" Starting a Business "

The Industry (Descripttion of the Industry)

• Chief Characteristics
• The Participants
• Analyst Summaries
• Trends
• Growth Rate and Key Growth Factors

Product and Related Services

• Product/Service Descripttion
• Facilities Descripttion
• Proprietary Features
• Future Development Plans
• Product Liability

Technology: Research and Development

• Concept Development
• Research, Testing, and Evaluation
• Milestones and Breakthroughs
• Current Status and Continuing R & D

Market Analysis

• Target Market and Characteristics
  • Market Scope
  • Market Segmentation
  • Market Barriers
  • Market Demand
• Analyst Summaries
• Market Share, Trends, and Growth Potential
• Sales, Distribution, and Profits by Product/Service

Competitive Analysis

• Competitors' Profile
• Product/Service Comparison
• Market Niche and Share
• Comparison of Strengths and Weaknesses

Marketing Strategy

• Penetration Goals
• Pricing and Packaging
• Sales and Distribution
• Service and Warranty Policies
• Advertising, Public Relations, and Promotions

Manufacturing Process and Operations

• Location
• Facilities and Equipment
• Manufacturing Process and Operations
• Labor Considerations
• Environmental and Economic Impact

Management and Ownership

• Key People and Experience
• Board of Directors
• Ownership Distribution and Incentives
• Professional Support Services

Administration, Organization, and Personnel

• Administrative Procedures and Controls
• Staffing and Training
• Organizational Chart
• Management Control Systems

Milestones, Schedule, and Strategic Planning

• Major Milestones (What/Why)
• Schedule (When/Who)
• Strategic Planning (How/Where)

Critical Risks and Problems

• Summary of Major Problems Overcome
• Inevitable Risks and Problems
• Potential Risks and Problems
• Worst-Case Scenarios

Financial Data

• Funding Request/Terms of Investment
• Sources and Application of Funds
• Capital Equipment List
• Real Estate Purchase (or Lease Agreement)
• Insurance Coverage
• Current Financial Statements
  • Balance Sheet
  • Profit & Loss Statement
• Aged Accounts Receivables
• Aged Accounts Payable
• Detail on Term Debt
• Breakeven Analysis
• Personal Financial Statements
• Company Federal Income Tax Returns (3 years)
• Personal Federal Income Tax Returns (3 years)

Financial Projections

• Pro Forma Income Statement - First Five Years
• Pro Forma Income Statement - First Year (by month)
• Pro Forma Income Statement - Second Year (by month)
• Assumptions to Projected Income Statement
• Pro Forma Cash Flow Budget - First Five Years
• Pro Forma Cash Flow Budget - First Year (by month)
• Pro Forma Cash Flow Budget - Second Year (by month)
• Assumptions to Projected Cash Flow Budget
• Pro Forma Balance Sheets - First Five Years
• Pro Forma Income Statement - Worst Case

Appendixes

• Store Layout - Customer Flow / Plant Layout - Work Flow
• Marketing Studies, Growth in Industry, Marketing Data
• (Magazine, newspaper, trade journal articles)
• Engineering Studies
• Sales Catalogs or Sales Brochures
• Advertising
• Copy of Store or Factory Lease
• Licensing Information
• Illustrations or Photos of Products, Equipment, and Facilities
• Copy of Existing Customer Contracts or Letters of Intent
• Prior Years' Financial Statements (2 years)
• Copy of Patent, Patent Search or Patent Application
• Partnership Agreement or Employment Contracts
• References and Letters of Recommendation

BUSINESS PLANS AND FINANCING PROPOSALS

The key to getting business loans

If you're starting your own company, or have been in business for only a short time or expanding your existing business, you will need money. The next step is to prepare a detailed strategic plan, a business plan for your business. The purpose of the business plan is to enable a prospective investor such as a bank or venture capital company to understand where your company is today, where you believe it is going (where it will be in three to five years), and how you believe it will get there. A business plan is a written statement that describes and analyzes your business and gives detailed projections about its future. A business plan also covers the the financial aspects of starting or expanding your business - how much you need and how you'll pay it back.

There are other benefits derived from having a written business plan:

1. You, as the prospective business owner, are the most important person you must convince of the soundness of your proposal. Although designed to provide answers to all the questions that prospective lenders and investors will ask, it also teaches you how money flows through your business (about 35% to 40% of the people currently in business do not know how money flows through their business), what are the strengths and weaknesses in your business concept and what are your realistic chances of success.

2. Writing a plan allows you to see how changing parts of the plan increases profits or accomplishes other goals. You can try out different alternatives on your financial projections.

3. It will help you keep on track. A written business plan give you a clear course toward the future and makes your decision making easier. Some problems and opportunities may represent a change of direction worth following, while others may be distractions that referring to your business plan will enable you to avoid.

If you are going to build a successful company, you need a detailed design to work by as much as you do when building a house. As the plan is being prepared, many problems will be revealed that can be solved at the beginning, at far less cost in time and money than it would take to solve them later on. In summary, it improves your odds of success.

A well-written business plan is comprehensive, with information grouped into logical sections. It should be easy to read. It should conform to generally accepted guidelines of form and content. The points that must be addressed by your plan are outlined as follows:

• Statement of purpose and summary.

• General descripttion of business.

• Market analysis.

• Market strategy.

• Design and development plans.

• Operations plan.

• Management structure.

• Timetables and schedules.

• Financial data.

• Supporting information.

  SBA materials (if applicable )

   

   

You must think about what kind of business you have, what you need, and what is critical to your business and your overall goals, targets, and objectives. Be specific about time when you describe your targets. Be clear about the scope and limit of your business.

Writing a good plan, one with a reasonable chance of acquiring funding, requires the assistance of people with legal, financial (to structure the financials), and accounting (to compile the income and balance sheets) expertise. The business plan will not only assist you in obtaining funding, it will also force you to take a logical view of your business and to develop a

"road map" for the future.

4 4 4 4

Qualified assistance in preparing your business plan or financing proposal is harder to find than you might think. Relatively few people, even long-time accountants and lawyers, are experienced with financing proposals. In fact, very few people see more than one or two financing proposals during their entire business careers. Of those few who do see several plans, fewer still possess the creative skills necessary to prepare a financing package. There's a lot more to it than merely taking a bunch of numbers and putting them together into a financial projection. You must create an atmosphere of intelligence and credibility.

So how do you find the right expert? Look for someone who specializes in this area. Good accountant/financial consultants will question you just as thoroughly as an investor would. They will help you develop the documentation for the assumptions accompanying your projections. They will examine the methodology you used to develop your conclusions about your market and help you determine the adequacy and accuracy of those conclusions. They are also able to write an intelligent and readable project descripttion and help with the other parts of your financing proposal. Good accountant/financial consultants are more than merely "numbers persons."

thnx a lot for sharing.......

tahnks for sharing

nice n very informative

Thanks

thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing..

THANKS FOR SUPPORT