What will your product be? Who will your customers be? Who are the owners? What do you think the future holds for your business and your industry?
others
Description
II. Executive Summary
Write this section last.
We
suggest that you make it two pages or fewer.
Include everything that you
would cover in a five‐minute interview.
Explain the fundamentals of
the proposed business: What will your
product be? Who will your customers be? Who are the owners? What do you think the
future holds for your business and
your industry?
Make
it enthusiastic, professional, complete, and concise.
If
applying for a loan, state
clearly how much you want, precisely how you are going to use it, and how the
money will make your business more profitable, thereby ensuring
repayment.
III. General Company
Description
What
business will you be in? What will
you do?
Mission Statement: Many companies have a brief
mission statement, usually in 30
words or fewer, explaining their
reason for being and their guiding principles. If you want to draft a mission statement,
this is a good place to put it in the
plan, followed by:
Company Goals and Objectives: Goals
are destinations—where you want your business to be. Objectives are progress
markers along the way to goal achievement. For example, a goal
might be to have a healthy,
successful company that is a leader in customer
service and that has a loyal customer following. Objectives might be
annual sales targets and some specific measures
of customer satisfaction.
Business Philosophy: What is
important to you in business?
To
whom will you market your products? (State it briefly here—you will do
a more thorough explanation in the Marketing Plan section).
Describe your
industry. Is it a growth industry?
What changes do you foresee in the industry, short term and long term?
How will your company be poised to take advantage of them?
Describe your most important company strengths
and core competencies. What factors will make the company succeed? What do you think your major competitive strengths will be? What background
experience, skills, and strengths do you
personally bring to this new venture?
Legal form of ownership: Sole proprietor, Partnership, Corporation, Limited liability
corporation (LLC)? Why have you selected this form?
