Business Plan for a Startup Business

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Business Plan for a Startup Business

Thebusinessplanconsistsofanarrativeandseveralfinancialworksheets.Thenarrative templateisthebodyofthebusinessplan.Itcontainsmorethan150questionsdivided intoseveralsections.Workthroughthesectionsinanyorderthatyoulike,exceptfor theExecutiveSummary,whichshouldbedonelast.Skipanyquestionsthatdonotapply toyourtypeofbusiness.Whenyouarefinishedwritingyourfirstdraft,you'llhavea collectionofsmallessaysonthevarioustopicsofthebusinessplan.Thenyou'llwantto editthemintoasmoothflowingnarrative.

Therealvalueofcreatingabusinessplanisnotinhavingthefinishedproductinhand; rather,thevalueliesintheprocessofresearchingandthinkingaboutyourbusinessina systematicway.Theactofplanninghelpsyoutothinkthingsthroughthoroughly, studyandresearchifyouarenotsureofthefacts,andlookatyourideascritically.It takestimenow,butavoidscostly,perhapsdisastrous,mistakeslater.

Thisbusinessplanisagenericmodelsuitableforalltypesofbusinesses.However,you shouldmodifyittosuityourparticularcircumstances.Beforeyoubegin,reviewthe sectiontitledRefiningthePlan,foundattheend.Itsuggestsemphasizingcertainareas dependinguponyourtypeofbusiness(manufacturing,retail,service,etc.).Italsohas tipsforfinetuningyourplantomakeaneffectivepresentationtoinvestorsorbankers. Ifthisiswhyyou'recreatingyourplan,payparticularattentiontoyourwritingstyle. Youwillbejudgedbythequalityandappearanceofyourworkaswellasbyyour ideas.

Ittypicallytakesseveralweekstocompleteagoodplan.Mostofthattimeisspentin researchandrethinkingyourideasandassumptions.Butthen,that'sthevalueofthe process.Somaketimetodothejobproperly.Thosewhodoneverregrettheeffort.And finally,besuretokeepdetailednotesonyoursourcesofinformationandonthe assumptionsunderlyingyourfinancialdata.

Ifyouneedassistancewithyourbusinessplan,contacttheSCOREofficeinyourareato setupabusinesscounselingappointmentwithaSCOREvolunteerorsendyourplan forreviewtoaSCOREcounselorat.Call18006340245togetthe contactinformationfortheSCOREofficeclosesttoyou.

Business Plan

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OWNERS

YourBusinessName

AddressLine1

AddressLine2

City,STZIPCode

Telephone

Fax

EMail

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I. TableofContents

I. TableofContents ................................................................................................... 3 II. ExecutiveSummary............................................................................................... 4 III. GeneralCompanyDescription ............................................................................ 5 IV. ProductsandServices............................................................................................ 6 V. MarketingPlan ....................................................................................................... 7 VI. OperationalPlan .................................................................................................. 16 VII. ManagementandOrganization ......................................................................... 21 VIII. PersonalFinancialStatement ............................................................................. 22 IX. StartupExpensesandCapitalization ................................................................ 23 X. FinancialPlan ....................................................................................................... 24 XI. Appendices ........................................................................................................... 27 XII. RefiningthePlan .................................................................................................. 28

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II. ExecutiveSummary

Writethissectionlast. Wesuggestthatyoumakeittwopagesorfewer. Includeeverythingthatyouwouldcoverinafiveminuteinterview. Explainthefundamentalsoftheproposedbusiness:Whatwillyourproductbe?Who willyourcustomersbe?Whoaretheowners?Whatdoyouthinkthefutureholdsfor yourbusinessandyourindustry? Makeitenthusiastic,professional,complete,andconcise. Ifapplyingforaloan,stateclearlyhowmuchyouwant,preciselyhowyouaregoingto useit,andhowthemoneywillmakeyourbusinessmoreprofitable,therebyensuring repayment.

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III. GeneralCompanyDescription

Whatbusinesswillyoubein?Whatwillyoudo?

MissionStatement:Manycompanieshaveabriefmissionstatement,usuallyin30 wordsorfewer,explainingtheirreasonforbeingandtheirguidingprinciples.Ifyou wanttodraftamissionstatement,thisisagoodplacetoputitintheplan,followedby:

CompanyGoalsandObjectives:Goalsaredestinations--whereyouwantyourbusiness tobe.Objectivesareprogressmarkersalongthewaytogoalachievement.Forexample, agoalmightbetohaveahealthy,successfulcompanythatisaleaderincustomer serviceandthathasaloyalcustomerfollowing.Objectivesmightbeannualsalestargets andsomespecificmeasuresofcustomersatisfaction.

BusinessPhilosophy:Whatisimportanttoyouinbusiness?

Towhomwillyoumarketyourproducts?(Stateitbrieflyhere--youwilldoamore thoroughexplanationintheMarketingPlansection).

Describeyourindustry.Isitagrowthindustry?Whatchangesdoyouforeseeinthe industry,shorttermandlongterm?Howwillyourcompanybepoisedtotake advantageofthem?

Describeyourmostimportantcompanystrengthsandcorecompetencies.Whatfactors willmakethecompanysucceed?Whatdoyouthinkyourmajorcompetitivestrengths willbe?Whatbackgroundexperience,skills,andstrengthsdoyoupersonallybringto thisnewventure?

Legalformofownership:Soleproprietor,Partnership,Corporation,Limitedliability corporation(LLC)?Whyhaveyouselectedthisform?

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