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1. BP Proposal: Your Start- Up Business For this class, you will be ‘starting’ a business of your choosing, so you must decide what business you are interested in and submit a proposal with a brief description for approval. The constraints in selecting your business include: constraints in selecting your business include: Your business must NOT be a seasonal business. You cannot use a franchise. Your business cannot be an ‘Online business. Your business must be a for-profit business. You must have face to face interaction with your customer. Be sure to select a business that you are interested in, as you will be doing research all semester on this particular industry. Submit your proposal as a short memo (business format) describing what your business will be, where you will be located and any additional details such as; will it be a home based business or storefront?    Read this Business Plan Criteria document which includes business plan and presentation information. This is the link to the SCORE Business plan templateActionsused as a resource in creating your plan.  (SCORE: Service Corp of Retired Executives- all volunteer, free and confidential business counseling for anyone interested in business!)  Use the website: https://www.score.org/resource/business-planning-financial-statements-template-gallery (Links to an external site.) Use to reference/link out from for your business plan template and other finical statement templates.  Your business MUST be approved by me.   BE SURE TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT AS WELL!  2. Complete Key Concept Questions in back of text chapter: 2-6: Explain why a prospective business founder might want to create a feasibility study or Business Model Canvas before developing a complete business plan. 2-7: How can spending time researching and writing a business plan save an entrepreneur time and money in the short and long term? 2-9: Explain why the executive summary is the most important section of any business plan. chapter2.png business_plan_requirements_2019_20_1.pdf score_startup_business_plan_template_2.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview CMR 242: SEMESTER PROJECT -BUSINESS PLAN with PRESENTATION Check Syllabus for Due Date I. INTRO For this course, you will be starting a business of your choice. For your semester project, you will be creating a Business Plan with a PowerPoint presentation for your chosen business. This project is worth 30\% of your semester grade. Once completed, your business plan can be used to secure financing from investors as well as a management tool for your start up business. Each section of the business plan will be addressed in the Module assignments throughout the semester. However, in order to complete the Business Plan, you will be required to research all areas as related to your specific business and/or industry. Since most of the assignment will address a specific subject area required in the business plan, it would be beneficial for you to complete those assignments with the most available information to your business, so as to reduce the amount of work you’ll need to do to complete your plan later on. Be sure to keep your files and research documents in a safe place (USB, Google Docs, etc), so as not to jeopardize your semester project. You will be using the provided SCORE Business Plan Template to compile your business plan. II. SELECTING YOUR BUSINESS When selecting your business, your business must meet the following criteria:       Your business must NOT be a seasonal business. You cannot use a franchise. Your business cannot be an ‘Online’ business. Your business must be a for-profit business. You must have face to face interaction with your customer. You cannot change your business choice after it is approved. By adhering to these requirements, you will be addressing all aspects of a small business venture. Be sure to select a business that you are interested in, as you will be spending quite a lot of time this semester researching that particular industry. III. BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE The SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives) Business Plan REFERENCE SHEET presents a variety of instruction, questions and ideas that prompt you to think about many business and industry aspects, as well as providing reference sources. You are required to use and submit the SCORE Business Plan TEMPLATE for your semester project. Not all of the instruction/questions will pertain to your particular business, however the more comprehensive your Business Plan, is the better the grade! You must develop your own Plan, as plagiarism will result in a failing grade. Your Plan should be a complete narration and detailed description of your business. Be sure to address every section topic that is in this template with regard to your business. Your final submittal should have NO question/answer format, only discussion and narration as you explain your business ideas and strategy. The Reference Sheet instructions are only to be used as an aid in completing your plan, none of the prompts are to be included on the formatted template. You can include 1 any chart and supplemental document that you’d like in your plan. Be sure to include, at minimum, all of the required documents on the Grading Rubric. It would be beneficial for you to take some time to search the Internet for sample business plans, particularly in your area of interest. These sample business plans will give you a good idea of what is expected for your Business Plan. However, use these samples for review only….not to plagiarize! It is tempting to ‘steal’ segments, etc, but you are to do your own work. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, see the Miami University Student handbook for Academic Dishonesty rules and penalties. IV. BUSINESS PLAN GUIDELINES:  Your Business Plan must be formatted in accordance with the SCORE Business Plan Template posted on CANVAS. See Module 12 on course site.  Your business plan must be a minimum of 15 pages, but most plans consist of 20+ pages. This also includes an Appendix with a variety of documents that you will generate throughout the semester, such as, website pages, menus, resume, brochures, etc.  Your business plan must be formatted size 12 font, 1.5 line spacing only for all sections except the Appendix, as this is typically your documents /forms, etc.  Your business plan will be worth 100 points- See the Business Plan Grading Rubric Document for grade level qualities and requirements.  Your Business Plan and Presentation slides are both due on the stated due date.  All subject areas in the business plan template must be addressed, either in total or with exceptions.  Financials must include: a. ProForma Income Statement- 3 years Common Size included and a graph. b. Cash Flow Budget/Statement –12 months c. Breakeven Analysis d. Startup Cost Sheet *You must use the financial templates provided for your Start-up, Breakeven Analysis, Cash Flow and Income Statements!  