BUSINESS PLAN
BUILDER
SESSIONSFEBRUARY
2023
Planning For Success
By David Cohen
LET’S DIVE IN IN
It’s a big morning
AGENDA-TODAY
Self-Exploration -- Vision, Mission and Value Proposition
The Business Canvas vs. The Business Plan
Break
The Business Plan
What goes into your business plan?
Marketing, sales, tips, ideas
Group work -- case studies
Operations and Financials
BEFORE WE
BEGIN …
How do your
Vision, Mission
and Value
Proposition
create the
foundation for
your success?
BREAK OUT…WHY IS A MISSION AND VISION
THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR SUCCESS?
Share for 6 minutes
DREAM BIG
Set a vision that excites
you!
WHAT ARE SOME
INTENTIONS YOU
WOULD LIKE TO SEE
HAPPEN N THIS YEAR?
Can you think
of 3 intentions
that you want
for your
business in
2023?
VISUALIZE
YOUR
INTENTIONS
BEING
SUCCESSFUL
FOR 5 MINUTES
Be still, quiet and visualize your
intentions happening?
WELCOME BACK, LET’S CREATE YOUR
VISION STATEMENT
Let’s dive in!
A VISION STATEMENT
Defines the optimal desired future state - the mental picture of what you
want your company want to achieve over time
Provides guidance and inspiration as to what an organization is focused
on achieving in five, ten, or more years
Functions as the "north star" - it is what all employees understand their
work every day ultimately contributes towards accomplishing over the long
term
Is written succinctly in an inspirational manner that makes it easy for all
employees to repeat it at any given time
ARE YOU
READY TO SET
THE
VISION?
To write a vision statement, you need to distil
your vision into a usable form. Use the
following formula to shape your vision
statement:
Five years from now, (my company name)
will have accomplished what big
goal(s)?___________________ for whom
and how will they
benefit?_______________________.
Using this formula to write a vision statement
will force you to choose what you consider to
be the most important accomplishment of
your business and give you a time frame to
accomplish it.
SAMPLE VISION STATEMENT
Within the next five years, the Women's Centre will have
helped create a safer, more harmonious community by
helping women acquire the education, skills and
resources necessary to build self-sufficient prosperous
lives.
Within the next five years, Metromanage.com will
become a leading provider of management software to
North American small businesses by providing
customizable, user-friendly software scaled to small
business needs.
Five years from now, Tiny Tots Diaper Service will be the
top grossing diaper service in the Lower Mainland by
consistently providing a reliable, affordable service for
Moms and Dads with small children.
FINE TUNE IT … WHO DO YOU WANT
TO BE? WHAT IS YOUR VISION OF WHO
YOU WANT TO BE?
What is your
vision?________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
____________________________________________
WHY CREATE A VISION
STATEMENT?
A vision is a picture or idea you have in
your mind of yourself, your business, or
anything this is going to happen.
A clear vision helps you pursue dreams
and achieve goals.
VISION OF THE FUTURE
A vision will help you to overcome obstacles.
A vision that is well defined helps you to focus and create a
purpose that becomes your measurement for your success.
If you do not have a vision of who you want to be, how you
want to succeed or what you want out of life, you could begin
to lack drive and your life become just an order of events.
THE BRICK LAYERS
True story
YOU ARE ON A MISSION
What do you do for people that you serve?
WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
Defines the present state or purpose of an organization
Answers three questions about why an organization exists:
WHAT does it do?
WHO does it do it for?
What is the outcome that your customer gets from you being in
business?
Is written succinctly in the form of a sentence or two, and for a shorter
timeframe (one to three years) than a Vision Statement
MISSION STATEMENTS
The mission statement articulates a
company's purpose. It announces to the
world at large why your company exists.
Think of a mission statement as a
combination of what your company does
and how and why it does it, along with the
values that are important to you. What is
in it for the customer?
Here's how to write a mission statement in
three easy steps …
WRITING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT
What does your company do?
(be to the point here -- e.g., We sell shoes, we sell great food, we sell
safety products to families)
Then, share who you do it for
Then describe what the outcome is (for the customer) and or what is
the joy that you bring to the world?
(This is about the values you do it within, not how it’s actually produced
or done.)
ADD YOUR
MOST
IMPORTANT
VALUES
Take a moment to think of the core values that are
important to you that are expressed in your business.
