Essay Instructions: A business and location has already been chosen for me. The type of business will be an indoor baseball and softball training facility. If you go to cite www.extrainnings-margate.com that is the type of facility I have to use. The business also will have to be located in New York State in Suffolk County. I checked and got a little information. It is listed under the Fitness and Recreational Sports Center and its numeric code - NAICS is 713940.
The book we are using in called Successful Business Planning for Entrepreneurs by Jerry W. Moorman & James W. Halloran. A Thomson/Southwestern publication. (if you can't find this book I don't think its a big deal just follow any business planning procedure. They all seem basically the same)
This plan has to be done in two parts because they have to be handed in that way. I would appreciate if you could follow this procedure.
The Business Plan will be submitted in two parts. Part I is DUE mid-semester. Part II is DUE end of semester
A business plan serves as a manual to help the entrepreneur during the planning and start-up phases of the new business.
Each chapter in the text concludes with a "Build Your Business Plan" project. It would be prudent for you to keep up with these projects to prepare you for your final plan. Try this Wall Street Journal site to get ideas: http://online.wsj.com/small-business
At his page you can find links to many other helpful sites.
In the "Real World" a good business plan typically takes several weeks to complete. For the purpose of this course your report should be a minimum of 5 pages, (excluding Cover Sheet, Statement of Purpose, Table of Content and Appendices) SINGLE SPACED. If prepared properly, you should have invested approximately 15 hours (YES, ............I did say 15 hours!) to complete your plan.
The value of this activity lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way.
IMPORTANT *********
****** The Business Plan template you MUST follow can be downloaded from WWW.SCORE.ORG. Click Business Toolbox>click Templates>click Business Plan. This template contains more than 150 questions divided into several sections summarized below. Work through the sections in any order you like, except for the Executive Summary, which should be done last ( BECAUSE IT'S A SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE PLAN). Skip any questions that don't apply to your type of business. When you're finished writing the first draft, you'll have a collection of small essays on the various topics of your business plan. You should modify this generic model to suit your particular business.
All of the following are to be included in your final plan. I will use this as a checklist for grading your plan.
Cover Sheet
Statement of Purpose******** See below since this is not covered in the SCORE template
Table of Contents
Executive Summary (1 page, 350-500 words) Include topics covered in Part I
General Company Description: What business will you be in? In addition to the template include Type/Form of Ownership(chap.4) and state why you chose this form, a formal Mission Statement, Goals(targets)/Objectives, Business Philosophy, Strengths and Core Competencies,Concept History and Summary of Experience (p.29)
Products and Services: In depth description of products/services, competitive advantages or disadvantages, pricing structure of product
PART I of your Plan (all of the above) is due mid-semester. It is worth 35% of the Plan's grade. Submit Part I in this document.
PART II of your Plan (below) is due at the end of the semester. It is worth 65% of the Plan's'grade.
Marketing Plan: Research, Economics, Size, Demand, Industry Trends, Growth, Barriers to Entry, Competition, Your "Niche", Customer Profile/Demographics (age, gender, location, social class, education, etc.) and other components in the SCORE template. Give source of data in your plan ex. U.S. Census 2000.
Operational Plan: Production, Chapter 8 (Location, Access, Zoning, Space needed,) Legalities ( Insurance, Permits, Regulations, Licenses) Personnel (# of employees, skills, pay, training, responsibilities, job descriptions), Suppliers
Management and Organization: In addition to the template include an Organizational Chart
Start-up Expenses and Capitalization --Detail your expenses in narrative or list format with dollar amounts.There's no need to prepare financial statements. Just be sure you've thought through your start-up and ongoing expenses and indicate them in this section. If you have a resume, include it here.
Appendices: Pictures, Specs., Floor plans, Advertising Copy, Location Map, or anything else you believe will aid the reader in understanding the potential of your business proposal.
******STATEMENT OF PURPOSE******
This is a brief statement of the plan's objective. In other words, why have you prepared this plan?
--If it's going to be used as an operating guide, your statement might be "This plan will be an operating and policy guide of ABC Company."
--If you're going to need to borrow money to get the business started, then this would be a financing proposal (most of you will probably need to borrow funds) and the following questions should be addressed:
How much money is needed?