Graphs must be present- they must include but are not limited to: a. Cost of Sales (COS) b. Gross Profit c. Pie Graph of all expenses for a minimum of one year- optional three years. May also include Sales projections, etc.  Your will be required to create a website for your business, which will be discussed in the coming weeks. Be sure to include information regarding your website in your business plan. You can include copies of your site pages in the Appendix and discuss the benefits of your site within your plan. Do not include just the website link! 2 Remember, you are presenting this to an investor/bank to request a loan and a major portion of your semester grade, so be thorough and concise.  V. BUSINESS PLAN PRESENTATION As a part of your Business Plan package, you are required to create and present a PowerPoint slide presentation that discusses the key points of your business plan. (You would present this as though you were requesting funds from an investor.) Because you are not able to physically present your business plan to the class, you are required to complete the ‘Slide Notes’ option for each slide of your presentation. When creating your slides, you will enter your narration in the notes box below each slide, OR video record your presentation. ** Your Business Plan PowerPoint presentation must consist of a minimum of seven (7) slides and must have Slide Notes or Video completed to receive full credit. Be sure to incorporate graphics and photos as related to your particular business. Below is a listing of the required seven slide topics. Your Slide Notes should discuss the current slide information, based on your research results, just as you would if you were presenting to the class. REQUIRED SLIDES (7): ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Business Title Product/Service Description Marketing:  Target  Strategy Management Plan Financial Findings/Summary Funding/Sources Personal Business Decision o Will you actively pursue starting this business? If applicable you can show Appendix items- Website, menus, etc. Your Presentation must be submitted when you submit your Business Plan in order to receive the 10 points for the presentation. ***SEE THE BUSINESS PLAN GRADING RUBRIC POSTED IN THE COURSE DOCUMENTS FILE FOR GRADING PARAMETERS/EXPECTATIONS. 3 Business Plan Template for a Startup Business BE SURE TO DELETE ALL RED TEXT FROM THIS TEMPLATE BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR PLAN!! A startup business plan serves several purposes. It can help convince investors or lenders to finance your business. It can persuade partners or key employees to join your company. Most importantly, it serves as a roadmap guiding the launch and growth of your new business. Writing a business plan is an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can prepare for success. This is your chance to discover any weaknesses in your business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. Be honest with yourself as you work through your business plan. Don’t gloss over potential problems; instead, figure out solutions. A good business plan is clear and concise. A person outside of your industry should be able to understand it. Avoid overusing industry jargon or terminology. Most of the time involved in writing your plan should be spent researching and thinking. Make sure to document your research, including the sources of any information you include. Avoid making unsubstantiated claims or sweeping statements. Investors, lenders and others reading your plan will want to see realistic projections and expect your assumptions to be supported with facts. This template includes instructions for each section of the business plan, followed by corresponding fillable worksheet/s. The last section in the instructions, “Refining Your Plan,” explains ways you may need to modify your plan for specific purposes, such as getting a bank loan, or for specific industries, such as retail. Proofread your completed plan (or have someone proofread it for you) to make sure it’s free of spelling and grammatical errors and that all figures are accurate. Business Plan [Insert Date] Company name Street address 1 Street address 2 City, state, ZIP Business phone Website URL Email address 2 Confidentiality Agreement The undersigned reader acknowledges that any information provided by _________________________ in this business plan, other than information that is in the public domain, is confidential in nature, and that any disclosure or use of same by the reader may cause serious harm or damage to ________________________. Therefore, the undersigned agrees not to disclose it without express written permission from ________________________________. Upon request, the undersigned reader will immediately return this document to ___________________________. ___________________ Signature ___________________ Name (typed or printed) ___________________ Date This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of securities. 3 Table of Contents Confidentiality Agreement ............................................................................................................................... 3 I. Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 6 II. Company Description ................................................................................................................................... 7 Company Description Worksheet ............................................................................................................................. 8 III. Products & Services ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Product & Service Description Worksheet .............................................................................................................. 10 IV. Marketing Plan.......................................................................................................................................... 11 SWOT Analysis Worksheet...................................................................................................................................... 13 Competitor Data Collection Plan ............................................................................................................................ 15 Competitive Analysis Worksheet ............................................................................................................................ 16 Marketing Expenses Strategy Chart ....................................................................................................................... 19 Pricing Strategy Worksheet .................................................................................................................................... 21 Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet ......................................................................................................... 23 V. Operational Plan ........................................................................................................................................ 25 VI. Management & Organization..................................................................................................................... 