(Note: this is an excerpt from The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, by Tim Berry.)

People seem to like getting into the mission statement, but I’m not sure it’s always such a good idea. There’s also the possibility of doing your mantra instead, and then some people talk about a vision statement, and of course there are also business objectives.

The underlying idea is sound. Let’s think about who we are, what we want, what we want to do for customers, employees, and so forth. Let’s use these words to define ourselves.

Before I go on, let’s distinguish between these different items:

• A mission statement should define what the business wants to do for at least three sets of people: customers, employees, and owners. It should not be just meaningless hype words.
• A mantra is a single phrase that defines a business. Guy Kawasaki, author of Art of the Start, recommends mantra instead of mission.
• A vision statement projects forward into time three or five years and presents a picture, like a dream, of how things should be. Usually a mission statement works best as a story about the future, with your business as the key element in the story. Where is it, what is it doing, how big is it, what’s special about it. This works for some businesses, but not all.
• Business objectives should be hard-baked, concrete, specific, and, above all, measurable. Objectives are like sales growth rates, employee headcount, customers in the database, percentages of gross margin or profitability, units sold, and so on.

Your mission statement is both opportunity and threat at the same time. It’s an opportunity to define your business at the most basic level. It should tell your company story and ideals in less than 30 seconds: who your company is, what you do, what you stand for, and why you do it. It’s a threat because it can be a complete waste of time.

A mission statement is a complete waste of time when it’s just meaningless phrases, hype that nobody can remember and doesn’t matter even if they do.

Most mission statements are essentially full of interchangeable, nice-sounding phrases like “excellence” and “leadership” that make all of them sound exactly the same. If you have a mission statement in your company, test it by asking yourself, honestly, whether your competitors could use exactly the same statement. Does it distinguish you from all other businesses? If you gave an employee or customer a blind screening test, asking her to read your your mission statement and four others without identifying which is which, would she be able to tell which mission statement was yours?

Consider instead the new trend, the idea of the Mantra. Guy Kawasaki writes an eloquent argument for the mantra instead of the mission in his book The Art of the Start (see sidebar, mission vs. mantra). At the very least, think about it.

Before you do the mission statement, make sure you’re going to use it. Will it actually set the underlying goals of the company? Will you refer to it as you develop and implement strategy? Will your team members know it and believe it and use it in practice?

Then, start to ask yourself the most important questions. Do you want to make a profit, or is it enough to just make a living? What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them? Do you solve a problem for your customers? What kind of internal work environment do you want for your employees? All of these issues may be addressed in a mission statement.

Basic guidelines in writing a mission statement

Your mission statement is about you, your company, and your ideals. Read other companies’ mission statements, but write a statement that is about you and not some other company. Make sure you actually believe in what you’re writing; your customers and your employees will soon spot a lie. I suggest three key components:

1. What are you doing for your customers? Let’s hope this is something that sets you apart, makes you different, and that your customers will recognize.
2. What are you doing for your employees? Fair compensation, good tools, professional development, encouragement, or whatever. If you’re serious about it, put it in the mission statement. If it’s in the mission statement, get serious about it.
3. What does the company do for its owners? Don’t apologize for needing profits to stay in business, or for generating return on investment for those who invested. Say it as part of your mission statement.

Don’t “box” yourself in. Your mission statement should be able to withstand the changes that come up over time in your product or service offerings, or customer base. A cardboard box company isn’t in the business of making cardboard boxes; it’s in the business of providing protection for items that need to be stored or shipped. The broader understanding helps them see the big picture.

Keep it short. The best mission statements tend to be three to four sentences long.

Ask for input. Run your mission statement draft by your employees. Is it clear and easily understood, or does it sound like something from the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator?

Aim for substance, not superlatives. Avoid saying how great you are, what great quality and what great service you provide.

What information needs to be in your business plan? What is the order of information that will make the most sense to lenders and investors? You can answer these questions with the business plan outlines provided below.

What are the standard elements of a business plan? If you do need a standard business plan to seek funding — as opposed to a plan-as-you-go approach for running your business, which I describe below — there are predictable contents of a standard business plan outline.

For example, a business plan normally starts with an Executive Summary, which should be concise and interesting. People almost always expect to see sections covering the Company, the Market, the Product, the Management Team, Strategy, Implementation, and Financial Analysis. The precise business plan format can vary.

Is the order important? If you have the main components, the order doesn’t matter that much, but here’s the sequence I suggest for a business plan. I have provided two outlines, one simple and the other more detailed.