What will the money be used for?
How will the funds benefit the business?
Why does this loan or investment make business sense?
How will the funds be repaid?
PLEASE NOTE: The Marketing Plan is a very important component of the Business Plan. It's worth 30% of the plan's grade. It's in this section that you can "dazzle me" with your research!
Every industry has a name and a numeric code. The two codes that are used are: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Once you know your industry's code you can find a wealth of information about the industry your business is in.
The SCORE website, Trade Associations for your industry and government websites like www.census.gov/epcd/naics02 will also have numerous links for your industry and marketing research. Be sure to state the source of your research data when you write your plan.
www.bplans.com and www.PowerHomeBiz.com are other websites that will be helpful to you. At the bplans sit you can find 60 free sample plans sorted by type of business. The SCORE site gives you the required template(format) to use. www.bplans.com has actual plans which may give you a good idea of what a real plan looks like.
FORMAT: Your format (from SCORE) should be easy for the reader to follow. Since "time is money" in business, the reader (investor, banker etc.) should be able to get the gist of your plan from a well written Executive Summary and good formatting. For example, consider the section "General Company Description" - it has several sub-categories and should be formatted as follows:
General Company Description
The XYZ company will be engaged in the home improvement industry specializing kitchens and bathrooms. XXXXXXXXx
Mission Statement: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Company Goals and Objectives: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Business Philosophy: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Industry: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Strengths and Core Competencies:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Form of Ownership: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Using this type of format with major and sub-categories makes it easy for the reader to find the information he/she is particularly interested in.
Part II
MARKETING PLAN: Research what pertains to your business including: Economics, size, demand, industry trends, NAICS Code, Growth, Barriers to Entry, Competition, Your "Niche", Customer Profile/Demographics (age, gender, location, social class, education, etc.) and other components in the SCORE template. Give source of data in your plan. Ex. U.S. Census 2000.
OPERATIONAL PLAN: Production, Location, Access, Zoning, Space needed, legalities (insurance, permits, regulations, licenses) Personnel (# of employees, skills, pay, training, rsponsibilities, job descriptions), suppliers.
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION: In addition to the template include an Organizational Chart
START-UP EXPENSES ADN CAPITALIZATION - Detail your expenses in narrative or list format. There's no need to prepare financial statements. Just be sure you've thought through your start-up and ongoing expenses and indicate them in this section. If you have a resume, include it here.
APPENDICES: Pictures, Specs., Floor plans, Advertising Copy, Location Map, or anything else you believe will aid the reader in understanding the potential of your business proposal.
THIS BUSINESS PLAN WILL BE SUBMITTED IN TWO PARTS.
A business plan serves as a manual to help the entrepreneur during the planning and start-up phases of the new business.
This web page is a very good starting point for research: http://mesastate.edu/~jmoorman/. At this page you can find links to many other helpful sites.
The Business Plan template you MUST follow can be downloaded from WWW.SCORE.ORG. Click Business Toolbox>click Templates>click Business Plan. This template contains more than 150 questions divided into several sections summarized below. Work through the secions in any order you like, except for the Executive Summary, which sould be done last (BECAUSE ITS A SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE PLAN). Skip any questions that don't apply to your type of business. When you're finished you should modify this model to suit your particular business.
THE MARKETING PLAN IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE BUSINESS PLAN
Every industry has a name and a numeric code.. The two codes that are used are: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Once you know your industry's code you can find a wealth of information about the industry your business is in.
The SCORE website, Trade Associations for your industry and government websites like www.census.gov/epcd/naics02 will also have numerous links for your industry and marketing research. Be sure to state the source of your research data when you write your plan.
www.bplans.com and www.PowerHomeBiz.com are other websites that will be helpful to you. At the bplans site you can find 60 free sample plans sorted by type of business. The
SCORE site gives you (the required template format)to use. www.bplans.com has actual plans which may give you a good idea of what a real plan looks like.
SEE PART 1 ON HOW TO FORMAT EACH SECTION USING MAJOR AND SUB-CATEGORIES. GOOD FORMATTING MAKES IT EASY ON THE READER.
