HomeMy WebLinkAboutBuilding Business Basics Workshop #1Workstation #1
Steven Abram, Professor
Kirkwood Community College
Business plan:
•A written summary of:
•An entrepreneur’s proposed business venture
•The operational and financial details
•The marketing opportunities and strategy
•The managers’ skills and abilities
A business plan is the best insurance against
launching a business destined to fail or
mismanaging a potentially successful company.
1.The Reality Test: proving that:
A market really does exist for your product or service.
You can actually build or provide it for the cost estimates
in the plan.
2.The Competitive Test: evaluates:
A company’s position relative to its competitors.
Management’s ability to create a company that will gain
an edge over its rivals.
3.The Value Test: proving that:
A venture offers investors or lenders an attractive rate of
return or a high probability of repayment.
The executive summary goes near the beginning
of the plan but is written last.
It should provide a short, concise and optimistic
overview of your business that captures the
reader's attention and gives them an interest in
learning more about it.
The executive summary is a written version of
“the elevator pitch”
The Watertower
This section of your business plan provides a high-level review of the
different elements of your business and it can help readers and potential
investors quickly understand the goal of your business and its unique
proposition.
What to Include in Your Company Description
Explain your company history and its vision (Passion)
Mission Statement
Describe the nature of your business and the marketplace needs that you are trying to satisfy.
Explain how your products and services meet these needs.
List the specific consumers, organizations or businesses that your company serves or will
serve.
Explain the competitive advantages that you believe will make your business a success such as
your location, expert personnel, efficient operations, or ability to bring value to your customers.
Describe the benefits customers get from the
product or service
A feature is a descriptive fact about a
product or service.
A benefit is what the customer gains from
the product or service feature.
Vision: the result of an entrepreneur’s dream of
something that does not exist yet and the ability to
paint a compelling picture of that dream for everyone
to see.
Mission statement: addresses the question: “what
business are we in?”
What are we in business to accomplish?
Who are we in to business to serve?
How are we going to accomplish that purpose?
What principles and beliefs form the foundation of the way we
do business?
Use a balance sheet to identify:
Strengths
Positive internal factors a company can draw on
to accomplish its mission, goals, and objectives.
Weaknesses
Negative internal factors that inhibit a company’s
ability to accomplish its mission, goals, and
objectives.
Identify and manage:
Opportunities
Positive external factors the company can
exploit to accomplish its mission, goals, and
objectives.
Threats
Negative external factors that inhibit the firm's
ability to accomplish its mission, goals, and
objectives.
Key success factors (KSFs): factors that
determine the relative success of market
participants.
The keys to unlocking the secrets of
competing successfully in a particular
market segment.
Goal of competitive intelligence:
•Conduct continuous rather than periodic
analysis of competition.
•Avoid surprises from existing competitors’ use
of new strategies and tactics.
•Identify potential new competitors.
•Improve reaction time to competitors’ actions.
•Anticipate rivals’ next strategic moves.