Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
I.
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
THE BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
1. In two or three sentences, describe your business.
2. Who are the owners of the business? Percentage of ownership for each?
3. What is the legal structure of the business?
__ Sole proprietorship __ Partnership
__“S” Corp __ Limited Liability Co __“C” Corp
4. If the business is a corporation or LLC, what date were papers filed with the Secretary
of State?
5.
What is the type of business? __ Retail __ Manufacturing __ Service
6.
Is this business __ New __ Existing __ Takeover __Expansion
7. If this is a new business, __ Independent __ Franchise
8. How will your business make money?
9. Is there opportunity for business growth? Explain.
10. What is the target date to open?
11. What have you learned about your kind of business from outside sources (suppliers,
bankers, publications, other business owners, others)?
Page 1 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
Product or Service:
1. What are you selling and how is it different? (Why customers will choose your business
and why they will be loyal)
2. How will your product or service benefit the customer?
3. Is the product or service in steady demand or is it seasonal? Explain
Location:
1) Where will the business be located?
2) What kind of space is required?
3) Will your customers/clients be coming to your location? __Yes __No If “yes”:
a) Is the location easily accessible from all directions? Any entrance or exit problems,
traffic signals, etc.
b) Is public transportation available? __Yes __No
c) Is parking adequate and reasonably priced? __Yes __No
d) Is the area considered safe by your market? __Yes __No
e) Is adequate lighting available? __Yes __No
f) Is the location properly zoned? __Yes __No
g) Is the neighborhood stable? __Yes __No
if “no”, describe the changes and how they might impact your business.
Page 2 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
II. Marketing Plan
Customers:
1. Describe the customer you expect sell the most to, your most frequent buyer.
Gender: __Male __Female
Age Range: __________________
Race/Ethnicity: ___________
Household Income: ___________
Family Size: _____________
Homeowner? __Yes __No
Education Level: __HS __College __ Advanced Degree ________ other
Community: __Urban __Suburban __ Rural
2. Define your physical limits of your target market.
3. How many of your potential customers are located within these physical limits?
4. Is the pool of potential customers in your area growing, steady or declining? Explain
Competition: Complete the SWOT analysis on the next page
Thought starters:
a) Is your competitor’s business steady, increasing or decreasing?
b) How are their operations similar or dissimilar to yours?
c) How does their product or service differ from yours?
d) What have you learned from watching their operations?
e) What works for them?
f) What doesn’t work?
g) What have you learned from their advertising?
h) How will your business be better than theirs?
i) Who are your indirect competitors? (Alternative; e.g. coffee vs. mineral water).
j) How will they impact your sales?
k) What factors could make them direct competitors?
Page 3 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
YOUR BUSINESS
563-336-3401
COMPETITOR 1
kpezley@eicc.edu
COMPETITOR 2
COMPETITOR 3
Strengths
(inside the organization)
Weaknesses
(inside the organization)
Page 4 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
YOUR BUSINESS
563-336-3401
COMPETITOR 1
kpezley@eicc.edu
COMPETITOR 2
COMPETITOR 3
Opportunities
(outside the organization)
Threats
(outside the organization)
Page 5 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
Pricing and Sales:
1. Your pricing objective? 1 is most important and 6 are least important.
__ Lowest price in town
__ Remain Competitive
__ Create a quality image
__Maximize profits
__ Build a new product line
__ Good value at fair price
Why did you choose this order?
2. Is there an industry standard overhead percentage for pricing?
3. What is the dollar amount of a typical sale?
Advertising and Public Relations:
1. Where would you look first, second, and third for your product/service?
a)
b)
c)
2. Write a few descriptive word/phrases to describe your product/service. Test on
friends to see if they accurately describe the product and trigger a positive
response.
3. How will you determine your advertising and promotional budget?
Page 6 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
4. List five things you can do for free advertising for your business.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
5. Describe your web presence.
6. How will you use social media marketing?
III. Management Plan
1. Your education.
2. Your business experience.
3. How your background or business experience helps you in this business.
Page 7 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
4. Your weaknesses and how you will compensate for them.
5. Who will be on your management team and what will be their duties?
6. Are the duties of each position clearly outlined in job descriptions?
7. What are your current personnel needs? Full-time or part-time? Will this change
within the next two years?
8. How will you hire and train personnel?
9. How will you build a sense of teamwork among your employees so they will feel
invested in your business success?
10. What salaries, benefits, vacations, and holidays will you offer?
11. What is the cost of your benefit package as a percentage of salary?
Page 8 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
!!! STOP!!!
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
Check with your SBDC counselor before continuing.
IV. Financial Management Plan
Amount
Start-up Costs
Total
Purchase of Real Estate & Closing Costs
$__________________
Remodeling Costs
$__________________
Machinery and Equipment
$__________________
Furniture & Fixtures
$__________________
Supplies
$__________________
Inventory
$__________________
Licenses/Permits
$__________________
Advertising/Promotional Costs
$__________________
Rental Deposit
$__________________
Utilities Deposits
$__________________
Insurance (One Year up-front cost)
$__________________
Legal/Professional Fees
$__________________
Accounting Fees
$__________________
Salaries (Prior to opening)
$__________________
Franchise Purchase
$__________________
Other _______________________
$__________________
Other _______________________
$__________________
$__________________
1. How much salary do you need from the business to satisfy your living expenses?
2. How much cash do you have to invest in the business?
Page 9 of 10
Eastern Iowa SBDC
mrinetti@eicc.edu
563-336-3401
kpezley@eicc.edu
3. Will you need financing? If yes:
__ Term financing (amortized over a period of time)
__ Working capital line of credit
4. If you own property, do you have equity available to help fund the business?
5. Where will additional cash (equity) come from and what are the terms if any?
__ Private loans
__Investors
Explain:
6. If needed, who will co-sign or put up collateral?
7. If your business requires inventory, how will you manage inventory levels, i.e.
names of suppliers and their terms, financing needs, anticipated inventory
turnover, etc.
8. Who will do your daily and monthly accounting? If you are doing accounting inhouse, what type of accounting system will you be using?
Your SBDC counselor will help you develop the following required documents:
Capital equipment and supply list
Balance sheet
Pricing model
Pro-forma income projections (three years)
Pro-forma cash flow statements (three years)
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