1. Spring 2009

2. It is a story! Makes an argument and conservatively predicts the future Or : It is the process of examining the environment, setting goals, explaining objectives and mapping out a plan to achieve these goals and objectives

3. A business growth plan is the articulation and explanation of why your chosen strategy makes sense, what resources you will need to implement the strategy, who will make up the team that will have the vision and leadership to execute the strategy and what path you will follow to achieve your growth objectives. It will also answer the following questions about your company

4. Who are you? What do you do? What is your business model How do you make money Who is your customer What problem do you solve How do you solve it better, faster and/or cheaper than your competitors

5. How do your customers pay you? How loyal are they? How should you grow? Why is the strategy that you have chosen better than others that may be available? What do you need to implement the growth strategy selected? How crowded is the market? Who are your current customers as well as likely future customers?

6. What vehicles ( and at what costs ) will you use to sell the customer your product or service? Why are they the best vehicles? What market research have you done to be sure that anyone wants to buy this product or service at this price – or at all ? Does your company modify the way business is being done in your industry (as a change agent) or is this more of a fad or trend?

7. It is critical to your companys success and its ability to raise capital and sustain growth

8. Not even the most savvy investor or the most veteran entrepreneur can predict with certainty which strategies will work and which wont, but the better the analysis the better the chances that most goals set forth in the business plan will be achieved.

9. A well written business plan doesnt oversell the good, undersell the bad or ignore the ugly! Business planner should acknowledge that growth and success are moving targets, risk is constantly moving and can be minimized by anticipating as many future circumstances as possible that will affect the companys objectives.

10. Who uses a business plan? A. Established companies B. Emerging companies i.e. A company operating for several years will need to draft a plan to raise the necessary capital to reach the next stage in its development.

11. In any instance the business growth plan should be prepared with the assistance of a financial consultant, an investment banker and the internal management team and should be thoroughly vetted by attorneys and accountants.

14. Term PaperParticipationQuizzes Final Term Paper 60 % Article Review 10% Article Presentation 10% General Class Participation 10%Bonus 10%

15. Department of Business Administration Business Planning Instructor: Payman Shafiee e-Mail: pshafiee@live.compshafiee@live.com 40 Hours: Sundays 5:30 – 8:30 Room number: 310 Administrative matters The final grade is calculated from 3 elements: in-class participation (30%), term paper (60%), and Quizzes (10%). There will be no final exam for this course In-Class Participation This course intends to promote in-class discussion by students. Accordingly, 30% of the grade will be determined by the quality of your participation. This will be distributed between general class participation (10%) and one in-class presentation and written article review (20%). Quizzes (your bonus) There will be a maximum of 6 unannounced quizzes given at the beginning of some classes. Each quiz will cover the material discussed in the immediate previous class with few questions from other former chapters. Quizzes are bonuses! You can earn complete mark from this section by demonstrating knowledge over the subject. There will be no grade but only pass or fail for this component Article reviews Two page Article review, 10%. Presentation 10% 1. Write a summary report on the assigned article, Present the article in class (10 - 30 minutes) 2. Analyse the article's key points 3. Demonstrate through understanding of the article and explain the business terminology used in the paper 4. Explain how the articles key areas and our subject Business Planning are tied. A clear picture of their association must be drawn Attendance Attendance is taken at the beginning of every class. We strongly recommend you to attend all classes; however there is no grade for attendance. Please remember that school regulations do not allow for more than 3 legitimate classes missed during one semester Term PaperParticipationQuizzes Final Term Paper 60 % Article Review 10% Article Presentation 10% General Class Participation 10%Bonus 10%

16. Term paper must cover: 1. [1]Executive summary; i.e. identify, business goals and objectives 2. SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) 3. Discuss customer needs 4. Financial plan; indicate source and cost of finance to provide liquidity and profitability 5. External Environment; community profiles, Business standards and trends, mission and laws 6. Production/Services and distribution plan 7. Market analysis and Marketing plan; identify best marketing and promotion strategies; market exposure 8. Capitalization; Stakeholders are identified; analyse their interest, and contribution 9. Risks; potential threats are identified and at least one risk management strategy is specified 10. Operations plan; human resources, staffing 11. Specialist services and sources of advice are identified and cost must be considered in accordance with available resources (n.3) 12. Monitoring and evaluating plan implementation 13. Exit strategy; develop a contingency plan to address the top two possible areas of non conformance to plan 14. Identify an alternative business plan; point out advantages and disadvantages of the alternative plan and explain why your plan is more plausible than the alternative Term PaperParticipationQuizzes Final Term Paper 60 % Article Review 10% Article Presentation 10% General Class Participation 10%Bonus 10%