From Possibility to Reality
10 Steps to Preparing a Successful
Business Plan
Joel Hauff, The University of Arizona
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7316584/NACASWest-BP.pptx
Outline
Identify the steps in developing a
business plan
 Examine each step and discuss how it
fits into the overall plan
 Relate each step to real-life examples
 Spend some time working on your own
personal business plan

From Possibility…
The
POWER
of an
idea
Horse In Around Pet Care
…To Reality!
 What
is your
big IDEA?
 How can you
MAKE IT
HAPPEN?
Business Plan Steps





Step 1 – Pitch Your
Business
Step 2 – Define Your
Business Model
Step 3 – Detail Your
Marketing Plan
Step 4 – Identify
Your Target Markets
Step 5 – Explain
Your Sales Model
Business Plan Steps (continued)
Step 6 – Identify
Opportunities for
Success
 Step 7 –Supply Key
Assumptions
 Step 8 – Conduct a
Cost-Benefit Analysis
 Step 9 – Detail the
Return On Investment
(ROI)
 Step 10- Develop a Plan
for Assessment

Step 1 – Pitch Your Business

You should be able to explain in 15
seconds what your concept is, and why it
is compelling (1-3 sentences)

The strategic investment of resources for a
phased Student Union Memorial Center Master
Plan will reenergize the facility with services
and spaces demanded by the current
generation of students. In turn, this will allow
for us to recruit a higher caliber of student and
retain them more successfully over time.
Step 2 – Define Your Business
Model



How will you generate
revenue? AND/OR
How will you save money?
AND/OR
How will you increase the
level or quality of service
to your customers?
Business Planning Model
People Make Decisions
Revenues &
Expenses Occur
Decisions
Evaluated
Outcomes Reported
Business Planning Model

People Make Decisions


Revenues & Expenses Occur


We spent money on renovations,
got new business and had to
take care of it.
Outcomes Reported


Let’s renovate the facility!
Here’s what the facility
renovation did for us!
Program Evaluation

Was it worth it?
Business Model

Student Union Master Plan





Move ‘destination points’ to lower level
Add new retail concepts based on student trends to
increase student satisfaction
Add additional point-of-sale opportunities to
increase revenues and decrease lines
Add additional interior and exterior seats to
increase customer capacity
Complete the exterior portions of the building with
intentional seating, canopies and more-welcoming
entry points
Marketing vs. Selling

What is the difference between
marketing and sales?

“Selling is getting rid of something you’ve
got. Marketing is having something you can
get rid of.”
Each requires a different range of skills
and knowledge for success
 Both are dependent upon one another

Step 3 – Detail Your Marketing Plan

How will you pitch
your idea to
customers and
strategic partners?
What options do you
have to market to
them?
 Which will be the
most effective?

Marketing – The 4 P’s

The strategic elements of a marketing
plan
Product – what are we going to sell
 Price – what do we need to charge for it
 Promotion – how do we let people know
about it
 Placement – where do we sell it


Marketing strategies are applied globally
Marketing Plan – Specific Details
Product – Einstein Bros. Bagels
 Price - Varies
 Promotion – Social Media, Limited Print
Media, Coupon Books, Digital Signage
 Placement – Facebook, Twitter, Arizona
Daily Wildcat, Student Insider,
Camptoons, Union Channel 12

Marketing Plan
Product – SUMC Phased Renovation
Plan
 Price - $6.5 million
 Promotion – Surveys, Focus groups,
Information Sessions, 1-on-1 Meetings
 Placement – Student constituencies,
Admissions, Campus Life, Institutional
Leadership

Step 4 – Identify Your Target
Markets

What is (are) your unique
target market(s)?
Students – need to know
they support this priority
and possible pricing for
services
 Senior Vice President for
Business Affairs – need
him to fund the plan

Step 5 – Explain Your Sales Model

Summarize and explain how
you intend to capture
customers (or gain support)
for your business model
Who are you selling to?
 What are your sales
strategies?
 Who are your strategic
partners (if any)?

