$2.$ Executive Summary $($max $2$ pages$)$

a$.$ Brief description of the entire plan. This stand$-$alone summary should clearly communicate the gist of the problem, your proposed solution and why it should$/$would work. No sentences should be repeated verbatim in the remainder of the business plan.

b$.$ Sections $$ each section summarizes KEY information from the sections of the business plan

i$.$ Company Background and Information

ii$.$ External and Internal Analyses

iii. Problem Description

iv$.$ Proposed Strategies

v$.$ Specific Plan of Action and Implementation

$3.$ Company Background and History

a$.$ Clearly Describe the company, the industry, the products and services offered.

b$.$ Provide a brief history of the company over the years$$if new a brief history of the industry can be used instead.

c$.$ Situate the company within its industry and the why you chose the particular industry definition and how it fits with what the company does. You need not be restricted on definitions from NAICS or IBIS World.

$4.$ External and Internal Analyses

a$.$ Define the industry, converging$/$diverging industries, related industries if applicable, buyer and supplier industries.

b$.$ Description of the stage of industry evolution.

c$.$ Analyze the Macro Environment using PESTLE Analyses

d$.$ Analyze the Industry constraints on profits using $5$ Forces Model to arrive.

e$.$ A basic internal analysis identifying VRIO resources and firm capabilities that can confer it a competitive advantage.

f$.$ A short analysis of competitors$/$substitutes$/$complementors if they are relevant.

g$.$ Cite appropriate references where required$$any style of referencing is fine as long as you are consistent. Your typical data sources here are Nexis Uni, IBIS World if available, Company websites, $8-$K and $10-$K and business press articles.

$5.$ Problem Description

It should be clear that this is a strategic problem facing the company. Problems can also be related to business ethics and corporate governance.

a$.$ The problem definition is well connected with your findings from external and$/$or internal analyses.

b$.$ The problem is concretely described and identified with clear reasoning.

c$.$ Adequate evidence is provided including graphs, charts, interviews etc.

$6.$ Proposed Strategies

a$.$ It is clear that your strategies correspond well with your external and internal analyses for the company. For example, if your company$$s industry is in decline$$have you accounted for strategies in declining industries? Or if your company is multi$-$business, have you chosen the relevant corporate strategy?

b$.$ Clear reasoning for why the strategy selected will$/$should work.

c$.$ Evidence if available on whether others have succeeded in the strategy that you are prescribing and how similar or different their companies are to your focal company.

$7.$ Specific Plan of Action$/$Implementation

a$.$ A specific action plan for implementing your proposed strategy. For example, if your strategy calls for backward vertical integration, what likely companies are targets for acquisition? Or if your strategy is to be a strong first mover, what customer group$/$segmentation are likely to be early adopters$/$pioneers that you need to convince? Or if your strategy proposes a value innovation$$then how would you offset costs of production by having buyers involved in product development etc.

b$.$ A list of actions and likely challenges in following your proposed strategy$$basically qualifiers and reservations in strategy implementation.

$8.$ Appendices and References $($not more than $3-4$ pages long$)$

a$.$ More detailed graphs, figures, and tables not directly relevant are included here.

b$.$ If it$$s not explained in the text, it$$s not shown in the appendices.

c$.$ Full$-$page figures or other figures that do not fit well in the page are included here.

d$.$ References if not referenced in text footnotes will be here.