Business Plan Project

Business Plan Report Outline and Instructions

Date:

Topic:

Student Name:

15 points

Executive Summary

½ page 



½ page

A brief, interesting, compelling summary of what’s to come (5 Points) ________

Should implementation include an introduction, highlights of the major aspects of the plan, and considerations (how much money do you need? How soon will you be able to open your doors?) (5 points) _____________

· Also include your mission statement (5 points) _______________

Do not provide detailed information in this section; that will come later

Company Overview Description

½ page – 1 page





½ page

10 points ½ page

What do you do and what differentiates your business from others? (5 points)

What are the markets your business serve? (5 points)



Products/Services Offered



1 – 2 pages



25 points

What products and/or services will you provide? Tell us clearly and in detail.

Don’t assume that the reader is familiar with your product (10 Points)

Why is there a need for your product or service? What makes your product or service unique? (5 Points)

What competitive advantage does your product or service have over its competition? (a new flavor, a better package, a faster delivery time, a bigger value …?) (5 Points)

· Can you price the product or service competitively and still maintain a healthy profit margin? (5 Points)

Use plain English, not industry jargon

The Market



1 – 2 pages





30 points

A detailed description of your market, and your niche within that market and

why you chose it (10 Points)

An explanation of the market demand for your product or service offering (10 Points) What is the growth potential of the market? (10 Points)

If there is no need or desire for your product or service, there won’t be any customers. And if a business has no customers, there is no business.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

1 – 2 pages

30 points

· How will you reach your target audience at a price point that makes sense? (10)

· Analyze competitors’ marketing strategies; if their strategy works well, consider adopting it with appropriate modifications. If there is room for improvement, create an innovative plan that will “wow” your potential customers (10)

· What promotional strategies will you use? (Advertising [how?], personal selling, sales promotion, and/or public relations) (5)

· How will you distribute your product to your customers? (5)

Social

Responsibility

1 page

· Do you see yourself as a socially responsible company? Why or why not? (10)

· Describe your most important social responsibility initiatives. (10)

· How will you balance the cost of these initiatives against your company’s need to make a profit? (5)

25 points

½ page – 1 page

Organization and

Management 

20 points

Who will run the company? What are your respective roles? Who will be

responsible for what? (10)

· What experience/skills do you have that relates to the business? (5)

· How will you pay yourselves? (Percentage of profits? Salaries? Bonuses?) (5)

Financial Projections/Forecasts (include graph/chart/table in appendix

½ page

25 points

· How much money will it take to get the business off the ground; funding request, etc.? (5)

· What are your total projected sales in the first year? (10)

· What is your total projected profit in the first year? (10)

· Show your calculations

Appendix

10 points

· Charts, graphs, etc. included.

APA Formatting

10 points

· In-text citations, cover/title page, table of contents, reference page(s), (According to APA formatting standards)

.

Total Points = 200

·

General instructions

· Use the numbered components (i.e. Executive Summary, Company Description, etc.) as the headings for your report. The contents of the plan should be typed-written, double spaced, and font size 12 (Times New Roman). The plan should also include in-text citations for any sources cited in the report according to APA standards.

For APA standards/guidelines/formatting, please refer to the following Purdue OWL link:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html

· The business plan should include a cover/title page and table of contents.

· Total length should be 10 - 12 pages and a minimum of 3 – 5 credible resources. This does not include the cover/title page, table of contents, reference page(s), or appendix (According to APA formatting standards)

· Use bullet points, charts, tables, and illustrations wherever appropriate.

· The plan should be readable as a stand-alone document. So, don’t simply answer the questions in the outline above; instead, provide a clear, succinct, and self-contained narrative that happens to address the relevant points from the outline.

· The business plan is due according to the scheduled date on the syllabus. Late penalties will apply as outlined in the syllabus.