TOPIC:-THUNDER BAY TRANSIT PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

PLEASE KEEP THIS TOPIC IN MIND TIA

OBJECTIVE: To develop a start-up business plan for a small business.

METHODOLOGY:

Consider the opportunities that exist in your community, Northwestern Ontario or Canada for a small business. Create a business idea to capitalize on this opportunity. The business should be operated on a full-time basis over 12 months and provide revenues on a monthly basis. The business plan assignment is a team project and teams (to a maximum of 4) will be required for the project and each team will need to form a partnership agreement or student team contract. All business plans must be completed using the Business Plan template provided by your professor. (*Any plan submitted in another format will not be accepted for the purposes of this assignment). For the purposes of this assignment the business must be a new business and not a business purchase or franchise purchase.

Before you Start the Plan

Here a few suggestions before you begin writing the plan:

• Determine partnership responsibilities and form a partnership agreement or team contract (you can find templates online through google)
• Determine the legal structure you will use and the name of the business.
• Identify the target market(s) for the business. You will need to research and obtain some secondary data on market size.
• Analyze the competition and determine your positioning strategy in the marketplace
• Gather data on the industry to support trends and market needs
• Design a marketing strategy for the business
• Determine the resources needed to start the business- physical, human, information and financial
• Estimate start-up costs and sources of funding that will be used. You will assume a debt/equity ratio of 2:1 for all businesses and no personal financial information is to be disclosed for purposes of the project. Each partner will assume an equal % of the partnership and assume they have the equity to contribute. Estimate the sales/revenues and expenses of the business over the first year.

Developing the Plan

Use the template provided to complete the sections of the plan by answering the questions that are applicable in each section.

• Cover Page: Illustrate the business name and logo, students names and date

• Executive Summary: Offer an overview of the venture, including a brief description of your product or service; start date, your competitive advantage, your markets, the legal structure and management profile, financing requested and any key financial highlights.

• General Company Description: What business will you be in? What will you do? Mission Statement: If you want to draft a mission statement, this is a good place to put it in the plan. Company goals and objectives. Business philosophy: What is important to you in business? To whom will you market your products? Your target market? (State it briefly here - you will do a more thorough explanation in the Marketing section). Describe your industry. Your most important company strengths and core competencies: Legal form of ownership: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)?

Describe in depth your products and/or services (technical specifications, drawings, photos, sales brochures, and other bulky items belong in the Appendix

• Marketing Plan: Describe the target market(s) for the business from a geographic and demographic perspective and use reference to primary and secondary market research. Discuss economics of industry, product, customer, competition, strategy.

• Operational Plan: Discuss the premises, equipment and vehicles required for the business including any leasing terms. Indicate what permits,

licenses and other regulatory issues the business will be required to meet. Physical location requirements. Who will you need as your supplier(s). Indicate any itineraries and workflow plans to deliver the product/service. Indicate any policies or procedures the company will use.

• Management and Organization: Offer a profile of the owners, their positions and the ownership structure. Refer to resumes of the owners in the appendix section. List any advisors the business might consider using along with any professionals. Identify how many staff will be required. Indicate if they will be f/t, p/t or contract. Offer a job title and summary for the positions and indicate the wages you will offer. Indicate if any special certifications will be required or if training will be needed.

• Finance: Offer a financing overview that indicates the total start-up costs along with how much is being borrowed and how much is being invested. (You will assume a debt/equity ratio of 2:1 and that all partners have the equity contributions to invest. No personal information is to be made available for purposes of the assignment) .Provide an overview of the key financial highlights including sales, profits and financing details. Provide an opening balance sheet that demonstrates the startup costs for the business. Provide an Income Statement for the first year of operations (total year) and offer an explanation on how you determined your revenues and expenditures. Provide a cash flow statement (assumptions), on a monthly basis, for the first year. Provide a break-even analysis.

• Appendix: Have an appendix section with any supporting documentation including supporting research documents and the resumes of the owners.

Once completed, print the plan and add any other content you feel would support the plan, such as floor plans, maps, product illustrations or secondary data tables. You may wish to generate a customized cover page for your plan and include a company logo if available. Your business plan must be submitted using the prescribed format outlined above and should be written in third person. You will want to bind or package your report and submit it by the due date.

Grading the Plan

A grade will be assigned to the overall business plan based on the marking rubric for the assignment.

Marks will be deducted for written communication errors. (1/2 each to a maximum of 10%) Assignments must be submitted in the prescribed format and plagiarism could result in a zero grade for the assignment.

The written plan is worth 30% and the presentation will account for 10%

Presenting the Plan

Each team will present their plan according to the schedule created by their faculty. A schedule of presentation dates and times will be posted on Blackboard. Teams will be expected to present on the dates indicated or lose the opportunity to present. Each team will be given up to maximum of 10 minutes to present their plan in addition to a 5 minute question and answer period.

A rubric will be available to indicate the scoring for the presentation and it is expected that each member will participate in the presentation and be available for the question and answer session to qualify for the presentation mark. All team members in attendance will receive the same grade for the presentation and peer evaluation will be required.

Each presentation will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Effective communication skills demonstrated by team members

2. Effective supporting visual materials- PowerPoint presentation, etc.

3. Professionalism- appropriate attire and presentation

4. Ability to answer questions effectively

5. Content & Organization- Plan presented in a clear, logical order with a thorough explanation of the venture

6. Ability to Pitch the plan to attract investment