Table of Contents
Top Ten Questions Your Business Plan Must Answer x
Introduction xi
1 Business Plan Basics 1
Business Plans 101 4
Start-Up Plans 4
Growth Plans 7
Plan Components 9
Starting Your Plan 15
2 Getting Help 17
Planning Process 18
Planning Tools 20
Small Business Administration 23
Business Associations 25
Professional Business Planners 26
Financial Data 29
3 Executive Summary 33
Purposes of the Executive Summary 34
Concept 36
Background 37
Mission Statement 40
Marketing 41
Compelling Reasons to Buy 43
Capital Requirements 44
4 Present Situation and Objectives 47
The Market 48
The Product or Service 50
Pricing and Profitability 53
Resources 54
Objectives 56
Return on Investment 58
5 Management 60
Business Structures 61
Management Team 65
Key Personnel 67
Responsibilities 70
Future Management Requirements 72
6 Product/Service Description 74
What You Sell 75
Current Products/Services 77
Proprietary Technology 78
Features and Benefits 80
Value Added 82
7 Market Analysis 84
The Marketplace 85
Market Analysis 101 88
Market Segments 92
SWOT Analysis 95
Your Target Market 98
8 Customers 100
Selling to Individuals 101
Selling to Companies 102
Identifying Customers 103
Finding Customers 106
Keeping Customers 110
9 competition 113
Identifying Competition 114
Analyzing Competition 115
Competitive SWOT 117
Defeating Competition 120
10 Analyzing Risks 123
Understanding Risk 124
Degrees of Risk 127
Minimizing Risk 131
Risk Management 132
11 Marketing Strategy 135
Comprehensive Plan 136
Product/Service Strategy 139
Positioning 141
International Marketing 143
12 Pricing forProfitability 147
Pricing 148
Margins and Discounts 154
Costs 156
Profitability 158
Increasing Profitability 159
13 Advertising and Promotion 161
Using the Mass Media 162
Promotion 166
Media Planning 170
Capabilities Brochure 172
14 Sales and Distribution 173
Sales Basics 174
Sales Channels 176
Sales Management 178
Commissions and Incentives 181
Forecasting Sales 184
15 Suppliers and Resources 187
Finding Suppliers 188
Business Relationships 191
Additional Resources 195
16 Income Statement 199
Profit and Loss Basics 200
Cost of Goods Sold 204
Gross Margin 205
Operating Expenses 206
Net Income/Loss 207
GAAP 208
17 Cash-Flow Forecast 209
Cash-Flow Basics 210
Cash-Flow Statement 213
Statement Functions 215
18 Balance Sheet 216
Balance Sheet Basics 217
Simple Balance Sheet 217
Corporate Balance Sheet 218
Notations 220
Ratios 220
19 Break-Even and Ratio Analyses 221
Break-Even Analysis 222
Business Ratios 225
20 Present Your Business Plan 229
Choosing Candidates 230
Distributing Your Business Plan 234
Business Plan Follow-Up 237
Banking the Money 238
Appendix A Widgee World Retailers, Inc. Business Plan 240
Appendix B Acme Time Management Consultants, Inc. Business Plan 258
Appendix C Sample Business Plans 277
Appendix D Business Plan Glossary 278
Index 284
