Create a business + Plan

Electronic Version of Business Plan Template

The pages that follow are designed to help organize your business plan. As stated in the textbook, every business plan is unique. Therefore, the contents outlined below and the format may not exactly fit the plan you are creating. You can delete or add sections and subsections, and change formatting as dictated by your particular situation.

As you will see below, each new section of the template is labeled. The label is preceded by an asterisk (“*”). These labels should be deleted as you create your business plan (as should this instruction page). There are also bracketed items, (“[ ]”), in the template. The bracketed items are either instructions for you or places where you should insert text, while at the same time deleting the brackets and the instructions contained within.

The Exercises within the textbook provide the same purpose as this template but are divided into sections to create a step-by-step process for completion of the business plan. At stated in the Exercises, although in many cases the responses to the workbook questions can be converted directly into the business plan document, it will still be necessary to create new text and re-language some of the existing verbiage. Without doing so, the final document will be choppy and lack continuity between thoughts. Refer to chapter 10 for instructions on writing the business plan document.

Save the business plan by changing the file name and changing the location where the file should be saved. Save the file to the appropriate folder on your hard drive. If questions or problems arise with the business plan template, consult the Microsoft Word program help function, user manual, or a knowledgeable representative of your organization’s information technology/services department.

*Title Page

[Insert name of service or program]

A Business Proposal/Plan

Developed by [List names of all contributors]

Date [Insert date of most recent revision]

*End of Title Page

*Table of Contents (new page)

Table of Contents

[Revise or replace the Table of Contents headings as appropriate to fit your business plan]

Section Page

Executive Summary

Background and Description

Market and Competitor Analysis

Operational Structure and Processes

Quality and Regulatory Issues

Marketing Plan

Financial Projections

Milestones, Schedule, and Action Plan

Exit Strategy

References

Supportive Documents

Financial pro forma statements

Letters of support

*End of Table of Contents

*Executive Summary (new page)

Executive Summary

[Instructions for writing the Executive Summary are provided in chapter 10. The Executive Summary should be in the same general order as the business plan itself (see Table of Contents). The Executive Summary should highlight the most important aspects of each major section of the business plan. A major goal is to make the Executive Summary as quick and easy to read as possible. In this regard, sentences should be short and to the point. Bullet points can be used to highlight facts. Subheadings (as shown below) may not be needed depending on the length (1–2 pages ideal) of the Executive Summary.]

[Briefly define the patient care need, define the service opportunity, and describe the service or business you intend to provide.]

[Briefly describe who and/or what is the target market, describe what percentage of that market the service is expected to obtain, identify what competition already exists in the market, and describe the plan/strategy for entering the market.]

[Briefly describe how the program or service will be run; describe how customers will receive the service, describe important work processes, and regulatory requirements or clinical standards that exist for this business.]

[Identify how much money (investment) is needed to get the program started and what will be the operating costs for a given level of service, describe expected income and sources of income based on that same level of service, and define the net income on an annual basis. Based on the net income, define the payback period for the initial investment.]

[Define the anticipated timeline for accomplishing major milestones and goals of the program. List the long-range growth and expansion objectives.]

[Briefly describe the major strengths and opportunities of the program. Briefly describe possible future changes in regulation, reimbursement, costs, competition, customers, or other changes that may impact the program.]

[End the Executive Summary with a persuasive concluding statement.]

*End of Executive Summary

* Background and Description (new page)

Background and Description

[Insert information from the workbook questions in chapter 3]

*Background

[Describe the patient care or customer need or problem.]

[Describe the service opportunity (i.e., what service can be provided to alleviate the need/problem above).]

[Explain how currently available services (if any) fall short of filling the need.]

*Description

[Describe the program/service proposed.]

[Describe the company (pharmacy) within which the program fits.]

[Include the company mission statement of the program/service or larger organizational goals that the program may help fulfill.]

[Describe the anticipated outcomes (clinical, humanistic, or economic) for customers and for the business. Provide evidence if possible (from literature).]

*End of Background and Description

*Market Analysis (new page)

Market Analysis

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 4]

*Market Analysis

[Describe the number and types of customers of the proposed program/service.]

[Describe the market (geographic/demographic description, trends in market, market segments, and target market).]

*Competitor Analysis

[Identify the competitors of the proposed program/service.]

[Describe the strengths and weaknesses (internal) and opportunities and threats (external) of the proposed program/service (SWOT analysis) relative to the competitors).]

[Describe the anticipated market share (including percent and number of patients or customers), and market share of the competitors.]

*End of Market Analysis

*Operations and Processes (new page)

Operations and Processes

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 5.]

[Describe the processes and workflow of the services/program.]

[Describe the facility and equipment requirements of the program.]

[Describe the personnel (numbers, qualifications, and roles) and the organizational structure and reporting relationships of the program.]

*End of Operations and Processes

*Quality and Regulatory Issues (new page)

Quality and Regulatory Issues

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 6.]

[Define the regulatory, quality, and practice standards pertinent to the service/program.]

[Describe how the regulatory, quality, and practice standards will be met initially and then monitored on an on-going basis.]

*End of Quality and Regulatory Issues

*Marketing Plan (new page)

Marketing Plan

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 7, including the brand name for the program/service (if applicable) and the positioning statement.]

[Describe the marketing mix strategies and promotion plan (for entering the market and for on-going promotion).]

[Quantify the growth potential of the business (market share and percent growth over time).]

*End of Marketing Plan

*Financial Projections (new page)

Financial Projections

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 8 and from pro forma financial statements.]

[Under the most likely case, describe the investments required (initial and on-going investment/expenses) on an annual basis (over the first 5 years).]

[Under the most likely case, describe the sources and amounts of revenue (or cost-offset) anticipated on an annual basis (over the first 5 years).]

[Under the most likely case, identify the annual and 5-year net profit, the payback period, and the percent return on investment (ROI) after 5 years.]

[Describe the financial performance (revenue, expense, net profit) under the “best-case” and “worst case” scenarios.]

*End of Financial Projections

*Milestones, Schedule, and Action Plan (new page)

Milestones, Schedule, and Action Plan

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 9.]

[Describe the major accomplishments or milestones of the service.]

[List the time frames for accomplishing the milestones and goals.]

[List the long-range growth and expansion objectives.]

*End of Milestones, Schedule, and Action Plan

*Exit Strategy (new page)

Exit Strategy

[Insert information from questions and responses in chapter 9.]

[Describe possible future changes in regulation, reimbursement, costs, competition, customers, or other changes that may adversely impact the program.]

[Describe the criteria that would be used to make a decision to exit the business, and describe the plan for exiting this business when and if the need should arise.]

*End of Exit Strategy

*Conclusion (new page)

Conclusion

[End with several sentences that reiterate the value of the program to both customers and the organization].

*End of Conclusion

*References (new page)

References

[List references used in the document, number sequentially.]

*End of References

*Supportive Documents (new page)

Supportive Documents

[Attach the following supportive documents if appropriate: a chart that identifies the major competitors and their market share; a chart that compares the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed program to those of the competitors; an organizational chart illustrating the lines of authority and responsibility within the program and how the program relates/reports to the larger organization; job descriptions of the major personnel positions; a listing of major facilities and capital expenditures needed for the program with a description and cost of each; pro forma financial statements (best case, most likely case, and worst case scenarios); a financial breakeven analysis; and a time line depicting significant milestones and their priority for completion.]

[Attach letters of support from key stakeholders and/or customers.]

*End of Supportive Documents

*End of Business Plan Template