loan funds Cost $ Total $ ADVERTISING Marketing Tools It is important to know your target market when developing and deciding on which marketing tools will best reach your customers (e.g. businesses cards work great for service businesses like consultants but would be a waste of money to get people to buy at a grocery store) Which of the following tools for delivery of your advertising will you use? Web site Business cards Stationary Thank you notes Telephone yellow pages Brochures Flyers Circulars (distributed through newspapers) Newspapers Magazines Specialty publications (e.g. builder's show guides, concert guides, tourism maps, etc.) Coupons Sales letters Television Radio Billboards Signs Banners Specialty items (e.g. hats, cups, pens, etc.) Trade shows Events Free samples Association memberships ( e.g. chamber of commerce, builder's association, etc.) Other Cost of developing marketing tools ( web site design and set up, logo design, printing, etc.) Average monthly cost of implementing the tools used( e.g., newspaper ads, web site maintenance, yellow page ad, free samples, etc.) 228 West Washington Street, Marquette, MI 49855 • Phone: (906) 228-5571 • Toll-Free: 1-800-254-2156 Fax: (906) 228-5572 • Web: www.northerninitiatives.com Strategy and Tactics Direct mail Public speaking Telemarketing Press releases Parades Open house Other Describe how you will attract and maintain customer loyalty to your business: How will you provide excellent service to your customers and staff? Why do you believe your business concept will work?