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Other Added - Business Plan Outline & Checklist
As the price of modern technology continues to fall, aspiring designers are finding it increasingly possible to produce small quantities or even individually designed printed T-shirts.A T-shirt design business can be a part-time venture for an additional source of income. It can also be a full-time career where youre in charge of your own work, and prosperous work at that.But how do you ensure that your T-shirt design venture is a success? That is what we will be discussing over the course of this article.What Types of T-shirt Printing Are Possible?There are several methods of T-shirt printing to be considered as you evaluate your business strategy. Each has its benefits, and each is preferred for certain circumstances. Choosing the right printing method is absolutely crucial.He
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8
If you own a mobile carwash business you may want to consider an independent contractor strategy so you can service all your customers and make a lot of money without having to worry about employee pilferage of the cash. We all know that the car wash business is pretty much a cash business and it is too easy for employees on mobile car wash routes, which cannot be easily supervised to steal the money.However, if these mobile carwash operators are independent contractors and you rent out your equipment for $50-$100 per day then each manager of the mobile carwash unit cannot steal the money and you will have a fixed income, provided it doesn't rain. How do I know this strategy will work?This is how I started my company 27 years ago. (Carwashguys.com). The independent contractors were glad to have a guarante
Every business needs one. It's not just for start-ups or new product launches or business expansion initiatives.
Why? And what should be in one?
Documenting a Business Plan is an extremely useful process to focus management and owners on their business concept, strategies, and operating plans. It forces consensus and decision making that might otherwise be neglected. It requires issues to be resolved and the decisions to be reflected in financial projections.
A well-documented business plan will help you communicate the most important elements of your strategy and plans to the people who need to know them. Including you.
Already in business for years and never needed a business plan? It's still a good idea for all the same reasons. And now is a good time.
Ready to exit your business? Even better. A solid business plan will be the most important document in supporting the valuation of your business.
The greatest value of a business plan, however, is likely to be in the process involving your management team in a thorough examination of your business its purpose, its strategies and its plans to ensure success. When completed, all the key players will be more knowledgeable of the issues, the opportunities, the risks, and the alternative paths considered, before committing to the final plan.
Following is a suggested guideline of the layout and content for developing an effective Business Plan. It is a consolidation of best practices, based on our consulting and management experience with many different clients under a variety of circumstances.
COVER PAGE: Includes title, date, purpose, prepared by whom, confidentiality statement, issued to whom, and a document control number.
PURPOSE: Objectives of the Business Plan attract financing, key executives, customers, or strategic partners? Document strategy and action plan for all participants? Set financial objectives and timetable?
CONTENTS:
1. Executive Summary (Max. 2 pages, written last as a stand-alone document, may be offered for review prior to full disclosure of the business plan, convinces reader to go further, or not.)
Business Concept, Plan and Objectives
Current status relative to the market opportunity
Key success factors, risks, expected results
Financial situation and needs
Reference to the complete Business Plan (sections below) for more detail
2. Concept and Business Opportunity (Describe the need being addressed, how this approach is different, and why it is likely to succeed.)
Market need and current solutions available
Business concept and product/service differentiation
Initial market feedback
3. Mission statement (Generate missionaries!, why others should join the cause have fun, make money, make a difference?)
Clear, attractive objectives who and what do you want to be?
Statement of values and priorities
Milestones and timetable
4. Market Analysis (Provide relevant, pertinent information to demonstrate your knowledge and competence in this industry.)
