Simple Steps
for Starting Your Business
Your Business Concept
v.20130107
Simple Steps for Starting Your Business
The SCORE Foundation would like to thank
For showing their support of America’s small
businesses by sponsoring this series.
To learn more about Bank of America, visit:
www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/
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A Special Thanks to Our Local Sponsors
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Classroom Safety – Argosy U
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Exits
Restrooms
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not wander
around the
building!
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Classroom Safety–ComCenter
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Exits
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Simple Steps for Starting Your Business
Session 2:
YOUR
BUSINESS
CONCEPT
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Simple Steps Roadmap
To Accelerate Your Success
Session 1:
Start-up
Basics
PERSONAL MENTORING
Decide
to
Continue
Session 2:
Business
Concept
Session 3:
Marketing
Plan
Session 4:
Financial
Projections
Session 5:
Funding
Sources
“GO OR NO GO” DECISION &
NEXT STEPS WITH MENTOR
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Introductions and Homework Review
Introductions
•
•
•
•
Name
Your business idea
Share your vision statement
60 seconds, please
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SCORE Commitment to YOU
• Deliver quality information
and a quality learning
process for the five-part
business planning series
• Provide free, one-on-one
mentoring
• Help get clients to a
Go/No-Go decision on
their business ideas
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Client Commitment
•
During this session, fill out the paper
request form in your packet for free,
one-on-one mentoring.
– Be sure to fill in the field at the
bottom about your business and
the you think you need.
– Give it to a SCORE volunteer
– A mentor will be assigned to you in
3-5 days
•
•
•
Attend the workshop series
Do assigned homework
Complete a draft of a business
feasibility plan (text and financials)
All of the above will assist you in
reaching a decision.
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Simple Steps
for Starting Your Business
Testing Your Business Idea
a Session 1 
a Session 2 
Start-up Basics
Your Business Concept
Session 3  Marketing Plan
Session 4  Financial Projections
Session 5  Funding Sources
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Agenda
• Business Concept Definition
• Target Market Characteristics
• Ann’s Nursery Example
• Gathering Critical Information
- Industry
- Customer
- Competition
• Personal Application and
Planning
• Homework
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Benefits of Building
a Feasibility Plan Draft
• Provides you with the
information to help make a
Go/No-Go decision for your
business idea.
• Has the core information to
create a complete business
plan for bankers and investors.
• Gives you direction to get
started.
• Copy in your handouts!
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Your Business Idea
• New product idea?
• New service idea?
• Purchase an existing business?
• Purchase a franchise?
• Moving an existing business in a new
direction or expanding?
They all have common elements.
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Your Business Idea
Defining a Market Need
• Fulfill a need or solve a
problem?
• Provide unique product or
service features and benefits?
• Create a competitive
advantage?
• Business model
• New? Buy? Franchise?
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Personal Background
Your Experience
• Skills that fit your idea
• Personal risk tolerance
that fits your idea
• Work experience in the
industry
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Learn About Your Industry
Where to get Information
• Description: NAICS
North American Industry Classification System
• Profitability: RMA
Risk Management Association – Annual
Statement Studies
• Industry Focus: NTPA Directory
National Trade and Professional Association
What to look for
Growth / life cycle
Trends
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Feasibility Planning
Maturity
Reinvention
Slow decline
Rapid Growth
Rapid decline
Start-up
The Industry Life Cycle
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Define Your Target Markets
Who do you serve?
• Type: retailer, consumer
etc.
• Number of Customers /
Markets?
• Income level/ability to pay
• Demographics
• Lifestyle
• Buying Habits
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Other Key Factors
Competition
• Size
• Product/service features
Suppliers
• Availability
• Reliability
Business Risk
• Product longevity
• Legal/environmental
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Ann’s Nursery – Feasibility Plan
• Ann's Nursery Feasibility Plan
examples are used in our workshops
and may help you see the types of
information that you may need
• Has a wide range of target market
choices
• Has financials that require fixed
assets, accounts receivable,
inventory and borrowing
• Though fictitious, it is realistic and
covers the elements necessary for
a business
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Ann’s Nursery: Industry Profile
2002 NAICS Definitions
111421 Nursery and Tree Production
This U.S. industry comprises establishments
primarily engaged in (1) growing nursery
products, nursery stock, shrubbery, bulbs,
fruit stock, sod, and so forth, under cover or
in open fields and/or (2) growing short
rotation woody trees with a growth and
harvest cycle of 10 years or less for pulp or
tree stock.
