You will prepare a business plan for your final assignment in this class (due May 9, 6:00pm). You should include a cover page, a table of contents, an executive summary, the 7 designated sections, an appendix containing all your exhibits, and references or works cited. You will have just 5 days to organize the material from the personal research assignments you've prepared for this class. Follow the outline below to earn the maximum points on this assignment

Items in red are prompts and should be deleted in your final draft.

Cover page

Table of contents

Executive Summary (The executive summary goes near the beginning of the plan but is written last. It should provide a short, concise and optimistic overview of your business that captures the reader's attention and gives them an interest in learning more about it. The executive summary should be one page long, with brief summaries of each sections of the plan.)

Section 1 - Business Description

Use your business description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your business description is the place to boast about your strengths.

Your business plan should sum up the background and general structure of your business. The bullet points listed below should be your subheadings under Section 1 - Business Description.

• Problem (what is the problem you are addressing with your business venture?)
• Solution (how are you solving the problem?)
• Business Description (what, where, how and why)
• Vision Statement
• Mission Statement
• Ownership
• Legal form

Section 2 - Market Strategies

The marketing strategy is your approach to achieving your competitive advantage

You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

As youve been told previously, trying to shortcut your business plan, your market strategy, or your marketing plan will limit your ability to communicate with your customers and affect your business success.

Remember, your marketing strategy describes how your company will reach consumers and convert them into paying customers. Describe your marketing strategy, be specific! Who is your target market? How will you Segment your audience? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Who are your Competitors? Do you have a sufficient marketing budget? How will you establish and build your brand?

• Target Market and Relevant Segmentation
• Market Objectives
• Environmental Factors
• Competition (demonstrate you know the competition, add more detail in section 4)

Section 3 - The Marketing Plan

There's no single way to approach a marketing plan. Your marketing plan should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your marketing and sales strategies.

One common way of understanding and remembering the components of the marketing mix for products and services is by thinking in terms of the 7 Ps. While each of these can be part of a companys marketing mix, the first four relate more to the product or service you provide: product, pricing, promotion, and place (traditionally called the 4 Ps of marketing). The remaining three relate more to services: physical environment, process, and people. While the 7 Ps are conceptually the same for all businesses, how a company addresses each P will be specific to that companys needs and goals.

In week 5 you outlined your approach to the 7 Ps, Now in section three you will expand on each one

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People
• Physical Environment
• Process

Section 4 - Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis in marketing and strategic management identifies your competitors and evaluates their strategies to determine strengths and weaknesses relative to your brand. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats.

• Competition
• Your distinctive difference

Sections 5 - Management and Staffing

• Ownership
• Duties and responsibilities (put your Organization Chart in appendix A)
• Managers (job descriptions, what will they do?) (for each manager include their rate of pay, a specific dollar amount)
• Operative Employees (job descriptions, what will they do?) (for each employee include their rate of pay, a specific dollar amount)
• Outside Managerial Assistance

Section 6 - Financial Analysis (include your financial forms in the appendix, while this section can reference numbers a narrative is more important)

Your goal in this section is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

If you are a new business start-up provide a prospective financial outlook for at least the first year. A five-year projection is even better. Include proforma income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use monthly projections. Make sure you are reasonable and realistic in your projections and clearly explain your reasoning.

This is a great place to include graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.

• Sales Forecast (reference your Sales Forecast Worksheet to discuss how you arrived at your sales forecast and your projected growth)
• Expense Forecast (Use the information on the top half of your Startup Expense Worksheet to discuss the key expenses, fixed and variable costs you anticipate, why you have eliminated certain common expenses, and how you arrived at the numbers you are using)
• Cash Flow Statement (discuss your terms for receivables and payables, what is your payment cycle? Discuss your cash reserves. Explain how you will operate before you reach the break-even point)
• Break-even Analysis (discuss how you arrived at your break-even point and how you plan to get there. This should include strategies to minimize the time you are operating in the red)

Section 7 - Development Plan

• Operational Steps
  • Production Process
  • Capacity
  • Equipment and tools
• Start-up Timeline

Appendix and exhibits

References/Works Cited