Simple business plan outline

1. Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.
2. Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
3. Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.
4. Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
5. Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure you can track results.
6. Web Plan Summary: For e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales and marketing strategies.
7. Management Team: Describe the organization and the key management team members.
8. Financial Analysis: Make sure to include at the very least your projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.

Build your plan, then organize it. I don’t recommend developing the plan in the same order you present it as a finished document. For example, although the Executive Summary obviously comes as the first section of a business plan, I recommend writing it after everything else is done. It will appear first, but you write it last.

Standard tables and charts

There are also some business tables and charts that are normally expected in a standard business plan.

Cash flow is the single most important numerical analysis in a plan, and should never be missing. Most plans will also have Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss statements. I believe they should also have separate Personnel listings, projected Balance Sheet, projected Business Ratios, and Market Analysis tables.

I also believe that every plan should include bar charts and pie charts to illustrate the numbers.

Expanded business plan outline

Here’s an expanded full business plan outline, with details you might want to include in your own business plan.

1.0 Executive Summary
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Mission
1.3 Keys to Success

2.0 Company Summary
2.1 Company Ownership
2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or Start-up Plan (for new companies)
2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

3.0 Products and Services
3.1 Product and Service Description
3.2 Competitive Comparison
3.3 Sales Literature
3.4 Sourcing and Fulfillment
3.5 Technology
3.6 Future Products and Services

4.0 Market Analysis Summary
4.1 Market Segmentation
4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
4.2.1 Market Needs
4.2.2 Market Trends
4.2.3 Market Growth
4.3 Industry Analysis
4.3.1 Industry Participants
4.3.2 Distribution Patterns
4.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns
4.3.4 Main Competitors

5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary
5.1 Strategy Pyramids
5.2 Value Proposition
5.3 Competitive Edge
5.4 Marketing Strategy
5.4.1 Positioning Statements
5.4.2 Pricing Strategy
5.4.3 Promotion Strategy
5.4.4 Distribution Patterns
5.4.5 Marketing Programs
5.5 Sales Strategy
5.5.1 Sales Forecast
5.5.2 Sales Programs
5.6 Strategic Alliances
5.7 Milestones

6.0 Web Plan Summary
6.1 Website Marketing Strategy
6.2 Development Requirements

7.0 Management Summary
7.1 Organizational Structure
7.2 Management Team
7.3 Management Team Gaps
7.4 Personnel Plan

8.0 Financial Plan
8.1 Important Assumptions
8.2 Key Financial Indicators
8.3 Break-even Analysis
8.4 Projected Profit and Loss
8.5 Projected Cash Flow
8.6 Projected Balance Sheet
8.7 Business Ratios
8.8 Long-term Plan

Business plan outline advice

Size your business plan to fit your business. Remember that your business plan should be only as big as what you need to run your business. While everybody should have planning to help run a business, not everyone needs to develop a complete formal business plan suitable for submitting to a potential investor, or bank, or venture contest. So don’t include outline points just because they are on a big list somewhere, or on this list, unless you’re developing a standard business plan that you’ll be showing to somebody else who expects a standard business plan.

Consider plan-as-you-go business planning. I’ve done a lot of work on this idea lately, resulting in my new “Plan As You Go” business planning, which is a now a book published by Entrepreneur Press, available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Borders, and bundled as an eBook with Business Plan Pro. I’ve also added a short video here to the right, illustrating how the outline could be simpler with a new approach.

More business planning resources

Sometimes an outline just isn’t enough to write your business plan. Do you want to view sample business plans from real businesses? Would seeing a business plan template that banks prefer be useful to you? These valuable resources can help:

Sample business plans – Over 500 free sample business plans from various industries

Business plan template – This fill-in-the-blank business plan template is in the format preferred by the SBA and banks

Start a business – An easy to follow six-step process for starting a new business

Business Plan Pro – My company’s step-by-step software makes it fast and easy to create a business plan, regardless of your business planning experience

Your mission statement is an opportunity to define your business at the most basic level. It should tell your company story and ideals in less than 30 seconds: who your company is, what you do, what you stand for, and why you do it.

Do you want to make a profit, or is it enough to just make a living? What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them? Do you solve a problem for your customers? What kind of internal work environment do you want for your employees? All of these issues may be addressed in a mission statement.

Basic guidelines in writing a mission statement

Your mission statement is about you, your company, and your ideals. Read other companies’ mission statements, but write a statement that is about you and not some other company. Make sure you actually believe in what you’re writing; your customers and your employees will soon spot a lie.

