Nature of the Business

  • Detailed description of the products/services you are selling
  • Definition of your target market—who are you going to sell to?
  • Description of the RISKS associated with this type of business.
  • Size and location of the business
  • Background of the owner(s)

Goals and Objectives

  • Detailed description of short-term goals
  • Detailed description of long-term goals
  • These needs to be MEASURABLE in some way. This could be volume of sales (in number of sales or dollar value) or profits.

Marketing Plan

  • How you are going to make YOUR product attractive to customers—with services, prices, etc.
  • How you will make your product accessible to your customers—that is, EASY for them to buy. This could include where your products will be sold, your hours of operation, or other factors.
  • How you will get information about your product and services to the customer (advertising)
 

Financial Plan

  • How much money will be needed to start up and maintain the business until it can support itself.
  • Detailed statement showing expected revenue, expenses, and net income.
     

Organizational Plan

  • Legal form of ownership—proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, form of corporation.
  • Licenses, leases, and other contracts needed to start and maintain the business in its early stages
  • Organizational chart showing how many employees you will need—the description of each position and a hierarchy of responsibilities
  • Physical facility needs—buildings, equipment, vehicles