Your goal: To begin drafting a thoughtful, creative, and practical business plan.

A business plan is intended to help you think through the many decisions and actions needed to turn a good business idea into a reality. This project will give you valuable, first-hand experience writing, organizing, and polishing the five major sections of a business plan.

Step by step, you'll apply what you're learning about business to make decisions about a startup and record those decisions in your own business plan. (If your instructor directs you to base your plan on an existing business, be sure to answer the special questions that apply to that situation.) Once you've written the plan, you can use it to communicate with lenders and investors, manage your progress in starting or growing the business, and plan for achieving your business's goals.

You won't be writing your plan in the same order as your readers will see it. Why not? Because the Executive Summary appears first in the plan, but you can't sum up your ideas until you've written everything else. So the summary is the last section you'll write, at the end of this project. At the bottom of this page you'll find a simple Business Plan template that you can download and use to help organize your work as you build a complete plan.

Also, remember that the decisions you make about one aspect of your business will inevitably influence other aspects. You may find yourself returning to earlier sections and adding or rewriting as new or different ideas occur to you later in the process. Be sure to save your work as you finish all seven assignments, so you can refer back to earlier answers. By the end of the project, you will have written an entire business plan.

Entrepreneurs typically wear many hats as they start and grow a business, acting as the finance expert and the marketing expert, among other roles. In the course of this project, you'll also have the opportunity to switch hats and assume the role of someone outside the business for additional insights. You'll wear the hat of a competitor in Part 1, a potential partner in Part 2, a management candidate in Part 3, a job applicant in Part 4, a customer in Part 5, a potential business buyer in Part 6, and a banker in Part 7. Switching roles in this way allows you to examine your ideas from various perspectives, challenge your thinking, improve your business plan, and prepare for business success.

Now put on your entrepreneur's hat and get ready for your first assignment.

1. Start by making a list of your skills, strengths, and interests in the spaces provided below. Also list any relevant experience that might be useful in starting and running a business. This personal inventory will help you determine what type of business you want to start.
   1. Skills: ............. (such as writing, speaking, coding, or selling)
   2. Strengths: .............. (such as persistence, problem-solving, or managing money)
   3. Interests: ............. (such as sports, history, movies, or games)
   4. Experience: .............. (such as academic, volunteer, or work background)
2. With your personal inventory in mind, briefly describe the business you would like to start by answering these questions in the spaces provided below. You will be using this information in the Executive Summary section of your business plan, as well as in other sections.
   1. What is the name of your new business? .........
   2. What type of business will it be (retailer, manufacturer, service business, etc.), and what customer need(s) will it satisfy? ...........
   3. Where (city/state) will your business be located? ..........
   4. When do you expect the business to be operational? ..........
   5. How are you qualified (through skills, strengths, interests, and experience) to make this business a success? ........
3. The business environment is shaped by five key factors (competitive, economic, global, technology, and social).
   Your business plan should indicate how these factors will affect your business, starting with competition. What degree of competition (monopolistic competition, oligopoly, or monopoly) is typical of the industry in which you will operate? What are the implications for your ability to compete? Write a few sentences describing the competitive situation. Identify at least two main competitors and list two ways that your goods or services will be unique, and better. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Next, write a few sentences about the current economic situation, not just in your specific business location but also in the broader economic context. Are economic conditions favorable or unfavorable for your business? What changes in the local, national, or international economic situation could affect your business, and in what ways? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Looking at the global environment, would you expect to compete mainly with domestic companies, or will global competition be a factor? Will the global environment affect your choice of suppliers, your costs, and your access to customers? Is import or export an opportunity for your business? Write a few sentences about how the global environment is likely to affect your ability to establish and grow your business. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Within the technological environment, what are the key trends that could be positive or negative for your business? Write a few sentences about how technology will help you to develop innovative products, connect with suppliers and customers, contain costs, or otherwise affect your business, either in a positive or a negative way. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. How will social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and family composition affect your business's customers, their needs, and your workforce? What changes occurring now (or projected for the near future) should you consider as you plan? Write a few sentences about the key elements in the social environment that will have the most impact on your business. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Identify the stakeholder groups that will be most important to your business.
   Write a few sentences about how your startup will affect these stakeholders (such as creating new jobs in your community or marketing a quality product that customers need) and how these stakeholders will affect your business (such as requiring you to pay taxes or enabling you to obtain funding). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Now focus on ethics and social responsibility. What hot-button ethical issues have emerged in your industry? Are there any potential conflicts of interest you must avoid? What environmental or social issues do you and your stakeholders care about, and what can your business do to make a difference, with competition and customers in mind? Write a few sentences about how your business will deal with ethics and social responsibility. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. If you are basing your plan on an existing business: Dig deeper into the economic environment of this business by searching for the latest news and, if available, reading its annual report. Look at the business's performance in today's economy, find out how it fared during the previous year, and see what management and analysts think about its ability to increase sales and profits as the levels of inflation and unemployment change. Write a few sentences about the economic opportunities and risks this business has recently faced and what is likely to happen in the coming year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Switch hats to critique your answers from the perspective of a competitor. If you were a rival, which factors in the business environment you would be most concerned about, and why? Reread your answer to Question 3, wearing the hat of a competitor. Do you agree with the degree of competition indicated? Explain your answer. How can you improve on the ideas for making the business's goods and services unique, and better than those of competitors? Identify at least one improvement. Similarly, reconsider your answers to Questions 4, 5, 6, and 7. Can you see a different way to use economic, global, technological, and social factors to your advantage? How would competitors react to these factors? List at least one potential competitive reaction and what it means for your plan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------