Don’t “box” yourself in. Your mission statement should be able to withstand the changes that come up over time in your product or service offerings, or customer base. A cardboard box company isn’t in the business of making cardboard boxes; it’s in the business of providing protection for items that need to be stored or shipped. The broader understanding helps them see the big picture.

Keep it short. The best mission statements tend to be three to four sentences long.

Ask for input. Run your mission statement draft by your employees. Is it clear and easily understood, or does it sound like something from the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator?

Aim for substance, not superlatives. Avoid saying how great you are, what great quality and what great service you provide.

For more information on mission statements, see our sample mission statements below or use Business Plan Pro, which helps you write a mission statement as well as containing over 500 example mission statements.

Business Plan Software

Business Plan Pro If you’re looking for help with your mission statement or other parts of your business plan, Business Plan Pro can save you lots of time and headaches. It contains over 500 sample business plans which can be used to help create your own plan.

Sample Mission Statements

The links below take you to the mission statements of some of our sample business plans that were created with Business Plan Pro.

Studio 67 Mission Statement
Studio67 is a medium-sized restaurant focusing on organic foods and an intriguing atmosphere, in a prime neighborhood of Portland.


AMT Computers Mission Statement
AMT is an ongoing business computer reseller which also provides service and support.


JavaNet Internet Cafe Mission Statement
JavaNet is a start-up business that will provide a unique forum for communication and entertainment through the medium of the Internet.

• All Sample Plans

The executive summary section of a business plan is a summary of the highlights of your business plan. Even though the topic appears first in the printed document, most business plan developers leave the writing of the executive summary until the end. This summary is the doorway to the rest of the plan. Get it right or your target readers will not go further than the executive summary.

What should an executive summary include?

For a standard business plan, the first paragraph of the executive summary should generally include:

• Business name
• Business location
• What product or service you sell
• Purpose of the plan

Another paragraph should highlight important points, such as projected sales and profits, unit sales, profitability and keys to success. Include the news you don’t want anyone to miss. This is a good place to put a highlights chart, a bar chart that shows sales, gross margin, and profits before interest and taxes for the next three years. You should also cite and explain those numbers in the text.

Different plans require different summaries

An internal plan, such as an operations plan, annual plan, or strategic plan, doesn’t have to be as formal with its executive summary. Make the purpose of the plan clear, and make sure the highlights are covered, but you don’t necessarily need to repeat the location, product/service description, or other details.

Never waste words in a summary.

If you’re looking for investment, say so in your executive summary, and specify the investment amount required and the percent of equity ownership offered in return. You should probably also add some highlights of your management team and your competitive edge.

If you’re looking for a loan, say so in the executive summary, and specify the amount required. Leave loan details out of the summary.

How long should an executive summary be?

Experts differ on how long an executive summary should be. Some insist that it takes just a page or two, others recommend a more detailed summary, taking as much as ten pages, covering enough information to substitute for the plan itself. Although 50+ page business plans used to be common, investors and lenders these days expect a concise, focused plan.

The best length for an executive summary is a single page. Emphasize the main points of your plan and keep it brief. You are luring them in to read more of the plan, not explaining every detail.

Don’t confuse an executive summary with the summary memo. The executive summary is the first chapter in a business plan. A summary memo is a separate document, normally only 5-10 pages at most, which is used to substitute for the plan with people who aren’t ready to see the whole plan.

For more information on executive summaries, see our sample executive summaries below or use Business Plan Pro, which helps you write an executive summary as well as containing over 500 executive summary examples.

Business Plan Software

Business Plan Pro If you’re looking for help with the executive summary or other parts of your business plan, Business Plan Pro can save you lots of time and headaches. It contains over 500 sample business plans which can be used to help create your own plan.

Sample Executive Summaries

The links below take you to the executive summary of some of our sample business plans that were created with Business Plan Pro.

Studio 67 Executive Summary
Studio67 is a medium-sized restaurant focusing on organic foods and an intriguing atmosphere, in a prime neighborhood of Portland.


AMT Computers Executive Summary
AMT is an ongoing business computer reseller which also provides service and support.


Javanet Internet Cafe Executive Summary
JavaNet is a start-up business that will provide a unique forum for communication and entertainment through the medium of the Internet.

• Browse sample business plans

Most businesses need financing. Cash flow is different from profits, so profits don’t guarantee money in the bank. There’s financing needed to manage starting costs, inventory, waiting to get paid, and other factors. Much of that is what we lump together as “working capital.”