The overall market, recent changes
Market segments
Target market and customers
Customer characteristics
Customer needs
Buying and selling process
5. Competition (Demonstrate an awareness of competitors and your ability to compete successfully.)
Industry overview, recent changes
Nature of competition, inside and outside the industry
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8
When looking for a telecommuting position, it is very important to have your resume in tip-top shape. This is often the only thing that a potential employer has to base a hiring decision on since they most likely will not be interviewing you in person, your resume has to make that great first impression for you.When your resume comes across the fax line or is opened in an email, it needs to be presented as professionally as possible. Besides the obvious typos and misuse of words, your resume needs to be highly organized and make a great impression as quickly as it reaches your potential employers hands. With some organizational skills and a little work your resume can be the one that stands out.Where should you start, I would suggest starting with a list of your skills. Most people would proba
The greatest value of a business plan, however, is likely to be in the process involving your management team in a thorough examination of your business its purpose, its strategies and its plans to ensure success. When completed, all the key players will be more knowledgeable of the issues, the opportunities, the risks, and the alternative paths considered, before committing to the final plan.
Following is a suggested guideline of the layout and content for developing an effective Business Plan. It is a consolidation of best practices, based on our consulting and management experience with many different clients under a variety of circumstances.
COVER PAGE: Includes title, date, purpose, prepared by whom, confidentiality statement, issued to whom, and a document control number.
PURPOSE: Objectives of the Business Plan attract financing, key executives, customers, or strategic partners? Document strategy and action plan for all participants? Set financial objectives and timetable?
CONTENTS:
1. Executive Summary (Max. 2 pages, written last as a stand-alone document, may be offered for review prior to full disclosure of the business plan, convinces reader to go further, or not.)
Business Concept, Plan and Objectives
Current status relative to the market opportunity
Key success factors, risks, expected results
Financial situation and needs
Reference to the complete Business Plan (sections below) for more detail
2. Concept and Business Opportunity (Describe the need being addressed, how this approach is different, and why it is likely to succeed.)
Market need and current solutions available
Business concept and product/service differentiation
Initial market feedback
3. Mission statement (Generate missionaries!, why others should join the cause have fun, make money, make a difference?)
Clear, attractive objectives who and what do you want to be?
Statement of values and priorities
Milestones and timetable
4. Market Analysis (Provide relevant, pertinent information to demonstrate your knowledge and competence in this industry.)
The overall market, recent changes
Market segments
Target market and customers
Customer characteristics
Customer needs
Buying and selling process
5. Competition (Demonstrate an awareness of competitors and your ability to compete successfully.)
Industry overview, recent changes
Nature of competition, inside and outside the industry
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8
Business professionals are often stymied by the problems they encounter when trying to implement change. Their frustration can then create even more of a roadblock. Following are a few tips for dealing with resistance.1. Realize that the resistance is a normal, rational human response. Studies of the brain indicate that we prefer the familiar, since it takes less energy to deal with and there are fewer potential fears. If one responds to resistance in a manner that causes others to feel as though their concerns are invalid, they will simply feel more threatened.2. Try to determine the most significant reasons for resistance (their fears and/or concerns), and find ways to help resolve them. This works much better than trying to convince them harder that the change is in their best interests.3. Do
PURPOSE: Objectives of the Business Plan attract financing, key executives, customers, or strategic partners? Document strategy and action plan for all participants? Set financial objectives and timetable?
CONTENTS:
1. Executive Summary (Max. 2 pages, written last as a stand-alone document, may be offered for review prior to full disclosure of the business plan, convinces reader to go further, or not.)
Business Concept, Plan and Objectives
Current status relative to the market opportunity
Key success factors, risks, expected results
Financial situation and needs
Reference to the complete Business Plan (sections below) for more detail
2. Concept and Business Opportunity (Describe the need being addressed, how this approach is different, and why it is likely to succeed.)
Market need and current solutions available
Business concept and product/service differentiation
Initial market feedback
3. Mission statement (Generate missionaries!, why others should join the cause have fun, make money, make a difference?)
Clear, attractive objectives who and what do you want to be?
Statement of values and priorities
Milestones and timetable
4. Market Analysis (Provide relevant, pertinent information to demonstrate your knowledge and competence in this industry.)
