Steve
02-09-2005, 12:42 PM
What would you add to this list of business plan questions?
Business Description
- Give a one paragraph description of your business.
- Where is your business located?
- What services does your business offer?
- What value does it add to the marketplace?
Management Abilities
- What are your qualifications?
- How will your experience contribute to the success of your business?
Business Strategy
- What is your business strategy?
- What are the strengths of your business strategy?
- What are the weaknesses of your business strategy?
- What are the key strategic opportunities you have identified in your marketplace?
- How will your business take advantage of these strategic opportunities more effectively than your competition?
- How do you intend to maintain your competitive edge?
- Describe the key challenges you face and how will you overcome them?
Legal Structure
- Will your business operate as a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation or an LLC?
- How will your legal structure decrease your business's exposure to risk?
Financial
- How much will you personally invest in your business?
- How much money are you seeking from banks?
- How much money are you seeking from private investors?
- How long until you plan to break even?
- How long until you plan on making a profit?
- What will your start-up costs be? Be specific, describe each and the cost.
- What is your sales forcast for each month of the entire year? List each month's goal.
- What will be your monthly operating expenses? (http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=1256) Be specific, describe each and the cost.
- What will your monthly fixed costs (http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=1256) be? Be specific, describe each and the cost.
Mission Statement
- What is your business?
- How will your business succeed?
- What values are important to your business?
- How does your business improve the lives of your customers' and employees'?
Marketing Slogan
- What is your marketing slogan?
Market Analysis
- What are the positive NATIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative NATIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
- What are the positive REGIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative REGIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
- What are the positive LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
Customer Analysis
- What is your current customer base?
- Who are your target customers? (age range, education level, occupations, average home value)
- What zip codes do they live in?
- What do your customers want?
Competition Analysis
- Who are your competitors?
- How many employees do they have?
- What is their estimated sales volume?
- What services do they offer?
- What is the quality of their product?
- What is the price range of their product?
- Who are there customers?
- What are their strengths?
- What are their weaknesses?
- Are they a direct or indirect competitor?
Labor
- How many employees will you start with? Full or p/t?
- What will the hourly labor wage paid to employees be?
- What will your total annual labor hours be, see below?
* Jan total billable hours =
* Feb =
* Mar =
* Apr =
* May =
* Jun =
* Jul =
* Aug =
* Sept =
* Oct =
* Nov =
* Dec =
* Yearly total billable hours =
Equipment
- What equipment will be needed?
- How much will it cost to obtain this equipment?
- Where will you store the equipment?
- How much will it cost to store the equipment?
Advertising / Promotion
- How will you advertise or promote your business?
- How much will you spend doing each per year?
Business Description
- Give a one paragraph description of your business.
- Where is your business located?
- What services does your business offer?
- What value does it add to the marketplace?
Management Abilities
- What are your qualifications?
- How will your experience contribute to the success of your business?
Business Strategy
- What is your business strategy?
- What are the strengths of your business strategy?
- What are the weaknesses of your business strategy?
- What are the key strategic opportunities you have identified in your marketplace?
- How will your business take advantage of these strategic opportunities more effectively than your competition?
- How do you intend to maintain your competitive edge?
- Describe the key challenges you face and how will you overcome them?
Legal Structure
- Will your business operate as a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation or an LLC?
- How will your legal structure decrease your business's exposure to risk?
Financial
- How much will you personally invest in your business?
- How much money are you seeking from banks?
- How much money are you seeking from private investors?
- How long until you plan to break even?
- How long until you plan on making a profit?
- What will your start-up costs be? Be specific, describe each and the cost.
- What is your sales forcast for each month of the entire year? List each month's goal.
- What will be your monthly operating expenses? (http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=1256) Be specific, describe each and the cost.
- What will your monthly fixed costs (http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=1256) be? Be specific, describe each and the cost.
Mission Statement
- What is your business?
- How will your business succeed?
- What values are important to your business?
- How does your business improve the lives of your customers' and employees'?
Marketing Slogan
- What is your marketing slogan?
Market Analysis
- What are the positive NATIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative NATIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
- What are the positive REGIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative REGIONAL trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
- What are the positive LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY trends that will affect your business?
- What are the negative LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY trends that will affect your business?
- How will you take advantage of the positive trends and deal with the negative trends?
Customer Analysis
- What is your current customer base?
- Who are your target customers? (age range, education level, occupations, average home value)
- What zip codes do they live in?
- What do your customers want?
Competition Analysis
- Who are your competitors?
- How many employees do they have?
- What is their estimated sales volume?
- What services do they offer?
- What is the quality of their product?
- What is the price range of their product?
- Who are there customers?
- What are their strengths?
- What are their weaknesses?
- Are they a direct or indirect competitor?
Labor
- How many employees will you start with? Full or p/t?
- What will the hourly labor wage paid to employees be?
- What will your total annual labor hours be, see below?
* Jan total billable hours =
* Feb =
* Mar =
* Apr =
* May =
* Jun =
* Jul =
* Aug =
* Sept =
* Oct =
* Nov =
* Dec =
* Yearly total billable hours =
Equipment
- What equipment will be needed?
- How much will it cost to obtain this equipment?
- Where will you store the equipment?
- How much will it cost to store the equipment?
Advertising / Promotion
- How will you advertise or promote your business?
- How much will you spend doing each per year?