IESBDC "Designing a Business Plan for Success"
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The document provides a comprehensive guide for developing a successful business plan, emphasizing the importance of planning to avoid business failure. It outlines the key components of a business plan, including market analysis, organization structure, marketing strategies, and financial projections. Additionally, it offers resources for writing business plans and conducting market research, along with insights on effective marketing practices to drive sales.
IESBDC "Designing a Business Plan for Success"
- 1. Developing a Business Plan for Success Inland Empire T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Robert Usher, Business Consultant rusher@iesmallbusiness.com (951) 235-0669
- 2. Business Plans • Why do a Business Plan? (4 reasons) • Lack of planning often leads to a business failing • Ten (10) or fewer written pages plus financials and supporting documents • Clear; organized; grammatically correct; based on facts; T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • Clear; organized; grammatically correct; based on facts; and backed up by facts • Keep growth projections realistic • Two ways of writing a Business Plan • Don’t answer sections if they don’t apply to what you are doing (R&D, Product / Service) • Sample plans: www.bplans.com
- 3. Anatomy of a Business Plan • Cover Sheet • Table of Contents • Executive Summary --------------------------------------------------- T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s --------------------------------------------------- • Business Development • Organization Plan • Marketing Plan • Financial Plan / Assumptions --------------------------------------------------- • Appendix
- 4. Business Development • Industry analysis – total size? your subsegment? trade group data? trends of industry?(www.naics.com) • Legal form of organization (include documents) • Product / Service offered T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • Product / Service offered • Insurances, business licenses / permits, regulatory requirements, zoning issues / CUPs -------------------------------------------------------------- • Description of location / advantages offered • Building description, condition, renovation needed • Terms of lease
- 5. Organization Plan • Owners • Key managers • Employees T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • For each of these: – Duties and responsibilities – Qualifications and experience • Why are they the right people to run this business? • Outside resources: attorney / accountant / insurance agent / consultant
- 6. 1. Define the product/service 2. Consider wants/needs the product/service can satisfy 3. Identify market segments Marketing T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s 4. Rank the segments 5. Choose initial segments to target (how many?) 6. Define how (specifically) you are going to get your message in front of these segments? 7. Estimate how many customers you will have (will lead to the Revenue line item in your FPs) 8. Make sure you factor in Competitors / Geography
- 7. 1. Do you have a formal Marketing Plan? 2. If so, are you using it or is it on a shelf gathering dust? 3. Or is it in your head? (ties into giving up some control) 4. What are your existing revenue streams? Marketing – Some additional thoughts T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s 4. What are your existing revenue streams? 5. Your marketing versus your advertising? 6. Do you track where / how people find / use you? 7. Do you know what works and what doesn’t? 8. Relying on Social Media to save your day? 9. Do you have your accounting system broken down by revenue stream?
- 8. Marketing for Growth • Quickest and most cost effective method to increase sales: Get your existing customers to buy more or more often! • 2nd best method: have your customers refer new potential customers in to you – may need to use incentives For both of these, sometimes all you have to do is ask! T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s For both of these, sometimes all you have to do is ask! • 3rd best method: source new customers (most expensive) Are you marketing the feature (a prominent or conspicuous part or characteristic) or the benefit (something that is advantageous or good)? Changing this alone may give you a boost in sales. Feature → Advantage → BENEFIT!
- 9. Marketing • Marketing pulls it all together • Marketing is more than placing an advertisement • It’s about developing the right product(s) or service(s), at the right price, at the right place, T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s service(s), at the right price, at the right place, in the right quantities at the right time, and offering it to the right customer • Marketing drives sales • Sales drive profits
- 10. Marketing Plan The schedule of all the planned marketing activities to be performed over a period of time T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s – Turn this into a monthly budget for projections!!
- 11. Online Marketing / eMarketing Website AudienceAudience T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s SEO Company Message Audience Social Media Audience Newsletters
- 12. eMarketing Tools • Website / Blog • Newsletter • Online Directories – Google / Yahoo Local • Social Networks – Facebook T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • Social Networks – Facebook • Rich Media – YouTube, Pinterest • Review Sites – Yelp (helps verify the quality of your services) • Micro Blogging – Twitter
- 13. Marketing Workshops • Part of this City of Riverside Summer Series: – July 25th - Marketing Your Small Business – August 22nd - Customer Bait T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • Other SBDC locations: – July 16th – Introduction to Wordpress – August 27th – Social Media 101 – September 10th – Social Media Marketing Made Simple – September 16th – Using Census Data
- 14. Financial Projections • There are two types of financial feasibility – Can I get the doors open? (how much / from where) – Can I keep the doors open? (it’s about ENOUGH sales) • What items are included in your Project Cost? T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • What items are included in your Project Cost? • What are your Revenue Streams going to be? • Are your projected unit sales numbers realistic? • Developing projections – Who collects data on your industry? – Regulatory agencies, trade groups, BizStats.com • Using % of sales data (COGS, marketing, etc)
- 15. Financial Statements • Income Statement – A summary of the revenues produced and monies expended in a given period of time by the business T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s business • Cash Flow Projections – A summary of the cash inflows and cash outflows incurred by the business in a given period of time – A crucial tool for entrepreneurs in managing the cash of the business
- 16. Financial Projections What documents should be included? • Sources and Uses of Funds / Project Cost • Amortization table? T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s • Amortization table? • Revenue projections • Cash flow projections • Balance sheet • Financial assumptions (serves as a cover page) • SBDC Financial Projections Template
- 17. Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Additional Offices Full-time • High Desert SBDC • Ontario SBDC Inland Empire SBDC T h e l e a d i n g r e s o u r c e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s Part-time • Chino • Eastvale • Moreno Valley • Menifee • Rancho Cucamonga • San Bernardino • San Jacinto • Temecula • Upland 3780 Market Street Riverside, CA 92501 (951) 781-2345 www.iesmallbusiness.com Open Monday through Friday