P4

Now that you have chosen an opportunity, which is a brew pub restaurant that uses local farmers for meat, produce, and dairy , it is important to evaluate the competition. Brainstorm the opportunity and the competition in your region. Document the answers to the following questions:

· What competitive edges, if any, does your company have?

· Do you have proprietary intellectual property, an exclusive agreement, lower costs, better relations with your supplier, a better product, a better Board of Directors, or better employees?

· What is the state of the market? Is it growing?

· Are there large barriers to entry?

· How many competitors are there?

It is always a good idea to align your plan with a current trend, technological development, or regulatory change. It is important to be on the leading edge of a growing market, not at the back end of a shrinking market.

The Business Library web site ( http://www.libraries.psu.edu/business/

 (Links to an external site.)

provides access to industry specific research guides, links to online resources and business-related databases and various other sources of business information. This information can be used to analyze the industry. Additionally, remember (from your accounting course) key company financial ratios which help depict the success of the competition.

Develop a profile for the competition - Iron Hill Brewery - to provide knowledge of the company's:

1. Products and Service lines

2. Strategic position in the market place

3. Strategic plan

4. Philosophy

5. Financial Health

6. Use the web to locate the last three years:

a. Balance sheets

b. Income statements

c. Cash flow statements

7. Download the financial statements of your company and use Microsoft Excel to develop spreadsheets for the financial statements (Excel/Data/Get External Data)

8. Format the spreadsheet using the following features:

a. Select a larger, bolder font for titles

b. Use table and background shading for colors

c. Insert a header “CONFIDENTIAL”

d. Insert a footer with the date and time

9. Develop the following financial ratios from the company information:

a. Current ratio

b. Inventory turnover

c. Fixed asset turnover

d. Total asset turnover

e. Debt/equity ratio

f. Profit margin

g. Return on total assets (also called DuPont Equation)