Most people think of financing as debt, borrowed money. In this context it also includes investment capital. Either debt or investment is outside financing that helps a business meet expenses and grow. While some smaller businesses get by without financing, and even some medium and large businesses that are mature and stable and conservatively managed can get by without financing, most businesses need some outside money to get started, to expand, and to supply their regular needs for working capital. (Working capital, by the way, normally means cash in the bank to cover cash flow deficits caused by normal flow of the business. Technically, it is current assets less current liabilities. )

Your business plan should tell you whether or not you need financing, and how much. The plan should estimate cash flow for your company and if cash flow is negative for any good reason – and there are good reasons – then you plan to add money as either loans or investment. The most common reason for needing financing, by far, is “Accounts Receivable.” That is the accounting term for the amount of money a business is waiting to receive from customers for sales already made but not paid for. Most business-to-business sales involve delivering an invoice and waiting to get paid. Businesses that sell this way have to deal with collecting money owed, and while they wait to collect, they have bills to pay. Therefore, they need financing.

Another common reason for financing is paying for inventory. To sell things you need to buy them first. Often you have to pay for your inventory before you sell it. That means you need financial resources to deal with pay cycles.

Start-up businesses often need financing to cover their initial costs and expenses while they are starting, before they can start selling.

A correct business plan process will point out the gaps that need to be filled with financing. For a start-up company, use the plan to help calculate needs and early expenses and the early deficits as the company gets started, and then plan to fill those needs with borrowed money or investment. If you can’t get enough funding to cover the needs, then you must either change the plan to reduce the needs, or don’t start the company. For an ongoing company, use the plan to calculate cash flow from normal operations, and turn to financing as needed to support working capital requirements.

Don’t be surprised by needing financing. Most businesses do. Some smaller, cash-only businesses get by without financing. They sell for cash, buy in cash, and don’t spend what they don’t have. It’s easier to get by without financing as a service business than a product-based business, because you don’t have to deal with inventory. A home office is less likely to need financing than a business location you rent. A one-employee-business is less likely to need financing than a business needing employees.

Expert opinions may vary, but in general there are some standard analyses that a business plan ought to have, regardless of specifics. You can find detailed discussions of each of these online in Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning, but let’s discuss here what probably ought to be included in a business plan.

• Cash flow is the most important. Businesses run on cash. No business plan is complete without a cash flow plan.
• Profit and loss, incorporating sales, cost of sales, operating expenses, and profits. This of course is also a pro forma income statement. In most cases it should show sales less cost of sales as gross margin, and gross margin less operating expenses as profit before interest and taxes (also called gross profit, and contribution to overhead). Normally there is also a projection of interest, taxes, and net profits.
• Pro-forma balance sheet: Aside from cash and income, there is the balance of assets, liabilities, and capital.
• Sales forecast: The form may vary to suit the business, but it is hard to imagine a plan without a sales forecast. Some plans forecast in excruciating detail, some summarize, but the forecast should be there. In the simplest of plans, the sales forecast might be a single line in the pro-forma income statement.
• Personnel plan: Personnel costs are so intimately related to fixed costs that they should often be set aside and discussed. In some simple plans, they too, like the sales forecast, can be just a line or two in the income statement.
• Business ratios: The numbers are there, when there is pro-forma income, cash, and balance sheet, so the ratios can be calculated. This isn’t as necessary for an internal plan as for one for bankers and investors, but some key ratios are almost always a good idea. They should probably include some profitability ratios like gross margin, return on sales, return on assets, and return on investment; plus some liquidity ratios such as debt to equity, current ratio, and working capital. You already know which ratios you like to use, and how to calculate them. A banker will have a similar view.
• Break-even analysis: Most of the break-even analyses included with business plans have little value, but most bankers and analysts like to see them.
• Market forecast: Aside from the sales forecast, which is essential, a market forecast is also a good idea. How many potential customers are there? How does market growth stand to impact this business?

Milestones
The Milestones table is one of the most important in your business plan. It sets the plan into practical, concrete terms, with real budgets, deadlines, and management responsibilities. It helps you focus as you are writing your business plan, and then, the Milestones table and plan-vs.-actual management analysis helps you implement your plan as you grow your business.

Put some bite into your plan and management by listing specific actions to be taken. Each action becomes a milestone. This is where a business plan becomes a real plan, with specific and measurable activities, instead of just a document.

Set as many milestones as you can think of to make it more complete. Give each milestone the following:

Then make sure that all your people know that you will be following the plan, tracking the milestones, and analyzing the plan-vs-actual results. If you don’t follow up, your plan will not be implemented.

Sort the milestones
You can sort the Milestones table on Start Date, End Date, Budget, Manager, etc. This sorting is intended to facilitate real management. For example, before a meeting with all managers, sort the Milestones table by date to get all the relevant milestones for that time period. Are you on budget? On time? Do you need to make any corrections?

