Business Plan – Final

Synopsis Executive Summary Plan Preparation Form

Take highlights from each section of your completed plan and address the areas listed below. Remember to be brief and clear. Cover each topic in no more than one to three sentences. Describe only the most important and impressive features of your business. After the first two topics, Company Description and Statement of Mission, place the remaining sections in any order that gives the best impression of your business to your target reader. For the reader’s quick comprehension, use topic headings at the beginning of each paragraph (see the Sample Plan at the end of this chapter); if you’d like a Summary that seems less like a list, omit the headings. Feel free to combine related topics, such as “Target Market” and “Marketing Strategy,” to create a more fluid document.

Company Description: List the company name, type of business, location, and legal status, e.g., corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement of Mission: Write the concise statement of company purpose you developed. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage of Development: State whether your company is a start-up or continuing business, when it was founded, how far along the product or service is in its creation, and if you’ve already made sales or started shipping. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Products and Services: List the products or services your company sells or plans to sell; this can be generic for a company with many products- e.g. women’s sportswear- or specific for a company with just a few.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Target Market(s): List the markets you intend to reach and why you chose them; indicate the results of any market analysis or market research._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Market and Sales Strategy: Briefly describe how you intend to reach your target market(s) and the advertising, direct mail, trade shows, and other methods you will use to secure sales. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Competitors and Market Distribution: Indicate the nature of your competition and how the market is currently divided. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Competitive Advantages and Distinctions: Show why your company will be able to compete successfully; list any important distinctions, such as patents, major contracts, or letters-of- intent. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Management: Briefly describe the histories and capabilities of your management team, particularly those of company founders.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Operations: Outline your key operational features, locations, crucial distributors or suppliers, cost-saving production techniques, etc.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Financials: Indicate your company’s expected revenues and profits for years one through three. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Long-Term Goals: Describe the expected status-e.g., sales, number of employees, number of locations, market share of your company- five years from now. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Funds Sought and Exit Strategy: Indicate how much money you are seeking, how many investors you plan to have, how funds raised will be used, and how investors or lenders will get their money out.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Narrative Executive Summary Plan Preparation Form

This form provides you an opportunity to outline the Executive Summary portion of your business plan if you choose to write a narrative type of Summary.

The Company: Describe how your company is organized, its stage of development, stage of product creation, legal status, location, and company mission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Concept: Explain the background of your company, how the product came about, how the market opportunity was recognized, and the products and services. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Market Opportunity: Describe your target market, market trends that exist, why there was a need for the company, the results of market research, the competition, and market openings. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Competitive Advantages and Distinctions: Indicate why your company can compete successfully; list important distinctions such as patents, major contracts, and letters-of-intent; specify barriers-to-entry for new competitors. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Management Team: Describe the background and capabilities of your key managers, and relate past successful business experiences. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Milestones: List the milestones by which you will measure success and at what date you expect to reach them; these might include specific revenue or profit levels, the percentage of market share reached, shipments of first product, and the number of employees or locations. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Financials: Specify the amount of funds sought the number of likely investors, the use of funds secured, and how investors or lenders will get their money back- through an exit plan (acquisition, public offering, and merger) or security (collateral) for a loan. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________