Business Plan Worksheets

This section provides details on your industry, the competitive landscape, your target market and how you will market your business to those customers.

Market research

This section of your plan should explain:

· The total size of your industry

· Trends in the industry – is it growing or shrinking?

· The total size of your target market, and what share is realistic for you to obtain

· Trends in the target market – is it growing or shrinking? How are customer needs or preferences changing?

Barriers to entry

What barriers to entry does your startup face, and how do you plan to overcome them? Barriers to entry might include:

· High startup costs

· High production costs

· High marketing costs

· Brand recognition challenges

· Finding qualified employees

· Need for specialized technology or patents

· Tariffs and quotas

· Unionization in your industry

Threats and opportunities

Once your business surmounts the barriers to entry you mentioned, what additional threats might it face? Explain how the following could affect your startup:

· Changes in government regulations

· Changes in technology

· Changes in the economy

· Changes in your industry

Use the SWOT Analysis Worksheet on the next page to identify your company’s weaknesses and potential threats, as well as its strengths and the potential opportunities you plan to exploit.

Product/service features and benefits

Describe all of your products or services, being sure to focus on the customer’s point of view. For each product or service:

· Describe the most important features. What is special about it?

· Describe the most important benefits. What does it do for the customer?

In this section, explain any after-sale services you plan to provide, such as:

·

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· Product delivery

· Warranty/guarantee

· Service contracts

· Ongoing support

· Training

· Refund policy

Target customer

Describe your target customer. (This is also known as the ideal customer or buyer persona.)

You may have more than one target customer group. For instance, if you sell a product to consumers through distributors, such as retailers, you have at least two kinds of target customers: the distributors (businesses) and the end users (consumers).

Identify your target customer groups, and create a demographic profile for each group that includes:

For consumers:

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· Age

· Gender

· Location

· Income

· Occupation

· Education level

For businesses:

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· Industry

· Location

· Size

· Stage in business (startup, growing, mature)

· Annual sales

Key competitors

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a business plan is to claim you have “no competition.” Every business has competitors. Your plan must show that you’ve identified yours and understand how to differentiate your business. This section should:

List key companies that compete with you (including names and locations), products that compete with yours and/or services that compete with yours. Do they compete across the board, or just for specific products, for certain customers or in certain geographic areas?

Also include indirect competitors. For instance, if you’re opening a restaurant that relies on consumers’ discretionary spending, then bars and nightclubs are indirect competitors.

For each factor listed in the first column, assess whether you think it’s a strength or a weakness (S or W) for your business and for your competitors. Then rank how important each factor is to your target customer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = very important; 5 = not very important). Use this information to explain your competitive advantages and disadvantages.

Positioning/Niche

Now that you’ve assessed your industry, product/service, customers and competition, you should have a clear understanding of your business’s niche (your unique segment of the market) as well as your positioning (how you want to present your company to customers). Explain these in a short paragraph.

How you will market your product/service

In this section, explain the marketing and advertising tactics you plan to use.

Advertising may include:

· Online

· Print

· Radio

· Cable television

· Out-of-home

Which media will you advertise in, why and how often?

Marketing may include:

· Business website

· Social media marketing

· Email marketing

· Mobile marketing

· Search engine optimization

· Content marketing

· Print marketing materials (brochures, flyers, business cards)

· Public relations

· Trade shows

· Networking

· Word-of-mouth

· Referrals

What image do you want to project for your business brand?

What design elements will you use to market your business? (This includes your logo, signage and interior design.) Explain how they’ll support your brand.

Promotional budget

How much do you plan to spend on the marketing and advertising outreach above:

· Before startup (These numbers will go into your startup budget)

· On an ongoing basis (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget)

Pricing

You explained pricing briefly in the “Products & Services” section; now it’s time to go into more detail. How do you plan to set prices? Keep in mind that few small businesses can compete on price without hurting their profit margins. Instead of offering the lowest price, it’s better to go with an average price and compete on quality and service.

· Does your pricing strategy reflect your positioning?

· Compare your prices with your competitors’. Are they higher, lower or the same? Why?

· How important is price to your customers? It may not be a deciding factor.

· What will your customer service and credit policies be?

Location or proposed location

If you have a location picked out, explain why you believe this is a good location for your startup.

If you haven’t chosen a location yet, explain what you’ll be looking for in a location and why, including:

· Convenient location for customers

· Adequate parking for employees and customers

· Proximity to public transportation or major roads

· Type of space (industrial, retail, etc.)

· Types of businesses nearby

Focus on the location of your building, not the physical building itself. You’ll discuss that later, in the Operations section.

Distribution channels

What methods of distribution will you use to sell your products and/or services? These may include:

· Retail

· Direct sales

· Ecommerce

· Wholesale

· Inside sales force

· Outside sales representatives

· OEMs

If you have any strategic partnerships or key distributor relationships that will be a factor in your success, explain them here.