Sort the Milestones on Manager to highlight the activities of each manager. This can help you identify problem areas…who is on target, who needs support, extra resources, or assertive encouragement?

The value of a plan is measured in its implementation.

The Milestones should be one of the most important sections of the entire business plan. Each marketing and sales-related program you plan should be listed in the table and explained in the accompanying text, along with relevant details. You want to cement your sales strategy with programs that make it real.

In the illustration you see columns for evaluating the actual results and the difference between plan and actual results, for each program.

When you are starting a business and writing the business plan you need to know about your industry and business environment. You also need to explain the type of business you’re in. You’ll be expected to explain the general state of your industry and the nature of the business, especially if your plan is going outside your company to banks or investors.

Whether you’re a service business, manufacturer, retailer, or some other type of business, you should do an Industry Analysis, describing:

• Industry Participants
• Distribution Patterns
• Competition and Buying Patterns

Industry analysis
Everything in your industry that happens outside of your business will effect your company. The more you know about your industry the more advantage and protection you will have.

A complete business plan discusses general industry economics, participants, distribution patterns, factors in the competition, and whatever else describes the nature of this business to outsiders.

The Internet has had an enormous impact on the state of business information. Finding information isn’t really the problem any more, after the information explosion and the huge growth in the Internet beginning in the 1990s and continuing in the 21st Century. Even 10 or 15 years ago, dealing with information was more a problem of sorting through it all than of finding raw data. That generality is more true every day. There are Web sites for business analysis, financial statistics, demographics, trade associations, and just about everything you’ll need for a complete business plan.

Industry participants
You should know who else sells in your market. You can’t easily describe a type of business without describing the nature of the participants. There is a huge difference, for example, between an industry like broadband television services, in which there are only a few huge companies in any one country, and one like dry cleaning, in which there are tens of thousands of smaller participants.

This can make a big difference to a business and a business plan. The restaurant industry, for example, is what we call “pulverized,” which, like the dry cleaning industry, is made up of many small participants. The fast food business, on the other hand, is composed of a few national brands participating in thousands of branded outlets, many of them franchised.

Economists talk of consolidation in an industry as a time when many small participants tend to disappear and a few large players emerge. In accounting, for example, there are a few large international firms whose names are well known and tens of thousands of smaller firms. The automobile business is composed of a few national brands participating in thousands of branded dealerships. In computer manufacturing, for example, there are a few large international firms whose names are well known, and thousands of smaller firms.

Distribution patterns
Products and services can follow many paths between suppliers and users. Explain how distribution works in your industry. Is this an industry in which retailers are supported by regional distributors, as is the case for computer products, magazines, or auto parts? Does your industry depend on direct sales to large industrial customers? Do manufacturers support their own direct sales forces, or do they work with product representatives?

Some products are almost always sold through retail stores to consumers, and sometimes these are distributed by distribution companies that buy from manufacturers. In other cases, the products are sold directly from manufacturers to stores. Some products are sold directly from the manufacturer to the final consumer through mail campaigns, national advertising, or other promotional means.

In many product categories there are several alternatives, and distribution choices are strategic. Encyclopedias and vacuum cleaners are traditionally sold door-to-door, but are also sold in stores and direct from manufacturer to consumer through radio and television ads.

Many products are distributed through direct business-to-business sales, and in long-term contracts such as the ones between car manufacturers and their suppliers of parts, materials, and components. In some industries companies use representatives, agents, or commissioned salespeople.

Technology can change the patterns of distribution in an industry or product category. The Internet, for example, is changing the options for software distribution, books, music, and other products. Cable communication is changing the options for distributing video products and video games.

Distribution patterns may not be as critical to most service companies, because distribution is normally about physical distribution of specific physical products such as a restaurant, graphic artist, professional services practice, or architect.

For a few services, distribution may still be relevant. A phone service or cable provider, or an Internet provider, might describe distribution related to physical infrastructure. Some publishers may prefer to treat their business as a service rather than a manufacturing company, and in that case distribution may also be relevant.

Competition and buying patterns
It is essential to understand the nature of competition in your market. This is still in the general area of describing the industry, or type of business. Explain the general nature of competition in this business, and how the customers seem to choose one provider over another. What are the keys to success? What buying factors make the most difference–Price? Product features? Service? Support? Training? Software? Delivery dates? Are brand names important?

