Business Planning Assignment
You are to write a business plan for the company or social enterprise of your choosing. The plan should cover a minimum of three years. To be eligible for full credit your business should have:
The number of points available is provided for each section. An explanation of requirements and suggestions for topics to cover in each section is also included below. This is a formal paper and should be typewritten and include a table of contents and proper margins, spelling and grammar.
I. Executive Summary (75 points)
A. A Summary of the rest of your plan.
II. Description of the Business (125 points)
A. Product or Service provided
B. The Market and Target Customers
C. The Competition
D. Marketing Strategy
E. Operations Plan
G. Personnel Required
III. Financial Section (75 points)
A. Projected monthly income statement for at least the first 12 months, then quarterly for the next two years
B. Projected Cash Flow for at least the first 12 months, then quarterly for the next two years
C. Start-up expenses and working capital needed
D. The Investment
IV. Other Details (25 points)
A. Overall time table for start-up
B. Key assumptions / critical success factors
Appendices (25 points)
A. CEO Resume
B. Organization Chart
C. Other
In Class Presentation of Your Business Plan (4 minutes) (25 points)
DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH SECTION
A. Description of the business concept and the business model in ~50 words, including the specific product or service. The opportunity and strategy –summarize what the opportunity is, why it is attractive, and the strategy planned to exploit it, including key facts, conditions, industry and/or local trends and other logic. Also include a Mission Statement.
B. The target market and projections — explain the industry and market, who the primary customer groups are, how the products or services will be positioned and how you plan to reach and service these groups. Describe the market, the size and growth rate of the market segments or niches, unit and dollar sales estimates, anticipated market share, and pricing strategy.
C. The competitive advantages — indicate the edge in product, service or strategy, and competitors’ weaknesses.
D. The economics and profitability. Describe the expected profitability and provide supporting projections.
E. The offering: indicate the dollar amount of equity and debt financing needed, how much of the company you are prepared to offer for that financing, what principal use will be made of the capital, and how the targeted investor / lender will achieve its desired rate of return.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS
Consider some or all of the following ideas:
A. Product or Service provided: Give details about the product or service; unique features, especially those that create or add value; differences with what is currently on the market; patents, trade secrets or other proprietary features; opportunities to expand the product / service line later.
Requirement: What is the product all about?
B. The Market and Target Customer:
1. Industry overview — market size, growth trends, or other national or economic trends and factors that could affect a venture’s business positively or negatively. Discuss current status and prospects for the industry including major trends that may affect future growth.
Requirement: Give a profile of the target customer. Who are the primary and secondary customers?
C. The Competition:
Make a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of four or more competitors. Compare competing and substitute products or services on basis of quality, price, performance, etc. discuss current advantages and disadvantages of these products or services and say why they are not meeting customer demands.
Requirement: Identify your competitors.
D. Marketing Strategy
Requirement: How are you going to reach your customers? What advertising, promotion, selling, public relations or other techniques do you plan to use?
E. Operations Plan
Describe the facilities. If this is to be a restaurant, provide details about layout, service, staffing, etc. If you need any special equipment, include it here.
Requirement: How will you operate the business (hours, staffing, etc.)?
Consider the location, and justify in terms of labor availability, closeness to customers and suppliers, etc.
Requirement: Identify where are you located and why.
G. Personnel
Requirement: Describe what kinds of personnel you project that you will need now and over the next three years. What skills will they need; how much will you pay them; will you train them and for how long; what fringe benefits will you offer? You might want to include job descriptions in the appendix, if applicable.
III. Financial Section
Be sure to include:
A. Projected monthly income statements for at least the first 12 months, and quarterly for the next two years. Give a brief explanation of your numbers.
B. Projected Cash Flow for at least the first 12 months, and quarterly for the next two years. Give a brief explanation of your numbers.
C. Start-up Expenses and Working Capital
Requirement: Include the total amount of funding needed to start the business. This generally includes your funding until a positive cash flow is obtained plus any additional money up front to start the business (equipment, escrow for lease, customer lists, etc. or other one time start-up expenses). If your venture will need additional working capital to grow, please estimate it here.
D. The Investment:
Requirement: How much money are you seeking and how it be used? What type of financing are you looking for? Who will you borrow from and when / how much will you pay back if the lenders are private. What will you promise your equity partners and how much of a return are you projecting?
VI. Other details
A. Overall time table for start-up and narrative
Include a schedule that shows the timing and interrelationship of the major events necessary to launch the venture. List the tasks needed to start up and the order in which they should be completed.
B. Key Assumptions / Critical Success Factors
Discuss assumptions and risks implicit in your plan. Identify and discuss major problems and risks (e.g. running out of cash before orders are secured, or sales projections are not achieved). Indicate which assumptions or potential problems or risks are most critical and what your plans are to minimize the impact of unfavorable developments. In other words, what has to happen or not happen for your company to be successful?
APPENDICES
A. CEO (your) Resume, other staff optional
B. Organization Chart
C. Other, miscellaneous: Include whatever else you feel will strengthen your business plan– You may put anything you like into the appendix.
OTHER NOTES:
Page length: There is no specific page target. However, the core narrative (without attachments) should probably be between 12 and 15 pages in length. If it is much longer, the reader will lose interest in the report. Be sure to include only what is essential to convince the potential investor that your idea will work and that you have thought it through carefully. Use attachments and appendices liberally rather than bogging down the narrative in too much detail.
