Business Plan

 Primary Task Response: Your first task is to post your own Key Assignment Outline to the discussion area so that other students are able to review your plan. Attach your document to the main discussion post, and include any notes you feel are appropriate. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the Key Assignment Draft you will complete next week. 

 This week for the discussion board you are going to post an early version of the phase 4 individual project.  The idea is that you post an outline version early in the week, get some feedback from other students and then revise and submit for the phase 4 individual project.  If there are portions of the outline that are not applicable to your business that is fine, just ignore those sections.  The most important sections from my standpoint is the environmental analysis and the products/service section.  This is where I want you to spend the bulk of your time and energy. 

Write a detailed outline (like the one below) of your business plan. Organization is important.

Outlines will vary based on the type of venture. A basic outline of the proposed business plan would include the following:

• Cover Page
  • Name of the business
  • Address and phone number
  • Issue date of plan
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
  • Company information
  • Market opportunity
  • Financial data
• Company
  • Background
  • Business form
  • Reason for the firm’s establishment
• Environmental Analysis
  • Economic
  • Competitive
  • Legal
  • Political
  • Cultural
  • Technological
• Products or Services
  • Different from those currently on the market
  • Other uses for the product
  • Drawings or photos, if appropriate
  • Patents or trademarks
  • Competitive advantage
  • Potential for growth
  • Manage the product or service through the product life cycle
  • Expand the product line or develop related products
• Management Team
  • Technical skills
  • Business skills
  • Experience
  • Compensation
  • Training
  • Professional assistance
• Time Line
  • Outline interrelationship and timing of major events planned for your venture
  • Timing of objectives should be realistic and attainable
• Benefits to the Community
  • Economic development
  • Community development
  • Human development
• Exit Strategy (How and how long before you and your investors will exit the business and get back your investments?)
  • Who will succeed you in the business?
  • Will the business be sold?
• Financial Plan
  • Sources and uses of capital (initial and projected)
  • 3-year projections of:
    • Cash flow statements
    • Balance sheets
    • Profit and loss statements
  • Breakeven analysis
  • Conclusions and important points:
    • Discussion of how much equity and how much debt are included
    • Highest amount of cash needed
    • Expected payback period for loans