In the computer business, for example, competition might depend on reputation and trends in one part of the market, and on channels of distribution and advertising in another. In many business-to-business industries, the nature of competition depends on direct selling, because channels are impractical. Price is vital in products competing with each other on retail shelves, but delivery and reliability might be much more important for materials used by manufacturers in volume, for which a shortage can affect an entire production line.

In the restaurant business, for example, competition might depend on reputation and trends in one part of the market, and on location and parking in another.

In many professional service practices the nature of competition depends on word of mouth, because advertising is not completely accepted. Is there price competition between accountants, doctors, and lawyers? How do people choose travel agencies or florists for weddings? Why does someone hire one landscape architect over another? Why choose Starbucks, a national brand, over the local coffee house? All of this is the nature of competition.

Main competitors
Do a very complete analysis of your main competitors. List the main competitors. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Consider their products, pricing, reputation, management, financial position, channels of distribution, brand awareness, business development, technology, or other factors that you feel are important. In what segments of the market do they operate? What seems to be their strategy? How much do they impact your products, and what threats and opportunities do they represent?

A complete business plan describes what you sell: either products, services, or both. This part of the plan is mainly description. Sometimes it will include tables that provide more details, such as a bill of materials or detailed price lists. More frequently, however, this section is mainly text. It normally appears in the plan, after the company description, but before the market analysis.

Detailed description
List and describe the products or services you sell. For each business offering, cover the main points, including what the product or service is, how much it costs, what sorts of customers make purchases, and why. What customer need does each product or service line fill? You might not want or need to include every product or service in the list, but at least consider the main sales lines.

It is always a good idea to think in terms of customer needs and customer benefits as you define your product offerings, rather than thinking of your side of the equation–how much the product or service costs, and how you deliver it to the customer.

As you list and describe your sales lines, you may run into one of the serendipitous benefits of good business planning, which is generating new ideas. Describe your product offerings in terms of customer types and customer needs, and you’ll often discover new needs and new kinds of customers to cover. This is the way ideas are generated.

Competitive comparison
Use this topic for a general comparison of your offering as one of several choices a potential buyer can make. Use a separate topic, in the market analysis section, for detailed comparison of strengths and weaknesses of your specific competitors.

You should discuss how your product lines and retail offering compare in general to the others. For example, your outdoor store might offer better ski equipment than others, or perhaps it is located next to the slopes and caters to rental needs. Your jewelry store might be mid-range in price but well known for proficiency in appraisals, remounts, and renovation. Your hobby shop has by far the largest selection of model trains and airplanes.

In other words, in this topic you want to discuss how you are positioned in the market. Why do people buy from your business instead of from others in the same market? What do you offer, at what price, to whom, and how does your mix compare to others? Think about specific kinds of benefits, features, and market groups, comparing where you think you can show the difference. Describe the important competitive features of your products and/or services. Do you sell better features, better price, better quality, better service, or some other factor?

Sourcing and fulfillment
Explain your product sourcing and the cost of fulfilling your service. Manufacturers and assemblers should present spreadsheet output showing standard costs and overhead. Distributors should present discount and margin structures. Service companies should present costs of fulfilling service obligations.

For example, sourcing is extremely important to a manufacturing company. Your vendors determine your standard costs and hold the key to continued operation. Analyze your standard costs and the materials or services you purchase as part of your manufacturing operation. Look for strengths and weaknesses.

Manufacturing companies want to have ample information about resource planning and sourcing of vital materials, especially if you are preparing a plan for outsiders, such as bankers or investors, or for business valuation. In this case, you may have additional documentation you can copy and attach as appendices, perhaps even contracts with important suppliers, standard cost breakdowns, bills of materials, and other information.

Where materials are particularly vital to your manufacturing, you might discuss whether second sources or alternative sources are available, and whether or not you use them or maintain relationships with them. This is also a good time to look at your sourcing strategy, and whether or not you can improve your business by improving your product sourcing.

But sourcing is not just for product-based companies. For example, a professional service company, such as an accounting practice, medical practice, law practice, management consulting firm, or graphic design firm, is normally going to provide the service by employing professionals. In this case, the cost is mainly the salaries of those professionals. Other service businesses are quite different. The travel agency provides a service through a combination of knowledge, rights, and infrastructure, including computer systems and databases. The Internet provider or telephone company provides a service by owning and maintaining a network of communications infrastructure. A restaurant is a service business whose costs are a combination of salaries (for kitchen and table waiting) and food costs.

Technology
Once technology changed lives only when the next wave of invaders swept across the Mesopotamian farmlands. Now technology can change our lives as we read the morning paper. Explain how technology affects your business, the products you sell, the means you use to sell them, and the needs of the customers you serve.