Here are some sample values that might be
important to you and the way you do business that
you may want to use when you write a mission
statement:
Sample Values
To make difference to middle-aged women
Provide excellent learning programs to engage
children
Protect the quality of the environment
Ensure equal access to resources
Encourage innovation/creativity
SAMPLE MISSION STATEMENTS
Sample Mission Statements
My company's purpose is to:
Sell work shoes of the highest quality
Provide educational services that allow all
children to experience learning success
Grow market vegetables using organic,
sustainable farming practices
ADD THE WHY AND THE WHO …
WHY DO YOU LOVE DOING WHAT YOU DO? WHO IS
BENEFITTING FROM THE GIFT OR JOY YOU SHARE
WITH THE WORLD?
When you write a mission statement, this is the part
that describes your spark, or the passion behind your
business.
Why does your business do what it does? For some
people, it helps to think back on why they started their
business in the first place.
We sell work shoes of the highest quality so every
customer can find a pair of shoes they actually love to
wear and can feel confident, safe and comfortable in
them.
We provide educational services that allow all children
to experience learning success and become life-long
learners and contributing members of our community.
DANCE…JUST DANCE
How your mission helps
FINE-TUNE
YOUR
MISSION
What is your
mission?_____________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
PART TWO
February 2023
Two kinds of plans
THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS AND THE
BUSINESS PLAN
THE TRADITIONAL
BUSINESS PLAN
The Banks Still like these
WHY THE CANVAS?
Business plans take too long to write, are seldom updated,
and almost never read by others but documenting your
hypotheses is key.
It outlines several prescriptions which form the building blocks
for the activities. It enables both new and existing businesses
to focus on operational as well as strategic management and
marketing plan.
THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
The history invented by entrepreneur, author and thought leader, Alex
Osterwalder
To Quote Alex, “In my writing, speaking, and the software company I
co-founded, I obsess with making strategy, innovation and
entrepreneurship simple, practical, and applicable.
He invented the Business Model Canvas, co-founded strategyzer.com
and lead-authored Business Model Generation which sold 1 million
copies in 30 languages.”
The explanation…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s
THE CANVAS
THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management
and lean start-up template for developing new or
documenting existing business models. It is a visual chart
with elements describing a firm's value proposition,
infrastructure, customers and finances. It assists firms in
aligning their activities by illustrating potential trade-offs.
The explanation…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s
THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
THE VALUE PROPOSITION
The Value Proposition Explained…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN36EcTE54Q#t=26
THE VALUE PROPOSITION
EXPLAINED
CREATE YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
For_________________(who is your target
customer)
Who__________________ (insert their
need, challenge, or problem)
We have developed
____________________ (insert what it is
that you do… in simple terms)
That helps them
achieve______________________ (what is
the outcome or value a client gets from
working with you?)
LETS DISCUSS
What are few key points that stand out for
you, that you had not thought of prior to
learning about this model?
For example, was it understanding who your
ideal client was and why was this of value or
important to you?
What are some action steps around the Canvas
that you need to research more and work on in
order for you to design your own BMC?
WAY TO GO!
You have clarity on your customers
You have an idea about the value you bring
You have a vision
A mission and a value proposition
You’ve set the foundation to build up from!
LET’S DO IT … THE ACTUAL BUSINESS
PLAN!
“By failing to prepare, you
are preparing to fail.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Reduce your plan to
writing. The moment you
complete this, you will have
definitely given concrete
form to the intangible
desire.” Napoleon Hill
BREAK TIME
7 minutes to re-fresh
Why do you need a
business plan? You’ve
got the Business Model
Canvas … Why create
a plan?
WHY CREATE A BUSINESS
PLAN?
BREAK OUT
Why write a business
plan? Come up with 5
reasons.
Open Discussion…
WHAT ARE 5 REASONS YOU
NEED A BUSINESS PLAN?
#1-Raise Capital
#2-To have a good game plan
in place
HERE ARE
OUR 5
#3-To really know your stuff
and learn from the research
#4 To avoid big mistakes
(especially the costing)
#5 To counterbalance your
emotions
REASON # 1 SHOW ME THE MONEY
A Business Plan is a necessary instrument for raising capital from
potential investors, bankers and other lenders.