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Ann’s Nursery: Initial Concept Ideas
In your handouts
•
•
•
•
Business Idea
Background
Industry Profile
Target Markets
– Competition
– Suppliers
– Risk
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Your Concept: Exercise 1
From what you know now, outline your
business concept by element
(10 minutes max)
WS2 - Exercise 1 and 2 Worksheet- Business Concept Feasibility Plan.doc
Pick a partner near you and give an elevator
speech (5 minutes max) outlining your
business concept
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Stretch Break
10 minutes, please
120m
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Collecting Critical Information
To understand if your business idea
may work, you must gather critical
information about your industry,
customer and competition.
For start-ups, it is impossible to put
together a realistic business plan
without this data.
No professional will loan to or
invest in your business without this
critical information.
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Collect Industry Data
Industry Data
• Growth
• Profitability
• Trends
Industry Data Sources
• NAICS
• RMA
• Trade Associations
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Collect Customer Data
Know Your Market
• Demographics
• Habits and patterns
Customer Data
Sources
•
•
•
•
Focus groups
Reference library
Government websites
Trade associations
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Collect Customer Data
Income Demographics: Example
Income Demographics for Zip Code 17601
Household income
Less than
$15,000
$15,000 $24,999
$25,000 $34,9999
$35,000 $49,999
$50,000 $74,999
$75,000 $99,999
$100,000
$140,000
$150,000
and over
779
1,508
1,833
3,047
4,385
2,798
2,152
1,442
Number of households
Total households: 17,944
Source: www.census.gov
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Collect Competitor Data
Understand What They Offer
•
•
•
•
•
Price
Features
Annual Sales
Size/profitability
Market strategy
Competitor Data Sources
•
•
•
•
•
Competitor
Suppliers
Trade associations
RMA
D&B (Dun and Bradstreet)
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Other Market Trends
Important Considerations
• Political
• Social
• Environmental
Trend Sources
•
•
•
•
•
Newspapers
Periodicals
Television
Internet
Professional Networking
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Local Library Information
Reference Area
Sarasota Selby Library
RMA
NAICS
Others
USF Library
NAICS
Others
• Can be a very valuable
resource for information and
save you a lot of time.
• The reference librarian can
help you navigate library
media to obtain the best
information possible
– Web-based searches for
information (e.g., Reference
USA)
– Reference library tools most
commonly used by SCORE
clients
– Reference books display and
typical information
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Business Information Websites
• www.census.gov
• www.sba.gov
(Small Business Administration)
• NAICS.com
• www.bea.gov
(Bureau of Economic Analysis)
• www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
(Securities and Exchange Commission)
• www.bls.gov
(Bureau of Labor and Statistics)
• www.score.org
• www.bizstats.com
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Collecting Critical Information
• Ask directly, usually a
distant competitor
• Ask mutual suppliers
• Ask competitors’ (your
future) customers
• Be a customer
• Join a trade association
• Check competitor websites
• All of these are OK to do.
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Data Collection – Exercise 2
Develop plan to get info on at least one
competitor (5 min): (Back of Exercise 1 document)
Price and pricing strategy / Product features
Estimate of annual sales / Marketing strategies
Open discussion – share plans (15 min)
What did you learn from this discussion?
How will you use that knowledge in the future?
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Your Own SCORE Mentor
•
Fill out the paper request form in your packet
for free, one-on-one mentoring.
– During this session!
– Be sure to fill in the field at the bottom
about your business and the help that
you think you need.
– Give it to the SCORE volunteers
– A mentor will be assigned in 3-5 days
• Phone or face-to-face guidance to aid
completion of your homework
• Mentor will be available each week after
your workshop
Take advantage of this free service
to make the best decisions possible.
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Homework
Read WS3–Ann’s Nursery Feasibility Plan and Client Draft
(also available as a download)
Complete the exercise worksheets you started today
• Finish the first draft of your business concept
• Collect key competitive information per plan.
This data will be used in the next session.
―Price and pricing strategies
―Features and benefits
―Annual sales
―Marketing strategies in reaching target customers
See you at the next session on Marketing.
Download documents at:
http://www.score-suncoast.org/QSHandouts.aspx
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Help Us, Help You
Please fill out the
workshop evaluation form
Your feedback is important
to help us improve our
programs!
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