In some cases this might be a change in scanning technology, retail point-of-sale systems, or even video displays. In others, technology changes the nature of the goods or services you sell, such as cellular phones or DVD videos that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Do you want to include the Internet? Will a Web site change the way you do business?

Sometimes, technology can be vital to a service company, such as the case of the Internet provider that uses wireless connections as a competitive edge, or the local company that offers conference rooms for video conferencing. An accounting practice might gain a competitive advantage from proprietary software or wide-area network connections to its clients. A medical laboratory might depend completely on certain expensive technologies for medical diagnostics. A travel agency might depend on its connection to an airline reservation system.

Technology can be critical to a manufacturing business in at least two ways: first, the technology involved in assembly or manufacturing, such as in the manufacture of computer chips; and second, the technology incorporated in your product, such as proprietary technology that enhances the value of the product. In either case, technology can be a critical competitive edge. If you are writing a plan for outsiders, then you need to describe the technology and how well or thoroughly you have the technology protected in your business, through contracts, patents, and other protection.

Technology might be a negative factor, something to be included in a plan because a threat should be dealt with. For example, that same travel agency that depends on a computerized reservation system might also note growing competition from Internet reservations systems available to consumers who prefer to buy direct.

Not all businesses depend on technology. Technology might also be irrelevant for your business. If so, you can delete this topic if it doesn’t seem important.

Future products
Now you want to present your outlook for future products or services. Do you have a long-term product strategy? How are products developed? Is there a relationship between market segments, market demand, market needs, and product development?

Here again, what you include depends on the nature of your plan. In some cases future products are the most important point for investors looking to buy into your company’s future. On the other hand, a bank is not going to lend you money for product development or hopes for future products; so in a plan accompanying a Loan Application, there would probably be much less stress on this point.

You may also need to deal with the issue of confidentiality. When a business plan includes sensitive information on future products, then it should be carefully monitored, with good documentation of who receives copies of the plan. Recipients might reasonably be asked to sign non-disclosure statements and those statements should be kept on file.

Sales literature
It is generally a good idea to include specific pieces of sales literature and collateral as attachments or appendices to your plan. Examples would be copies of advertisements, brochures, direct mail pieces, catalogs, and technical specifications. When a plan is presented to someone outside the company, sales literature is a practical way to both explain your services and present the look and feel of the company.

If it is relevant for your business, you should also use this topic to discuss your present situation regarding company literature and your future plans. Is your sales literature a good match to your services and the image your company wants to present? How is it designed and produced? Could you improve it significantly, or cut the cost, or add additional benefits?

Depending on the purpose of your plan, you should provide good, practical information on the products or services you sell. Give your plan readers what they will need to evaluate the plan. Make sure they understand the need you serve, how well you satisfy that need, and why your customers buy from you instead of somebody else. Ideally, the descriptions in this chapter make your sales forecast seem realistic and even conservative.

Start your business plan with a quick assessment. Even for an ongoing business, take the time to step away from the business and look at the basics. Do your business numbers make sense? One of my business school professors used to refer to this process as finding out “is there a there there?”

Objectives
Objectives are business goals. Set your market share objectives, sales objectives, and profit objectives. Companies need to set objectives and plan to achieve them.

Make sure your objectives are concrete and measurable. Be specific, such as achieving a given level of sales or profits, a percentage of gross margin, a growth rate, or a market share. Don’t use generalities like “being the best” or “growing rapidly.”

For example, “being the best” or “maximize customer satisfaction” are not serious business plan objectives because they cannot really be measured. Much better objectives would set measurable goals, such as holding gross margin to 25 percent as a minimum, or selling more than $3 million, or achieving six percent profit on sales and 10 percent return on equity.

If less tangible goals are critical to a plan, find a way to measure them. For example, if image and awareness are vital, then plan for statistically valid surveys to measure the improvements in image and awareness. You can also set goals for market share, and purchase research to measure the actual share. Or, if you want to focus on customer satisfaction, plan for a survey to quantify satisfaction or specify numerical objectives regarding returns or complaints.

Mission statement
Use the mission statement to define your business concept. A company mission statement should define underlying goals (such as making a profit) and objectives in broad strategic terms, including what market is served and what benefits are offered.

