Executive Summary 1

Business Plan

Business:
Owner(s):
Date:

BUSINESS PLAN CONTENTS

Executive Summary 1

Organizational Plan 2

· Business Description 2

· Products/Services 2

· Location 2

· Management and Personnel 3

· Key Advocates and Stakeholders 3

· Owner’s Experience and Background 3

· Legal Structure 4

· Permits and Licenses 4

· Accounting and Record Keeping 4

· Insurance 4

· Personal Cash Flow 5

Financial Plan 6

· Start-Up Costs 6

· Overhead (Fixed) Costs 6

· Variable Costs 7

· Gross Profit 7

· Break-Even Point 7

· Sales and Profit Goals 8

· Projected Business Cash Flow (insert excel spreadsheet)………………………………………………………….………………………..9-10

Marketing Plan 11

· Mission Statement 11

· Market Needs 11

· Target Markets 11

· Market Potential 11

· Competitive Strategy 12

· Market Position 12

· Promotional Strategy 12

· Pricing Strategy 12

· Marketing Goals 13

· Marketing Business Plan and Budget 13

· Sources of Financing 14

Appendix 15

· (Letters of Reference, Market Surveys, Loan Application, Credit Report, Etc.)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

(One-page summary of the business plan, written after the rest of the plan has been written. It should include a paragraph for each of the following: Description of the business, age of the business, products and services, competitive differentiation, marketing goals, sales and profit goals, financing requirements.)

OPERATIONAL PLAN

BUSINESS NAME:

BUSINESSDESCRIPTION:

PRODUCTS / SERVICES – Check one or more that apply to your business.

Wholesale - Selling for resale
(Give a detailed description of the development of your product from raw materials to finished item.)
Retail - Selling directly to the consumer
(Describe the products you sell and provide information about your suppliers.)
(What is your system for managing or tracking inventory?)
Service - A retail business that deals in activities for the benefit of others
(What is your service, why are you able to provide it, how it is provided, who will be doing the work, and where the service will be performed)
BUSINESS ADDRESS:
Why does it make sense to locate your business there?
BUSINESS PHONE:

OPERATIONAL PLAN, continued

MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL
(Who is involved in your business and what does each person do?)
KEY ADVOCATES
(Who can you turn to for business help: attorney, accountant, mentor in your field?

STAKEHOLDERS

(What organizations, individuals, or other businesses have a clear interest in your business? Who is directly affected by your business and who does your business directly affect?)

OWNER’S EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND

1. Technical: What education, training, or experience have you had producing your product/service?
(Remember that experience in related or similar activities is important.)
2. Marketing/Sales: What education, training, or experience have you had in marketing or sales?
(Experience as a volunteer with your church or other local civic or charity organizations is important.)
3. Financial: What education, training, or experience have you had managing finances?
(This includes balancing a checkbook, keeping books/files, or preparing taxes.)
4. Planning/Organizing: What education, training, or experience have you had organizing people or projects?
(Activities for which you weren’t paid like running a home are important.)

LEGAL STRUCTURE

Sole Proprietorship / Corporation (C Corp.)
General Partnership / Corporation (S Corp.)
Limited Liability Company (LLC) / Other
(Explain your reasons for choosing this particular structure.)

PERMITS AND LICENSES

Check the permits or licenses you will need.

Also provide name, address and phone number of where you obtain each permit/license.)

Occupational License
Privilege License – City and/or county (also known as Business License
Name Registration
Incorporation Papers
Sales Tax
Employer ID# (Federal and State)
Other

ACCOUNTING & RECORD KEEPING

(What records are necessary for you to keep? Describe your record keeping system. Are you using a software package? Ledger books? )

INSURANCE

(Describe your business insurance needs.)

PERSONAL CASH FLOW

Month: / Month: / Month: / Month: / Month: / Month: / TOTAL
1. BEGINNING CASH RESERVE
CASH IN (Cash Sources)
2. Take Home Pay
3. Take Home Pay – spouse
4. Other
5. TOTAL CASH IN
(Add lines 2 through 4)
CASH OUT (Cash Uses)
6. Rent/Mortgage
7. Maintenance
8. Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insur.
9. Telephone
10. Electricity
11. Oil/Gas
12. Cable TV
13. Groceries
14. Dining Out
15. Car Loan
16. Gas
17. Car Maintenance
18. Car Insurance
19. Doctor/Medicine/Hospital
20. Medical Insurance
21. Savings
22. Loan Payment
23. Clothing
24. Childcare
25. Credit Cards
26. Recreation
27. Gifts
28. Taxes
29. Other
30.
31.
32. TOTAL CASH OUT
(Add lines 6 thru 31)
33. GAIN/LOSS
(Subtract line 32 from line 5)
34. Ending Cash Reserve (If line 33 is gain, add to line 1. If line 33 is loss, subtract from line 1).

