Creating a Winning E-Business
Second Edition
Creating an E-Business Plan
Chapter 3
Business Plan Organization
 Business plan
– Formal business planning document
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Identifies the business and its mission
Names the key management team members
Describes the products or services to be offered
Provides a marketplace analysis
Identifies customers and competitors
Determines resources for profitable operations
Sets a timetable for profitability
Business Plan Organization
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 Government and for-profit sources for business
planning information and templates
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SCORE
SBA
BizPlanIt
Bplans.com
E-Future Centre (Canadian)
Business Plan Organization
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 Business plan components
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Cover sheet and title page
Table of contents
Executive summary
Business description
Vision/mission statement
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Business plan components (continued)
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Information on products/services
Industry, customer, competitor analyses
Operational, financial, and managerial plans
Identification of critical risks
What is an exit
Exit strategy
strategy?
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Cover sheet
– Title of document and preparer’s name
– Plan copy number
– “Confidential” notation
 Title page
– Cover sheet information and
• Contact numbers
• Key team members’ names
• Name of person receiving the plan
Business Plan Organization
Business
Plan
Organizati
on
(continued)
Business Plan Organization
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 Table of contents
– Lists all the major sections and subsections of
the plan
– Prepared after rest of plan is complete
– Carefully checked for omissions and page
number errors
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Executive summary (A condensed version of the complete
plan)
– Used by interested parties to quickly assess the
business idea and weed out plans
– Keep it short (one to three pages)
– Use clear and concise language and action
words
– Create last after plan details are developed
Business Plan Organization
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 Vision statement
– A formal statement of a business’s hopes and
desires
– Written to guide and inspire employees
 Mission statement
– A formal statement that explains a business’s
reason for existing
Business Plan Organization
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 Business description
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Summary of business’s background
Information about legal form of business
Business’s history to date
Key personnel
Future goals
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Products or services section
– Description of products or services offered
– Anticipated sales for each product or service
– Describes benefits of product or service to
customers
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Marketplace analysis
– Information about specific industry of which
business is a part
– Description of targeted customers
– Description of major competitors
– Overview of marketing and sales strategies
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Operational plan
– Describes a business’s physical location and
equipment
– Notes the manufacturing or service actions
needed to get products/services to market
– Summarizes Web site operations
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Financial plan
– Explains how your e-business idea, goals, and strategies
translate into profits
– Provides standard financial statements for income,
expense, and cash flow data
• Pro forma balance sheet
• Projected income statement
• Planned cash flow statement
– May include “deal plan,” break-even analysis, ratio
analysis
Business Plan Organization
(continued)
 Management plan
– Organizational structure of business
– Information on
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Key members of management team
Outside advisors
Mentors
Consultants
Business Plan Organization
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 Appendices
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Resumes
Pictures of products
Explanation of services
Legal documents
Other supporting documentation
Legal Forms of Organization
 Sole proprietorship
– Business started by an individual
– Owner and business are one in the same for tax
and legal liability issues
Legal Forms of Organization
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 Partnership
– Legal business entity with two or more co-owners
– Follows a partnership agreement
– General partnership: Tax and legal liabilities flow through
to individual partners
– Limited partnership
• General partner manages and assumes unlimited liability
• Limited partners have liability for amount of their capital
contribution and their accepted debt
Legal Forms of Organization
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 Corporation
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Separate legal and taxable entity from its owners
“C” corporation owners are it shareholders
Liability is limited to investment in business
Profits are taxed twice: once for the corporation and
again when distributed to owners as stock dividends
Legal Forms of Organization
(continued)
 Corporation (continued)
– “S” corporation gives owners partnership status and
corporate liability protection
 Limited liability company (LLC)
– Tax status of sole proprietorship or partnership
– Liability status of a corporation