It helps when taking your business public or selling all or part of a
company.
In fact, without one, soliciting a bank for funds is pointless.
It shows to any lenders that you have thought this through, you can
make this happen and that you have business management abilities.
REASON # 2 WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN?
HOW WILL YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO
DO?
How are you going to take this idea into action?
How will you do what you want to do?
Who do you need to help you do what you do?
What suppliers are needed?
Who will you sell too and how much do you believe they will buy?
ACTION PLANS:
Every strategic plan needs an action
plan to bring it to life. It’s the roadmap
that will show you how you’ll reach your
objectives.
An action plan details the concrete steps
needed to attain your goals—usually
covering the coming year—a timetable
for each task, a description of who will
do what and a follow-up process.
GET INTO
ACTION
Developing a business action
plan is the way to turn the
owner's ambitions into reality,
and finally, into more money in
his bank account.
An effective business plan starts
with setting up goals and
intentions, but in this day of
change you need to be flexible!
Take one area of your business,
sales, marketing,
product/service development,
suppliers, web/online
marketing, etc.
HOME-WORK
Develop a list of 5 actions with
a due date or by when it will
be done date and share it next
week!
This is a big question
…
WHO WRITES YOUR PLAN?
WHY NOT YOU?
It’s none other than …
Y.O.U.
Get to know all about your business!
The market
Your customers
The economy
#3-YOU
NEED TO
LEARN
Success stories
Social Conditions
Your industry
Sources of capital, your budget
A business plan is 75% research. That
information you’re finding out about and
learning is going to be invaluable to your
success
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
BEFORE YOU GO!
It may take weeks or months to create a business plan
Chunk your plan down … write it a bit at a time
A business plan of 25-35 pages is ideal … the size of your plan
does not determine the amount you get from the bank … accuracy
and painting a clear and concise picture is what works best when
developing a plan
#4-AVOIDING BIG MISTAKES
LET’S DISCUSS…
What are 5 big
mistakes that can
really hurt you or
your business?
Sometimes mistakes are
the best things to
happen…what can you
gain from falling down
and how can you get
back up again?
(by the way even the
best of the best have
had major challenges)
HOW DO YOU LEARN FROM MISTAKES
AND NOT LET IT PREVENT YOU FROM
MOVING FORWARD?
THERE IS A BALANCE
How and what can
you do to balance
your heart, gut and
mind so you can
counterbalance
your emotions?
GUARD
AGAINST
THIS
At times during your start-up experience,
you'll be on over drive—so passionate about
your ideas you lose sight of reality. At other
times, you'll be overwhelmed by doubt, fear,
or exhaustion. When your emotions get the
best of you, having a business plan lets you
step back, and take an objective look at
what you are doing and why, what you know
for a fact and what you are trying to figure
out.
3 MINUTES TO
STRETCH
Take a breather
TIPS AND IDEAS
Write your plan for you first!
Then, if you are going to get financing then adapt it for
the reader
Have them in mind
Write in third person
Your plans is a complete story about yourself the idea, the
market, the competitors, the research, pricing, action plans,
how you intend to get to market, exit strategies … basically
it’s a who, what, where, when, why and how about you and
your business idea
HOW TO WRITE YOUR PLAN
Write your plan for you first!
Then, if you are going to get financing then adapt it for
the reader
Have them in mind
Write in third person
Your plans is a complete story about yourself the idea, the
market, the competitors, the research, pricing, action plans,
how you intend to get to market, exit strategies … basically
it’s a who, what, where, when, why and how about you and
your business idea
YOUR PLAN!
Use layman’s terms don’t use technical jargon
It’s a living breathing document; it will change
as you do and the market forces you to change
It’s key is to give you the knowledge, action
steps, goals, milestones and answer the what’s
next in your business…
THE PLAN
Be realistic:
3 scenarios … pessimistic, optimistic and realistic
Discuss all risks and how you plan to deal with them …
competition, economic, accidents, loss and catastrophes
Back up your data with actual proven, accurate and
reliable data
Two separate plans may be required; one plan for you
and another for investors
LET’S REVIEW …
What are the 3 most important points about a business plan for you?
Why do you write one?
What does a business plan do to help you in your business?
Who should write it?
Why?
Do you write a plan all at once or over time?