27 Management Worksheet........................................................................................................................................ 28 Organization Chart ................................................................................................................................................. 29 VII. Startup Expenses & Capitalization ............................................................................................................ 30 VIII. Financial Plan .......................................................................................................................................... 31 IX. Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 33 X. Refining the Plan ........................................................................................................................................ 34 Now That You’re (Almost) Finished . . . ........................................................................................................... 36 4 I. Instructions: Executive Summary The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Often, it’s the only part that a prospective investor or lender reads before deciding whether or not to read the rest of your plan. It should convey your enthusiasm for your business idea and get readers excited about it, too. Write your Executive Summary LAST, after you have completed the rest of the business plan. That way, you’ll have thought through all the elements of your startup and be prepared to summarize them. The Executive Summary should briefly explain each of the below. 1. An overview of your business idea (one or two sentences). 2. A description of your product and/or service. What problems are you solving for your target customers? 3. Your goals for the business. Where do you expect the business to be in one year, three years, five years? 4. Your proposed target market. Who are your ideal customers? 5. Your competition and what differentiates your business. Who are you up against, and what unique selling proposition will help you succeed? 6. Your management team and their prior experience. What do they bring to the table that will give your business a competitive edge? 7. Financial outlook for the business. If you’re using the business plan for financing purposes, explain exactly how much money you want, how you will use it, and how that will make your business more profitable. Limit your Executive Summary to one or two pages in total. After reading the Executive Summary, readers should have a basic understanding of your business, should be excited about its potential, and should be interested enough to read further. After you’ve completed your business plan, come back to this section to write your executive summary on the next page. 5 Executive Summary (Write after you’ve completed the rest of the business plan.) 6 II. Instructions: Company Description This section explains the basic elements of your business. Include each of the below: 1. Company mission statement A mission statement is a brief explanation of your company’s reason for being. It can be as short as a marketing tagline (“MoreDough is an app that helps consumers manage their personal finances in a fun, convenient way”) or more involved: (“Doggie Tales is a dog daycare and grooming salon specializing in convenient services for urban pet lovers. Our mission is to provide service, safety and a family atmosphere, enabling busy dog owners to spend less time taking care of their dog’s basic needs and more time having fun with their pet.”) In general, it’s best to keep your mission statement to one or two sentences. 2. Company philosophy and vision a. What values does your business live by? Honesty, integrity, fun, innovation and community are values that might be important to your business philosophy. b. Vision refers to the long-term outlook for your business. What do you ultimately want it to become? For instance, your vision for your doggie day-care center might be to become a national chain, franchise or to sell to a larger company. 3. Company goals Specify your long- and short-term goals as well as any milestones or benchmarks you will use to measure your progress. For instance, if one of your goals is to open a second location, milestones might include reaching a specific sales volume or signing contracts with a certain number of clients in the new market. 4. Target market You will cover this in-depth in the Marketing Plan section. Here, briefly explain who your target customers are. 5. Industry Describe your industry and what makes your business competitive: Is the industry growing, mature or stable? What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term? How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends? What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete? 6. Legal structure a. Is your business a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership or corporation? Why did you choose this particular form of business? b. If there is more than one owner, explain how ownership is divided. If you have investors, explain the percentage of shares they own. This information is important to investors and lenders. After reading the Company Description, the reader should have a basic understanding of your business’s mission and vision, goals, target market, competitive landscape and legal structure. Use the Company Description worksheet on the next page to help you complete this section. 7 Company Description Worksheet Business Name Company Mission Statement Company Philosophy/ Values Company Vision 1. Goals & Milestones 2. 3. Target Market 1. Industry/ Competitors 2. 3. Legal Structure/ Ownership 8 III. Instructions: Products & Services This section expands on the basic information about your products and services included in the Executive Summary and Company Description. Here are some items to consider: 1. Your company’s products and/or services: What do you sell, and how is it manufactured or provided? Include details of relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and/or partners that are essential to delivering the product or service to customers. 2. The problem the product or service solves: Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how your product or service solves it. What are its benefits, features and unique selling proposition? Yours won’t be the only solution (every business has competitors), but you need to explain why your solution is better than the others, targets a customer base your competitors are ignoring, or has some other characteristic that gives it a competitive edge. 3. Any proprietary features that give you a competitive advantage: Do you have a patent on your product or a patent pending? Do you have exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors to sell a product or service that none of your competitors sell? Do you have the license for a product, technology or service that’s in high demand and/or short supply? 4. How you will price your product or service: Describe the pricing, fee, subscription or leasing structure of your product or service. How does your product or service fit into the competitive landscape in terms of ... Purchase answer to see full attachment