EASBSC-Business Plan Template for a Start-up Business

Introduction

This new business plan serves several functions. It can help persuade EASBSC's founding
members, key stakeholders, or financial institutions (lenders) to fund our venture. It can also
convince potential partners to join our company, and most importantly, it serves as a roadmap
for the launch and growth of our new businesses. Setting our business plan clearly is an
opportunity to carefully consider every step of our activity in order to achieve success. It is
critical to identify any strengths and weaknesses in our business concept, as well as
opportunities that should be exploited. A good business plan is concise and clear. In line with
this assumption, every responsible person, especially department heads, must act quickly in
order to make our dream a reality. Remember our company's motto: "Big dream, start small
and act now," not for talk but for work.

NB:This template should be completed and returned promptly!

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Confidentiality Agreement

The undersigned reader acknowledges that any information provided by EASBSC in this
business plan, other than information in the public domain, is confidential in nature and that
the reader's disclosure or use of same may cause serious harm or damage to our company. As
a result, the undersigned agrees not to disclose it without the express written permission of
EASBSC's CEO and/or top management. The undersigned reader will promptly return this
document to the corporate marking department upon request.

___________________

Signature

___________________

Name

___________________

Date

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1. Instructions: Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Often, it’s the
only part that a prospective stakeholders or lender reads before deciding whether or not to
read the rest of your plan. It should convey your enthusiasm for your business idea and
get readers excited about it, too. Write your Executive Summary LAST, after you have
completed the rest of the business plan. That way, you’ll have thought through all the
elements of your start up and be prepared to summarize them.

The Executive Summary should briefly explain each of the below.

1. An overview of your business idea (one or two sentences). 2. A description of your

product and/or service. What problems are you solving for your target customers? 3.
Your goals for the business. Where do you expect the business to be in one year, three
years, five years? 4. Your proposed target market. Who are your ideal customers? 5.
Your competition and what differentiates your business. Who are you up against, and
what unique selling proposition will help you succeed? 6. Your management team and
their prior experience. What do they bring to the table that will give your business a
competitive edge? 7. Financial outlook for the business. If you’re using the business
plan for financing purposes, explain exactly how much money you want, how you
will use it, and how that will make your business more profitable. Limit your
Executive Summary to one or two pages in total. After reading the Executive
Summary, readers should have a basic understanding of your business, should be
excited about its potential, and should be interested enough to read further. After
you’ve completed your business plan, come back to this section to write your
executive summary on the next page.
2. Instructions: Company Description

This section explains the basic elements of your business. Include each of the below:

2.1 Company mission statement

2.2 Company philosophy and vision Presenat ivas.
2.3 Company goals Specify your long- and short-term
2.4 Target market You will cover this in-depth in the Marketing Plan section
2.5 Industry Describe your industry and what makes your business competitive:

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2.6 Legal structure a. Is your business a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership or
corporation? Why did you choose this particular form of business? b. If there is more
than one owner, explain how ownership is divided. If you have investors, explain the
percentage of shares they own.

Company Description Worksheet

Business
Name
Company
Mission
Statement

Company
Philosophy
/ Values

Company
Vision
Goals &
Milestones

Target
market

Industry/
Competitor

Legal
Structure/
Ownership

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3. Instructions: Products & Services

This section expands on the basic information about our products and services included in
the Executive Summary and Company Description. Here are some items to consider:

3.1 Your company’s products and/or services: What do you sell, and how is it
manufactured or provided? Include details of relationships with suppliers,
manufacturers and/or partners that are essential to delivering the product or service to
customers
3.2 The problem the product or service solves
3.3 What are its benefits, features and unique selling proposition
3.4 Any proprietary features that give you a competitive advantage
3.5 How you will price your product or service: Describe the pricing, fee, subscription or
leasing structure of your product or service. How does your product or service fit into
the competitive landscape in terms of pricing—are you on the low end, mid-range or
high end? How will that pricing strategy help you attract customers? What is your
projected profit margin?

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Product & Service Description Worksheet

Business Name
Product/
Service Idea

Special Benefits

Unique Features

Limits and
Liabilities

Production and
Deliver

Suppliers

Intellectual
Property
Special Permits

Product/
Service
Description

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 4. Instructions: Marketing Plan

This section provides details on your industry, the competitive landscape, your target market
and how you will market your business to those customers. There are two kinds of market
research: primary and secondary. Primary market research is information you gather yourself.
This could include going online or driving around town to identify competitors; interviewing
or surveying people who fit the profile of your target customers. Secondary market research
is information from sources such as trade organizations and journals, magazines and
newspapers, Census data and demographic profiles. You can find this information online, at
libraries, from chambers of commerce, from vendors who sell to your industry or from
government agencies.

