Business Plan - Assignment

You will write a business plan that will generate funding to allow your company to market your product or service. The audience for this plan is a group of potential investors; assume they know nothing about your business and will be basing their decision exclusively on the merits of your proposal. This project should be between 10 and 15 pages in length, typed and single-spaced. This is a college level assignment and I will grade for spelling and grammar. The Business Plan 1) Table of Contents 2) Executive Summary - Explains the fundamentals of the business in a professional, clear, and concise manner a) Includes a synopsis of your product or service, business strategy, benefits of the product or service, the target customers, owner qualifications, and future trends about your business and industry (upon which you will capitalize), and financial highlights (sales, earnings projections, capital requirements, and when any loans will be repaid). This section should be concise, no more than 1 page and should be written last. 3) Company Description - Explains your business and specifically what you do. a) Includes: i) Mission Statement: 1-2 sentences that explain your guiding principles and why you do what you do. ii) Goals: Where you want your business to be. iii) Objectives: Measurable steps that ensure you are on you way to meeting your goals. iv) Philosophy: What is important to you or your business v) Customers: Explain to whom you will market vi) Industry: Describe the industry in terms of short and long-term growth and how you will take advantage of recent changes and new technologies. vii) Strengths: Describe strengths, core competencies, and what will make your company successful. Make sure to address how the management team will leverage these strengths. viii) Ownership Structure: Describe the legal form of ownership, and why this structure was selected. 4) Products and Services - Describe your products or services a) Explain your competitive advantages (or potential disadvantages) b) Explain your pricing structure 5) Marketing Plan a) Economics i) Describe the industry (1) Market size (2) Explain the current demand in the market (3) Market trends: explain any trends in consumer preferences, product development and any other growth areas (4) Explain the growth potential for your business b) Product i) Describe your product or service from your customers’ point of view (1) List all products and services and describe the features and benefits of each c) Customers i) Identify your target customers by describing the following demographical information (1) Age (2) Gender (3) Location (4) Income (5) Education (6) And any other factors d) Competitive Analysis i) Describe your competitors and their products (1) List all major competitors (2) Explain how they will compete with your (products, locations, customers) (3) Describe any indirect competition (4) Describe how your products or services will compare with the competition (5) Describe your competitive advantage (and any disadvantages) e) Niche i) Define your niche (where your company “fits” in the market) f) Strategy i) Outline your marketing strategy (1) Segmentation strategy (2) Promotion – describe how you will promote your product or service (a) Advertising (i) Explain the advertising mix will you use (ii) Describe any other methods of advertising you will use (b) Image – describe how you want customers to see your business (c) Promotional Budget – State how much you will spend to market your business (i) Startup (ii) Ongoing g) Pricing i) Explain how you will establish your pricing ii) Describe how your pricing compares to the competition iii) Explain your customer service and credit policies h) Location i) Explain how important location is to your customers (1) Will they come to your business or will you primarily go to them? (2) Convenience (3) Parking (4) Consistency with image i) Distribution Channel i) Describe your distribution method(s) (1) Retail (2) Direct (3) Wholesale (4) Internal sales (5) Independent reps. (6) Contracts 6) Operating Plan a) Explain your daily operations including the location, equipment, people, processes and environment i) Production (1) Explain how and where your product or service is produced (a) Production costs (b) Production techniques (c) Quality control (d) Customer service (e) Inventory (f) Product development ii) Location (1) Describe your location (a) Space requirements (b) Type of building (c) Zoning (d) Access (2) Itemize your location costs (a) Rent (b) Utilities (c) Insurance (d) Improvements iii) Personnel (a) Number of employees (b) Type of labor (c) Describe recruitment practices (d) Quality of existing employees (e) Pay structure (f) Training methods (g) Distribution of work (h) Schedules and procedures (i) Job descriptions iv) Inventory (1) Explain what type of inventory you will keep (a) Value (b) Rate of turnover (i) Describe how this compares to industry average (c) Lead times v) Suppliers (1) Identify your key suppliers including (a) Names and addresses (b) Type of inventory they will furnish (c) Credit policies (d) History and reliability (2) Explain any fluctuating costs and how you will address them. 7) Management and Organization a) Describe the organizational structure of the business i) Management: explain who will run the business on a daily basis and provide qualifications (1) Include experience, education, and competencies (2) Include job descriptions for key employees (3) If seeking investors, include resumes of management team ii) Provide an organizational chart for businesses larger than 10 employees iii) Professional and advisory support (1) List any advisors including (a) Board of directors (b) Management advisory board (c) Attorneys (d) Accountants (e) Insurance agents (f) Bankers (g) Consultants (h) Mentors 8) Financial Plan a) Sales Forecast - provide a reasonable estimate of your first year of operations i) Opening day balance sheet ii) List of startup costs iii) Break-even analysis iv) 12 month pro forma financials (1) Sales projection (Projected revenues with breakdown of estimations) (2) Income statement (3) Statement of Owner’s Equity 9) Appendices a) SWOT - Required b) Brochures and advertising materials c) Blueprints and plans d) Maps and photos of location e) Magazine articles f) Lists of equipment to be purchased g) Copies of leases and contracts h) Letters from future customers i) Market research studies j) Assets available as collateral k) Any other materials needed to support the plan I have not chosen a company for my Business Plan. The company you choose needs to be a rather small company. For example: Sandwich shop or some other company. My dad made a hand held yard weed remover. It was a long steal rod that has a notch in the part the is placed on the weed in the dirt and then kick the steel rod and the weed flies out of the ground. The name of my product is "Kick Stick" my dad was going to market to old ladies and women who do their own lawn. If you need more information I can provide as much as I can or make it up as long as it fits into my Business Plan. I am in the united states and I need the tone of my paper to be writen by an american.