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Page1of31BusinessPlanforaStartupBusinessThebusinessplanconsistsofanarrativeandseveralfinancialworksheets.Thenarrativetemplateisthebodyofthebusinessplan.Itcontainsmorethan150questionsdividedintoseveralsections.Workthroughthesectionsinanyorderthatyoulike,exceptfortheExecutiveSummary,whichshouldbedonelast.Skipanyquestionsthatdonotapplytoyourtypeofbusiness.Whenyouarefinishedwritingyourfirstdraft,you’llhaveacollectionofsmallessaysonthevarioustopicsofthebusinessplan.Thenyou’llwanttoeditthemintoasmooth-flowingnarrative.Therealvalueofcreatingabusinessplanisnotinhavingthefinishedproductinhand;rather,thevalueliesintheprocessofresearchingandthinkingaboutyourbusinessinasystematicway.Theactofplanninghelpsyoutothinkthingsthroughthoroughly,studyandresearchifyouarenotsureofthefacts,andlookatyourideascritically.Ittakestimenow,butavoidscostly,perhapsdisastrous,mistakeslater.Thisbusinessplanisagenericmodelsuitableforalltypesofbusinesses.However,youshouldmodifyittosuityourparticularcircumstances.Beforeyoubegin,reviewthesectiontitledRefiningthePlan,foundattheend.Itsuggestsemphasizingcertainareasdependinguponyourtypeofbusiness(manufacturing,retail,service,etc.).Italsohastipsforfine-tuningyourplantomakeaneffectivepresentationtoinvestorsorbankers.Ifthisiswhyyou’recreatingyourplan,payparticularattentiontoyourwritingstyle.Youwillbejudgedbythequalityandappearanceofyourworkaswellasbyyourideas.Ittypicallytakesseveralweekstocompleteagoodplan.Mostofthattimeisspentinresearchandre-thinkingyourideasandassumptions.Butthen,that’sthevalueoftheprocess.Somaketimetodothejobproperly.Thosewhodoneverregrettheeffort.Andfinally,besuretokeepdetailednotesonyoursourcesofinformationandontheassumptionsunderlyingyourfinancialdata.Page2of31BusinessPlanOWNERSYourBusinessNameAddressLine1AddressLine2City,STZIPCodeTelephoneFaxE-MailPage3of31I.TableofContentsI.TableofContents...................................................................................................3II.ExecutiveSummary...............................................................................................4III.GeneralCompanyDescription............................................................................5IV.ProductsandServices............................................................................................6V.MarketingPlan.......................................................................................................7VI.OperationalPlan..................................................................................................16VII.ManagementandOrganization.........................................................................21VIII.PersonalFinancialStatement.............................................................................22IX.StartupExpensesandCapitalization................................................................23X.FinancialPlan.......................................................................................................24XI.Appendices...........................................................................................................27XII.RefiningthePlan..................................................................................................28Page4of31II.ExecutiveSummaryWritethissectionlast.Wesuggestthatyoumakeittwopagesorfewer.Includeeverythingthatyouwouldcoverinafive-minuteinterview.Explainthefundamentalsoftheproposedbusiness:Whatwillyourproductbe?Whowillyourcustomersbe?Whoaretheowners?Whatdoyouthinkthefutureholdsforyourbusinessandyourindustry?Makeitenthusiastic,professional,complete,andconcise.Ifapplyingforaloan,stateclearlyhowmuchyouwant,preciselyhowyouaregoingtouseit,andhowthemoneywillmakeyourbusinessmoreprofitable,therebyensuringrepayment.Page5of31III.GeneralCompanyDescriptionWhatbusinesswillyoubein?Whatwillyoudo?MissionStatement:Manycompanieshaveabriefmissionstatement,usuallyin30wordsorfewer,explainingtheirreasonforbeingandtheirguidingprinciples.Ifyouwanttodraftamissionstatement,thisisagoodplacetoputitintheplan,followedby:CompanyGoalsandObjectives:Goalsaredestinations—whereyouwantyourbusinesstobe.Objectivesareprogressmarkersalongthewaytogoalachievement.Forexample,agoalmightbetohaveahealthy,successfulcompanythatisaleaderincustomerserviceandthathasaloyalcustomerfollowing.Objectivesmightbeannualsalestargetsandsomespecificmeasuresofcustomersatisfaction.BusinessPhilosophy:Whatisimportanttoyouinbusiness?Towhomwillyoumarketyourproducts?(Stateitbrieflyhere—youwilldoamorethoroughexplanationintheMarketingPlansection).Describeyourindustry.Isitagrowthindustry?Whatchangesdoyouforeseeintheindustry,shorttermandlongterm?Howwillyourcompanybepoisedtotakeadvantageofthem?Describeyourmostimportantcompanystrengthsandcorecompetencies.Whatfactorswillmakethecompanysucceed?Whatdoyouthinkyourmajorcompetitivestrengthswillbe?Whatbackgroundexperience,skills,andstrengthsdoyoupersonallybringtothisnewventure?Legalformofownership:Soleproprietor,Partnership,Corporation,Limitedliabilitycorporation(LLC)?Whyhaveyouselectedthisform?Page6of