This section of your plan should explain:

4.1 The total size of your industry • Trends in the industry – is it growing or shrinking?,
The total size of your target market, and what share is realistic for you to obtain,
Trends in the target market – is it growing or shrinking? How are customer needs or
preferences changing?
4.2 Barriers to entry what barriers to entry does your start up face, and how do you plan to
overcome them? Barriers to entry might include: • High start-up costs • High
production costs • High marketing costs • Brand recognition challenges • Finding
qualified employees • Need for specialized technology or patents • Tariffs and quotas
• Unionization in your industry
4.3 . Threats and opportunities Once your business surmounts the barriers to entry you
mentioned, what additional threats might it face? Explain how the following could
affect your start up: • Changes in government regulations • Changes in technology •
Changes in the economy • Changes in your industry

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 SWOT Analysis Worksheet

Product/ Service
Offering

Brand/ Marketing

Staff/HR

Finance

Operations/
Management

Market

5. Product/service features and benefits

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5.1 Describe all of your products or services, being sure to focus on the customer’s point of
view. For each product or service: • Describe the most important features. What is special
about it? • Describe the most important benefits. What does it do for the customer? In this
section, explain any after-sale services you plan to provide, such as: • Product delivery •
Warranty/guarantee • Service contracts • Ongoing support • Training • Refund policy

5.2 Target customer Describe your target customer. (This is also known as the ideal customer
or buyer persona.) You may have more than one target customer group. For instance, if you
sell a product to consumers through distributors, such as retailers, you have at least two kinds
of target customers: the distributors (businesses) and the end users (consumers). Identify your
target customer groups, and create a demographic profile for each group that includes.

5.3 Key competitors-One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a business plan is to claim
you have “no competition.” Every business has competitors. Your plan must show that
you’ve identified yours and understand how to differentiate your business. This section
should: List key companies that compete with you (including names and locations), products
that compete with yours and/or services that compete with yours. Do they compete across the
board, or just for specific products, for certain customers or in certain geographic areas? Also
include indirect competitors.

Competitor Data Collection Plan

Price

Benefits/Features

Size/profitability

Market strategy

Competitive Analysis Worksheet For each factor listed in the first column, assess whether
you think it’s a strength or a weakness (S or W) for your business and for your competitors.

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Then rank how important each factor is to your target customer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = very
important; 5 = not very important). Use this information to explain your competitive
advantages and disadvantages.

Me Competitor Competitor B Competitor C Importance

A to Customer
Products
Price
Quality
Selection
Service
Reliability
Stability
Expertise
Company
Reputation
Location
Advertising
Sales Method
Appearance
Credit
Policies
Image

6. Positioning/Niche
6.1 Now that you’ve assessed your industry, product/service, customers and competition,
you should have a clear understanding of your business’s niche (your unique segment
of the market) as well as your positioning (how you want to present your company to
customers). Explain these in a short paragraph.
6.2 How you will market your product/service In this section, explain the marketing and
advertising tactics you plan to use. Advertising may include: • Online • Print • Radio •
Cable television • Out-of-home Which media will you advertise in, why and how
often? Marketing may include: • Business website • Social media marketing • Email

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 marketing • Mobile marketing • Search engine optimization • Content marketing •
Print marketing materials (brochures, flyers, business cards) • Public relations • Trade
shows • Networking • Word-of-mouth • Referrals
6.3 What image do you want to project for your business brand? What design elements
will you use to market your business? (This includes your logo, signage and interior
design.) Explain how they’ll support your brand.
6.4 Promotional budget How much do you plan to spend on the marketing and advertising
outreach above: • Before startup (These numbers will go into your startup budget) •
On an ongoing basis (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget)

7. Pricing

You explained pricing briefly in the “Products & Services” section; now it’s time to go
into more detail. How do you plan to set prices? Keep in mind that few small businesses
can compete on price without hurting their profit margins. Instead of offering the lowest
price, it’s better to go with an average price and compete on quality and service. • Does
your pricing strategy reflect your positioning? • Compare your prices with your
competitors’. Are they higher, lower or the same? Why? • How important is price to your
customers? It may not be a deciding factor. • What will your customer service and credit
policies be!

8. Location or proposed location

8.1 If you have a location picked out, explain why you believe this is a good location for
your startup. If you haven’t chosen a location yet, explain what you’ll be looking for
in a location and why, including: • Convenient location for customers • Adequate
parking for employees and customers • Proximity to public transportation or major
roads • Type of space (industrial, retail, etc.) • Types of businesses nearby Focus on
the location of your building, not the physical building itself. You’ll discuss that later,
in the Operations section.
8.2 Distribution channels- What methods of distribution will you use to sell your products
and/or services? These may include: • Retail • Direct sales • Ecommerce • Wholesale •
Inside sales force • Outside sales representatives
Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet

Distribution cannel Distribution cannel Distribution cannel

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 1 2 3
Ease of Entry

Geographic
Proximity

Competitors’
Positions

Management
Experience

Costs

Staffing Capabilities

Marketing Needs

9. 12-month sales forecast Download the Sales Forecast spreadsheet and use it to create a
month-by-month sales projection. If you’ve already made some sales, you can use those
as a basis for your projections. If, like most startups, you haven’t sold anything yet, you’ll
need to create estimates based on your market research, your proposed marketing
strategies and your industry data. Create two forecasts: a “best guess” scenario (what you
really expect) and a “worst case” scenario (one you’re confident you can reach no matter
what). Keep notes on the research and assumptions that go into developing these sales
forecasts. Financing sources will want to know what you based the numbers on.

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