The overall market, recent changes
Market segments
Target market and customers
Customer characteristics
Customer needs
Buying and selling process
5. Competition (Demonstrate an awareness of competitors and your ability to compete successfully.)
Industry overview, recent changes
Nature of competition, inside and outside the industry
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8
1. Select the right type of recruitment partnerDetermine whether you would be best served by a retained, contingency, contract or research based partner at a global, national or local level.2. Interview recruiters to find the appropriate fitEffective partnerships are built on mutual interests, opportunities, values and performance.3. Treat an interview with a recruiter with the same care and professionalism as a job interviewYou never get a second chance to make a first impression.4. Develop an exclusive relationship with your recruiterMore is not better. Being presented for an opportunity by more then one firm can get you knocked out of consideration.5. Have well developed job search criteriaKnow what you want in a new position and be able to clearly articul
Business concept and product/service differentiation
Initial market feedback
3. Mission statement (Generate missionaries!, why others should join the cause have fun, make money, make a difference?)
Clear, attractive objectives who and what do you want to be?
Statement of values and priorities
Milestones and timetable
4. Market Analysis (Provide relevant, pertinent information to demonstrate your knowledge and competence in this industry.)
The overall market, recent changes
Market segments
Target market and customers
Customer characteristics
Customer needs
Buying and selling process
5. Competition (Demonstrate an awareness of competitors and your ability to compete successfully.)
Industry overview, recent changes
Nature of competition, inside and outside the industry
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8
One of the events that occurs in business is the departure of a key executive. This has the potential to be very disruptive and can have a significant emotional impact on employees. So how do you deal with these feelings? Your strategic thinking business coach has some tips on how to deal with the departure of a key executive.+ Develop a positive message to deliver to all employees about the departing key executive. Discuss the development of the message with the departing executive, if appropriate.+ Select the various methods of delivering your message to all employees. This may include face-to-face meetings, company-wide email message, memo to all employees, etc.+ Schedule meetings with employees and distribute the developed communication as soon as you can to minimize the time for rumors a
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services, relative pricing, advantages, disadvantages
Opportunities, protection by patents, copyrights, barriers to entry
Threats and risks, ability of competitors to respond, imitate or copy.
6. Strategic Plan (Describe your starting point, direction, and plan to get there.)
Company history & background experience, resources
Key competitive strengths & current weaknesses
Business plan and strategy to leverage strengths, reduce weaknesses
Action plan for implementing strategy
7. Management team (Usually the most important factor in determining your success and in attracting staff and financing. Emphasize current strengths and plan to fill in the gaps.)
Key personnel, experience & credentials
Staffing plan
Organizational structure
8. Product & Service Offering (Consider the readers familiarity with the industry, avoid technical jargon, relate to the market and competition.)
Product/service description
Positioning of products/services
Competitive evaluation of products/services
Future products/services
9. Marketing and sales plan (Another key to success, too often neglected by owner/managers with strong product, technical, or operations backgrounds. Prove you have a plan that will be affordable and effective.)
Marketing strategy, positioning, presentation
Sales tactics
Advertising, Promotions/incentives
Publicity, public relations, press releases
Trade shows, industry events
Web marketing
10. Operations plan (Describe the important issues and factors that will affect customer service perceptions and the costs related to capital investment and operations.)
Processes for product/service delivery
Customer service and support
Facilities and staff required
11. Risk analysis (What can go wrong, what will you do about it?)
Market factors economic cycle, interest rates, currency, government regulations, trade restrictions. Business risks key customer & supplier dependence, labour availability, staff turnover, new competitors, new technology, changing demand.
12. Financial plan (Convert all the preceding words into numbers, next year by month, then three-to-five years annually.)
Summary paragraph, Assumptions and Comments, followed by analysis
Starting Balance Sheet
Profit and Loss Projection
Cash Flow Projection
Balance Sheet Projection
Ratio's and Analysis, value of equity
Financial needs
Sources of funds
APPENDICES: Add some personalisation and realism with biographies and photos of key executives, product photos, marketing literature, sample packaging, facility plans, press releases, customer testimonials, relevant research documents, etc.
Following these guidelines will ensure that you have considered all the issues and can defend your strategies and action plans against all inquisitors.
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