THE CORE COMPONENTS OF YOUR
BUSINESS PLAN
This is what you need to write about!
WHAT YOUR PLAN WILL INCLUDE
Begin
Begin the Plan with a Summary
Describe
Describe your company — its Business, Goals and
Objectives
Analyze
Analyze your market and determine your Marketing
Strategy
Describe
Describe your product/service and how it is all produced
ALSO …
5.
Describe your management organization
6.
Describe your operations
7.
Summarize your financial needs and where you plan
on obtaining funding
8.
Outline your future plans
9.
Include an Appendix section-(resume, contracts,
results of market research surveys, media articles,
letters of reference)
BREAK OUT…WHAT WOULD GO INTO
YOUR PLAN?
Group 1- What goes into an Executive Summary, can you think of 5-7 points that
need to be in your Executive Summary?
Group 2-What are 5 key things you’d need to discuss in your “Business
Description” section?
Group 3- What goes into your marketing plan in your business? What are 5-7
things to write about in your marketing plan?
Group 4-What is a Sales plan and what are 5-7 things you want to write about in
your Sales Plan?
Group 5-What goes into your “operations” section of the plan? Can you think of
5-10 key points to write about in this section?
Group 6-What goes into your Financial Plans? What are some key points to
discuss and present in your financial plans?
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What is this about?
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The executive summary, or statement of purpose, should
succinctly encapsulate your reason for writing the
business plan. It needs to tell the reader what you want
and why, right up front.
It also should talk about who you are and why you have
started this business
What are some key goals?
As it is the first section that the reader
of your business plan sees, it must
make an immediate impact by clearly
stating what it is you do.
THE
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
What is the need in the marketplace
that you’re filling?
What makes you competitive?
Are you seeking capital? If so, how
much and what type of financing do
you want?
KEY POINTS IN THE EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Describes your business, its product/service, the market it serves
and its competitive advantage -- an overview of who you are and
what you are doing.
Company history -- if there isn’t one, detail your past experience,
the skills you bring to the business.
Vision and Mission
Value Proposition
The management team
Your business's legal form of operation (sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation or limited liability company), when it was
founded, the principal owners and key personnel
ALSO INCLUDE …
Location and description of the facilities and equipment owned
or needed (to get financing)
List your major achievements, which would be anything
noteworthy, such as patents, prototypes, important contracts
regarding product development, or results from test marketing
that has been conducted
Include the amount and purpose of the loan requested, the
repayment schedule, the borrower's equity share and the
debt-to-equity ratio after the loan, security or collateral is
offered
ONE LAST
PIECE
If you are in business
already, you may want to
add your current market
value
Also, include an estimated
value or price quotes for
any equipment you plan
to purchase with the loan
proceeds.
THE POWER OF STORY TELLING
Why is it recommended that your business plan is best
told like you are writing a story?
What are some key elements to writing a good story?
What makes a story you’ve read interesting or
compelling?
Why do you think that business experts feel that story
telling is important? Can you think of 3 reasons?
LET’S LOOK
MORE CLOSELY
AT THE PLAN?
Diving deeper
LEGAL BUSINESS STRUCTURES
Sole proprietor
Partnership
Corporation
The keys to success for a sole proprietor is that it’s easy to get
into, low capital start up, not strictly regulated, you make all the
money.
A partnership is the same, but there is more money, brainpower,
experience
PLANS TODAY ARE CHANGING…HOWEVER,
YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR VISION AND
INTENTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
An important point to remember
— whether you're planning a
new business or expanding an
existing business — is that you
must show that you have the
potential for continued
profitability.
The business plan should be used to guide and evaluate the direction and
actual operating results of the company.
Take it out of the drawer because if it is out of date shortly after it was
prepared, you have missed out on the real value of the business plan.
The true value is that it is used as a management tool.
Use it to adjust, assess, plan and execute on an ongoing basis!
FINALLY -- DUST OFF THE PLAN
CHANGE IS
GOOD
Changes do occur. You can count on it.
Changes within your company, changes with
your customers, changes in the business
environment all can render your business
plan ineffective if you do not constantly
update it.
NEXT WEEK-MARKET RESEARCH AND MARKETING
OR VALIDATING AND SHARING YOUR VALUE!
Any questions?
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY
Stay in touch!
dcohen@thedavidcohengroup.com
416-630-3527