A Starter Business Plan By: Joshua M. Warne English 102 Section July 19, 2008

A Starter Business Plan There are three basic steps to writing a business plan: 1.Defining the business 2.Preparing the mission statement 3.Writing company goals

Defining the Business Kenichi Ohmae simplifies this well in his book The Mind of a Strategist and refers to it as “The Strategic Triangle” or 3 C’s of the business. ◦ The Company ◦ The Customer ◦ The Competitor

Defining the Company 1. Describe the products and services.  Mike McKeever in How to Write a Business Plan recommends writing a problem statement and then describing how the products and services solve that problem. 2. Identify the key employees.  Another McKeever suggestion is to write an accomplishments resume that will highlight the experience, education, and successes of each employee.

Defining the Customer To begin refer to the problem statement and answer the following questions. 1.Who faces the problem? 2.Where do they face the problem? 3.When do they face it? 4.Why do the face it? Verify results with a F-I-N-D interview.  Facts  Issues  Needs  Dreams (Chambers)

Define the Competitors Learn about the market place (Covello and Hazelgren). ◦ How many competitors exist? ◦ How do their products and services differ?  Price  Quality  Reliability Impress the reader by explaining all of the competitive advantages that exist over the competition (Bangs).

Preparing the Mission Statement “…the organization’s unique genetic identity…” (Chambers) A successful mission statement should: ◦ Describe the business ◦ Be clear, concise, and easily understood ◦ Communicate the activities, values, and direction of the company ◦ Be inspirational and memorable to readers ◦ Believed in by every employee ◦ Tie into company goals ◦ Be appropriate for years to come

Mission Statement Vision A good statement should express the long-term vision of the company and set boundaries for: ◦ Decision Making ◦ Key Objectives ◦ Creating Strategies This instills trust and confidence in reader about the future of the company (chambers).

Mission Statement Focus The focus should be on the market. ◦ Employees, products, and services change ◦ Technology improves ◦ The market remains stable due to needs This will enable the company to avoid “boxing” itself in. ◦ Shows an understanding of the big picture ◦ Recognizes the problem and ◦ Demonstrates a long-term commitment (Berry)

Writing Company Goals Consider the following points when writing the company goals: ◦ The strategic planning process ◦ Situational or SWOT analysis ◦ Writing S.M.A.R.T. goals ◦ Goals solidify the business plan

Strategic Planning The advantage is full cooperation and participation: ◦ Includes every key employee ◦ Utilizes team brainstorming and decision making ◦ Develops communication skills, trust, and respect ◦ Unifies the team with common goals (Meyers)

SWOT Analysis An Internal and External Snapshot of the Company (Wikipedia) A technique developed by Albert Humphrey to help a company identify: ◦ Internal  Strengths  Weaknesses ◦ External  Opportunities  Threats

S.M.A.R.T. Goals A plan for achieving and measuring success (Meyer)  Specific- a clearly defined action  Measurable- results tracked by numbers  Attainable- humanly possible  Realistic- true to the situation  Tangible- identifiable to the senses

Solidifying the Business Plan Clearly written goals help the reader: ◦ Gain confidence in the plan ◦ Envision the employees being successful ◦ Believe in the mission statement ◦ Invest time and money in the company ◦ Share a positive outlook of the company

A Starter Business Plan In three simple steps: 1.Define the business 2.Prepare the mission statement and 3.Write the company goals “With a clear definition of the business, an inspirational, memorable, and understandable mission statement, plus a list of well written specific goals any business, large or small, can have a functional business plan.” – Joshua M. Warne

Works Cited Bangs, David H. Business Plans Made Easy. 3 rd ed. Entrepreneur Press, Berry, Tim. “Writing a Mission Statement.”Bplans.com. Chambers, Dennis K. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals. Westport, CT: Praeger, Covello, Joseph A. and Hazelgren, Brian J. The Complete Book of Business Plans. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Inc, McKeever, Mike. How to Write a Business Plan. 6 th ed. Consolidated Printers Inc, Meyer, Paul J. Effective Supervisory Management. The Meyer Resource Group, Ohmae, Kenichi. The Mind of the Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Wikipedia.org. “SWOT Analysis.” 12 July, 2008