WELCOME!

Background D. Neil Berdiev u 10+ years in the financial service industry with 8+ of them in commercial lending u Participated in the approval and renewal of over $500 million in loans to privately-held and public companies u Lent to companies across the U.S in industries such as manufacturing, retailers, restaurants, distributors, professional service companies, and many others u Consulted and advised to business owners on a wide range of issues related to securing financing and financial management u Author of Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners, available from as well as major on-line retailers u Wrote articles for and/or featured on Inc.com, L.A. Times, Boston Metro, Banker & Tradesman, the RMA Journal, and others

About the Salem State SBDC North Shore Regional Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Salem State College Bertolon School of Business

AGENDA u COMPETITION CRITERIA & GUIDELINES u ENTREPRENEURSHIP & PLANNING u BUSINESS PLAN CONTENT u SUMMARY & OPEN DISCUSSION

COMPETITION CRITERIA & GUIDELINES u ELIGIBILITY u FORMAT u DELIVERABLES

ELIGIBILITY u Only startups (not yet operational) and emerging businesses (less than two years old) may apply u Existing early stage businesses must be located in the North of Boston/Merrimack Valley or must relocate to the area. u If the plan is for a startup business, that business must commit to locating in the North of Boston/Merrimack Valley. u Businesses with existing professional venture investment are not eligible u Contestants shall have no more than $200,000 investment (exclusive of real estate) from sources other than professional venture capital u Business must have plans to grow to at least 5 full time or FTE employees in addition to the founder(s) within two years u Your business idea must be original work that you’ll be able to fully disclose

FORMAT u In addition to the three page overview you may use your own cover page with company logo, tag line, etc. u Please be sure to include entry form with your plan overview. If you do so, the second page of the document must be the entry form above. u Font size between 10 and 12 point. u You may use any font you like, however we recommend Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or Garamond. u The margins should be no less than.75 inches, not including header and footer. u Please number all the pages including the first page. u Include your business concept name as a header or footer on all the pages. u You can submit your entry as a PDF or in Microsoft Word (Office 97 or later). If you choose to use other software for diagrams, tables, spreadsheets, etc., they must be integrated within the Word document.

DELIVERABLES u By February 22, 2008: u Attend SBDC seminar (optional) Attend SBDC seminar u Review eligibility requirements Review eligibility requirements u Create 3-page plan overview Create 3-page plan overview u Complete all entry forms entry forms u Deliver completed package to the Enterprise Center no later than 5:00pm on February 22, u By March 28, 2008: u Complete full business plan Complete full business plan u Deliver 15 copies of the completed business plan to the Enterprise Center no later than 5:00pm on March 28,

COMPETITION CRITERIA & GUIDELINES u ELIGIBILITY u FORMAT u DELIVERABLES Questions? Contact the Enterprise Center or Salem State College SBDC

NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP u ROLES l ENTREPRENEUR l MANAGER l TECHNICIAN u SKILLS l OPERATIONS l MARKETING l FINANCE

NATURE OF PLANNING “If you don’t know where your going any road will get you there” anonymous “You need to know where you’re going or you’ll wind up somewhere else” Yogi Berra

THE PLANNING PROCESS Plan (prepare for the future) Act (implement the plan) Results (something happens) Record (measure ) the results) Analyze (compare results) Evaluate (explain variances) 2-2

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PLANNING u BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT u COMMIT TIME & ENERGY u HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS u BE FLEXIBLE u WRITE IT DOWN

REASONS FOR A WRITTEN BUSINESS PLAN u INTERNAL l VALIDATE BUSINESS CONCEPT l PREPARE FINANCIAL FORECASTS u EXTERNAL l SUPPORT FINANCING PROPOSAL l PROMOTE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

BUSINESS PLAN CONTENT u EXECUTIVE SUMMARY u BUSINESS DESCRIPTION u MARKETING & SALES u ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT u FINANCIALS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY u MISSION STATEMENT u FORM OF ORGANIZATION u PRINCIPALS u LOCATION & FACILITIES u FINANCIAL & MARKETING GOALS u WHY YOU EXPECT SUCCESS u WRITTEN LAST

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION u INDUSTRY STATUS & TRENDS u BUSINESS HISTORY u PRODUCTS / SERVICES DETAILS u LOCATION & FACILITIES ISSUES u REGULATIONS & LICENSING u RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT u PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

MARKETING & SALES u VALUE PROPOSITION u TARGET MARKET u MARKET RESEARCH u MARKETING & SALES STRATEGY u REVENUE MODEL u COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

COMPETITION u ENVIRONMENT & TRENDS u STRONGEST COMPETITORS l STRENGTHS l WEAKNESSES u HOW YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT u HOW YOU WILL BE BETTER

ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT u ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE u MANAGEMENT TEAM l INTERNAL l EXTERNAL u RELEVANT EXPERIENCE u RESPONSIBILITIES u STAFFING

FINANCIALS u HISTORICAL DATA u INVESTED CAPITAL l TO DATE l NEW u CAPITAL EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS u PROJECTED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS l CASH FLOW- THE KEY! – CASH BUDGET l INCOME STATEMENT l BALANCE SHEET u RATIO ANALYSIS

SOME DOs u WRITE PLAN YOURSELF u MAKE PLAN CLEAR, CONCISE, COMPREHENSIVE u CLEARLY DEFINE MARKET NEED u SHOW CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE u SHOW COMPETITION KNOWLEDGE u HAVE PLAN REVIEWED & EDITED

SOME DON’Ts u MAKE PLAN TOO LONG OR UNFOCUSED u BE INCONSISTENT u USE TOO MUCH TECHNICAL JARGON u USE UNSUPPORTED NUMBERS u MISUSE COMPUTER PROGRAMS u MISUSE SAMPLE PLANS

WHERE TO GET MORE HELP u INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS u BOOKS & PERIODICALS u WEB SITES u CONSULTANTS u SBDC COUNSELORS u Use common sense and sanity test!

SUMMARY u REMEMBER THREE LEGS OF STOOL u THINK OF BUSINESS PLAN FOR l CONCEPT VALIDATION l SALES TOOL l OPERATIONAL TOOL u HAVE SUBMISSION REVIEWED u REMEMBER – PLANNING IS A NEVER ENDING PROCESS

Q & A

OPEN DISCUSSION GOOD LUCK !!!