• What business you are in—Ask yourself what business you are in, and don’t narrow yourself down. One of the classic business examples is the railroads, which lost a chance to expand in the twentieth century because they misdefined themselves. They thought they were in the business of running trains on tracks. They didn’t understand they were in the business of transporting goods and people. When trucks and buses and highways grew, the railroads were left behind.My company, Palo Alto Software, is not in the business of software development. It is in the business of helping people do business plans by themselves, providing business know-how through software and documentation. The broader definition helps us understand what we’re up to.
• Customer satisfaction—Leading experts in developing customer satisfaction look to a mission statement to define customer satisfaction goals. Developing customer care programs depends on spreading the idea and importance within a company. That should normally start with a statement included in your mission statement.
• Workplace philosophy—Some mission statements also define internal goals, such as maintaining a creative work environment and building respect for diversity. Experts in employee relations look immediately to a mission statement for a definition of a company’s stand on some of these fundamental issues.
• Value-based marketing—Experts developed the value-based marketing framework to help companies understand their business better. This framework starts with a business value proposition, which states what benefits a business offers, to whom, and at what relative price level. For example:
  • This automobile manufacturer offers reliable, safe automobiles for families at a relative price premium.
  • This fast food restaurant offers quick and consistent lunches at a low price.

Keys to success
Focusing on what I call “keys to success” is a good idea for getting a better view of the priorities in your business. Just about any business imaginable is going to depend a lot on three or four most important factors. In a retail business, for example, the classic joke is that the keys to success are “location, location, and location.” In truth, that might be location, convenient parking, and low prices. A computer store’s keys to success might be knowledgeable salespeople, major brands, and newspaper advertising.

Focus is very important, and the keys to success framework helps you develop focus. There is what I call a law of inverse focus. I can’t prove it with detailed research but I’ve seen it many times. Beyond three or four key items, the more items on a priority list, the less chance of implementation. Thinking about keys to success is a great way to focus on the main elements that make your business work.

Break-even analysis
Next comes a simple Break-even Analysis table, as shown in the next illustration, where you estimate when your business will actually begin to make money. The Break-even Analysis table calculates a break-even point based on fixed costs, variable costs per unit of sales, and revenue per unit of sales.

Make the following three simple assumptions:

1. Average per-unit sales price (per-unit revenue): The price that you charge per unit. Take into account sales discounts and special offers. For non-unit based businesses, make the per-unit revenue $1 and enter your costs as a percent of a dollar.
2. Average per-unit cost: The incremental cost of each unit of sale. If you are using a Units-Based Sales Forecast table (for manufacturing and mixed business types), you can project unit costs from the Sales Forecast table. If you are using the basic Sales Forecast table for retail, service and distribution businesses, use a percentage estimate. For example, a retail store running a 50% margin would have a per-unit cost of .5, and a per-unit revenue of 1.
3. Monthly fixed costs: Technically, a break-even analysis defines fixed costs as costs that would continue even if you went broke. Instead, you may want to use your regular running fixed costs, including payroll and normal expenses. This will give you a better insight on financial realities.

This next illustration shows a Break-even chart. As sales increase, the profit line passes through the zero or break-even line at the break-even point. In the illustration the Break-even chart shows that the company needs to sell almost 1,200 units per month to break even.

This is a classic business chart that helps you consider your bottom-line financial realities. Can you sell enough to make your break-even volume? Of course, the break-even analysis depends on assumptions made for average per-unit revenue, average per-unit cost, and fixed costs, and these are rarely exact assumptions.

Market analysis
Determine if there is a sufficient market to support your business. You don’t need to do major market research for this initial market analysis. You may want to, and even need to, do real research later on. For now, however, you want to get a good educated guess about how many potential customers you might have.

What you want at this point is a reality check. You’ve already developed a quick break-even analysis that ties your initial business numbers to your required sales. Now you’re going to look at how many customers you might have so you can think about the importance of breaking even.

Develop a basic Market Analysis table. This table gives you a simple list of market segments. Each segment is a group of customers. Define the groups according to what needs you supply, demographic characteristics, buying habits, preferences, or whatever other classification system works for your plan. Fill in the total potential customers estimated and the annual growth rate expected for each segment.

The following illustration shows a Market Analysis table. You can also use a Market Analysis chart as a visual guide to your market segments.

Pause for reflection
Now it’s time to give your planning an objective appraisal. At this point, you’ve defined your business, your financial break-even point, and your total potential market. How does your business look from this viewpoint? Does it make sense? Can you make the sales you need to break even? Is the market big enough? Are your projections realistic? Can you bring together the keys to success?

Especially for potential start-up companies, a moment of reflection is critical. Many people dream of starting a business, but that dream turns into a nightmare if the new business isn’t successful. If you think you can make your break-even numbers work and you believe you have enough customers to make it, then go on to develop the plan. If not, either do more research and revise the idea, or give up and try something else.