Sales Steps





Introduction
Discovery
(Background)
Presentation
Follow-up
Closing
Sales Model

Who


Student Constituencies
What Strategies
Architectural renderings
 Anecdotal data regarding student
engagement
 Light financial data showing sustainability


Strategic Partners

Vice President for Student Affairs
Sales Model

Who


Vice President for Business Affairs
What Strategies
Survey Data
 Detailed Pro Forma Data
 Light anecdotal data regarding student
engagement


Strategic Partners

Vice President for Student Affairs
Step 6 – Identify Opportunities for
Success

Conduct a SWOT
analysis:
What are your idea’s
Strengths?
 What are your idea’s
Weaknesses?
 What are your idea’s
Opportunities?
 What are your idea’s
Threats?

SWOT Assessment
Strengths - physical or serviceoriented advantages
Weaknesses - physical or serviceoriented limitations
SWOT Assessment
Opportunities - external plans,
interests or forces that contribute to your
ability to succeed
Threats - external plans, interests or
forces that work against your immediate
goals
Step 7 – Supply Key Assumptions

With any plan, there is some guesswork
involved

What elements of the plan can make or
break it?
Budget projections for construction costs are
realistic
 Have not reached point-of-sale saturation point
 Student survey data is representative of the total
population
 Sales estimates are realistic

Step 8 – Conduct a Cost-Benefit
Analysis (Pro Forma)

Money talks




What will your
revenues be under
this business plan?
What will your costs
(direct and indirect)
be under this
business plan?
What benefit(s) will
be gained?
What is the bottom
line?
Step 9 – Detail the Return On
Investment (ROI)
How long will it take to see a return on
any investment made?
 What are the projected minimum and
maximum returns?
 What are the factors that will increase (or
diminish) ROI?

Defining The Business Plan

What is my plan for
increasing ROI?
How will you generate
revenue? AND/OR
 How will you save
money? AND/OR
 How will you increase
the level or quality of
service to your
customers?

Calculating ROI

The simplest way to calculate ROI is:
ROI = [Gain from Investment] – [Cost of Investment] * 100%
[Cost of Investment]
ROI = [100,000] – [75,000] * 100% = 33.33%
[75,000]
Increasing ROI

There are three structured ways to
increase ROI:



[Gain from Investment] increases while [Cost of
Investment] remains the same
[Cost of Investment] decreases while [Gain from
Investment] remains the same
[Cost of Investment] increases, but [Gain from
Investment] also increases to a larger proportion
than the [Cost of Investment]
ROI = [Gain from Investment] – [Cost of Investment] * 100
[Cost of Investment]
Modeling Profit & ROI

Addition of Web Registration Service for
Customers


Current ROI = 33.33%
Increase in Costs by $8,000 for new business
component
ROI = [x] – [83,000] * 100% = 33.33%
[83,000]
ROI = [x] – [83,000] = [83,000] * .3333
ROI = [x] = 110,663.90
ROI = Gain Increase of 10,663.90
ROI = [110,664] – [83,000] X 100% = 33.33%
[83,000]
Modeling Profit & ROI

How can I do this on a
global scale for my
idea?
Pro Forma Documents
 Profit/Loss Statements
 Cash Flow Summaries


Microsoft Excel as a
tool
Step 10 – Develop a Plan for
Assessment

How will we measure our ‘success’?
How often will we measure it?
 What will we specifically measure?
 What are the critical milestones to achieve?
 How long will we give our plan to be
successful before we make changes or pull
the plug altogether?

Business Plan – Summary

Assemble all
information into an
executive summary
document



No more than 2-3
pages or 10
PowerPoint slides
Tailored to a
specific audience
Printed and bound
Closing
Think BIG – no idea is too impossible to
explore
 Let your PASSION for your idea come
through in your preparation for and
presentation of it
 Be HONEST – with yourself and with
others around you
 Do the WORK to prove your idea has
merit and can be achievable