Ending Cash Reserve for the present month = Beginning Cash Reserve for the next month.

FINANCIAL PLAN

START-UP COSTS

(List the items you need to purchase to open your doors before you can make your first dollar of sales.)

ITEM DESCRIPTION / WHERE WILL YOU BUY IT? / COST
TOTAL COST:

OVERHEAD (FIXED) COSTS

(List the monthly expenses you incur regardless of what your monthly sales.)

ITEM DESCRIPTION / COST
Travel
Rent
Utilities
Salaries
Insurance
Marketing
Professional Fees
Loan Payments
Everything Else
TOTAL COST:

VARIABLE COST

(Define what one unit is for your business and what it costs you to produce one unit. If you have more than one very different unit, repeat this calculation.)

MY UNIT (One typical sale) IS: / COST
Cost of MATERIALS/MERCHANDISE (per unit)
Cost of PACKAGING per unit
Cost of TRANSPORT per unit
Cost of LABOR -per unit
The cost of your time (or your employee’s) to make one unit or provide one service. Multiply the number of hours by the amount charged per hour.
______X ______
hours used $ per hour
Cost of PAYROLL TAX (self employment-FICA) 10% of salary/unit
OTHER COSTS/UNIT
TOTAL VARIABLE COST/UNIT (ADD ALL OF THE COSTS):

NOTE 1: Anybody being paid monthly as an overhead cost does not also need to be paid in the variable cost.

NOTE 2: It is important to figure out the cost of your time, but you can choose to not actually pay yourself until the business sells enough units to be profitable. It depends on your financial situation.

GROSS PROFIT

(What is your gross profit on this unit? Gross Profit = Price - Variable Cost.)

BREAK-EVEN POINT

(Calculate your Break-Even Point. Break-Even Point = Overhead Costs / Gross Profit.)

Sales and Profit Goals

(Describe your sales and profit goals for your business in terms of dollars and units.)

Business Cash Flow – First Six Months

This form is a Word Version of the Excel Cash Flow worksheet you’ve seen in class and is on your flash drive. All of the columns and headings are the same – it just looks different because of the format. Use the format you are most comfortable with!

Unit Price: ______
Start-Up / Jan. / Feb. / Mar. / Apr. / May / June
MONEY IN
Units Sold
Sales Total
Owner’s Investment
Loans Received
Other
TOTAL MONEY IN
MONEY OUT
Variable Costs / Cost/Unit
Materials
Packaging
Transportation
Labor
Labor + Self- Employment Tax
Other
Total Variable Costs
Fixed Costs (Overhead)
Travel
Rent
Utilities
Salaries
Other Payroll Costs
Insurance
Marketing
Professional Fees
Loan Payments
Other
Start-Up Expenses Total
Total Fixed Costs
TOTAL MONEY OUT
Cash on Hand at Start of Month
Cash Gained or Lost During Month
Cash on Hand at End of Month

Business Cash Flow – SECOND Six Months

MARKETING PLAN

MISSION STATEMENT

(1-2 sentences that describe the core purpose(s) of your business.)

MARKET NEEDS

(What are you really selling? What benefits will your customers gain?)

TARGET MARKETS

(Overview of demographics of key target markets – income, age, gender, geography, family status, ethnicity, etc.)

MARKET POTENTIAL

(Describe market research and what it tells you.)

MARKETING PLAN, continued

COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

Plus/Delta Competition Matrix

COMPETITORS / Price / Service / Location / Quality

+ Your business has a clear advantage

Δ Your business does not have a clear advantage

MARKET POSITION

(Using the chart above as a guide, describe how you distinguish yourself. What will your customers remember about you as compared to your competition?)

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

(Methods used to reach the target market for each product.)

PRICING STRATEGY

(What is your price? How did you decide on it? Does it match your image?)

MARKETING PLAN, continued

MARKETING GOALS

(Describe what you will initially (or currently) offer and how you will expand.)

MARKETING BUSINESS PLAN AND BUDGET

(What are the key methods used to market your business, what will they cost, and by when do they need to be implemented to achieve your above marketing goals?)

MARKETING ACTION STEP / WHEN WILL YOU DO IT? / COST
TOTAL COST FOR THE YEAR:

SOURCES OF FINANCING

Please indicate us where you will get the money to finance your business.

SOURCE / INVESTMENT / LOAN
Personal Savings
Relatives*
Friends*
Loan
Others*
Total (must equal or exceed total start-up costs)

*List the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your investors.

APPENDIX

Please include any other relevant information (letters of reference, market surveys, completed loan application, most recent credit report, etc.).