Start Business

SECTION 1: THE BUSINESS PROFILE
Description of My Business
(Session 1): Describe your product or service.


Targeted Market and Customers
(Session 1): Describe your customer profile and why customers want or need your product or service.


Growth Trends In This Business
(Session 1): Is the market for your product or service growing or shrinking?



Pricing Power
(Session 1): Explain the unique qualities or circumstances concerning your product or service that will enable you to maintain profitable pricing.



SECTION 2: THE VISION AND THE PEOPLE
(Session 2): Describe convincingly that you are passionately committed to your new business and have the realism to make inevitable hard choices.


THE PEOPLE
Work Experience Related to My Intended Business
(Session 2): Describe your work experience in the business you plan to start including a list of your skills and knowledge, which will be required in your business.


Personal Background and Education Credentials
(Session 2): Describe yourself, including your education.



SECTION 3: COMMUNICATIONS
Computer and Communications Tools
(Session 3): Furnish a tabulation of each piece of equipment you intend to use including a description and the budget for each. You can use the following as a guide.
Resource Requirements:

Communications
Enter a description and budget for all communications equipment.

Telephones
Enter a description and budget for all telephone equipment.

Pagers
Enter a description and budget for all pagers.

Facsimile
Enter a description and budget for all fax equipment.

Computers
Enter a description and budget for all computer equipment.

Internet
Enter a description and budget for all necessary Internet providers and access.


SECTION 4: ORGANIZATION
Business Organization
(Session 4): Explain the form of business organization you intend to use and why it is best for your business.



Professional Consultants
(Session 4): List the names of your lawyer, accountant, insurance agent and any other professionals.



Licenses
(Session 4): List what licenses you will require to go into business.



SECTION 5: LICENSES, PERMITS AND BUSINESS NAMES
Due Diligence Procedures for Licenses, Permits and Business Names (Session 5):
List the following:

DBA: List the name you intend to do business as.

Zoning: Indicate if the zoning if appropriate for your intended office location.

Licenses: List the appropriate licenses you will need at the local, state, and federal level.

Local:

State:

Federal:

Trademark: Indicate your trademark intentions if any exist.



Sellers Permit: List any sellers permits that you may need.



EIN: Indicate if you will obtain an employers identification number.



SECTION 6: INSURANCE
Insurance
(Session 6): List the forms of insurance coverage including costs are anticipated.



SECTION 7: PREMISES
Location Criteria
(Session 7): Outline your location criteria.
space requirements
future requirements
site analysis study if needed (attach)
demographic study if needed (attach)
lease check-off list (attach)
estimated occupancy cost as a % of sales
zoning and use approvals



SECTION 8: ACCOUNTING AND CASH FLOW
Accounting
(Session 8): Furnish, as a separate exhibit of your starting balance sheet and projected income statements for the first six months to one year.


Cash Flow Planning
(Session 8): Provide a separate exhibit of your one year cash flow analysis including estimated sales, all costs and capital investments.
Provide a checklist of all expense items for input into your cash flow projection.


Analysis of Costs
(Session 8): What are all of my costs: fixed, variable, product, delivery, etc.


Internal Controls
(Session 8): Explain your: Intended internal controls and cash controls, check signing policy, strategy for controlling shrinkage and dishonesty and control of incoming merchandise.


SECTION 9: FINANCING
Financing Strategy
(Session 9): Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital. Explain any government assistance or loan guarantee programs you intend to apply for.
If your business is for use with potential lenders, include a cash flow projection and projected income statements to show sources of repayment of loans. Be conservative in your forecasts.

List your sources of referrals to lending institutions. (Your accountant, etc.)


SECTION 10: E-COMMERCE
E-Commerce Plans
(Session 10): Describe in detail how you plan to use the Internet in marketing your product or service.


E-Commerce Budgeting
(Session 10): Provide a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in crating, operating and maintaining your e-commerce activities.


E-Commerce Competition
(Session 10): Describe how your best competitors utilize e-commerce and your strategy to improve on their practices.


SECTION 11: ACQUISITIONS
Due Diligence Procedures for Acquisitions
(Session 11): List the following:
Your consulting team: Attorney, accountant, banker, broker, etc.

Verification of seller's revenues: how you plan to authenticate.

Sellers records to be inspected: Financial statements, income tax returns sales backlog, cash deposit records, utility bills, accounts payable and receivable, backlog, financial comparisons of similar businesses, etc.

Inspections and approval of leases and contracts.

Appraisals, as appropriate.

If a franchise, interview with randomly selected franchisees.

Finance plan for acquisitions: include sources including seller financing.

Market conditions.

Value of goodwill.

Method of purchase: stock, assets, etc.


SECTION 12: MARKETING
Marketing Plan
(Session 12): Describe your overall marketing and sales strategy including how you plan to get and retain customers.


Advertising and Promotion Plans
(Session 12): Describe your plans and budgets for advertising and promotions.


Purchasing and Inventory Control
(Session 12): See "how to buy" checklist.


Training Policies
(Session 12): Describe your plans for hiring and training your sales associates.


The Competition
(Session 12): Describe your strongest competitors and how you intend to compete.



How I Plan to Take Advantage of Competitors Weak Points
(Session 12): List your competitor's shortcomings and how you can capitalize on them.


SECTION 13: GROWTH PROGRAM
Expansion
(Session 13): Describe your growth: You might include development of profitable pilot operation, sources of financing, cash flow, accounting system in place, incentive compensation plan for managers, benefits package and policies, economics of scale.


Handling Major Problems
(Session 13): Describe scenarios of adverse conditions and how you intend to respond to them. For example how you would plan to handle a 25% reduction in sales, or new competitions, etc. Prepare a cash flow projection based on lowered expectations and
Prepare a cash flow projection based on lowered expectations and show how and where you would reduce costs to maintain liquidity.


SECTION 14: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Due Diligence Procedures for International Trade(Session 14): List the following:
Export Counseling: List your sources of counseling including your export legal counsel.

Export Readiness: Describe the economic reasons and justification for your plans. Outline the personnel, budget and procedures you plan to implement.

Agent/distributor Agreement: Provide a draft of your agent/distributor agreement and the agents/distributors you are considering to do business with.

Analysis of Competitive Considerations: Explain the due diligence resources to be used in the evaluation opportunities including appropriateness for your business.

Evaluation of Country Risk: Explain the resources to be used in the evaluation of country risk (is the country in good standing?) including potential sources of financing.

Describe your plans to insure protection of your intellectual property rights.

Describe your marketing and advertising plans.

Evaluate potential problems regarding product adaptation to standards and measurements.

Describe the licensing requirements for export or import of the product or service you plan to market in international trade.

What is International Trade?
International trade can be defined as either the buying (importing) or selling (exporting) of goods or services on a global basis.

Thanks in great measure to the Internet, many starting businesses can enrich their prospects of success by incorporating IT into their overall business plan. In some cases, a business can be enhanced by incorporating IT marketing to supplement a domestic operation. In other cases, a business can depend solely on international trade. Let’s review some examples:

Exporting
Quality Naturally Foods, Inc., in the City of Industry, California, manufactures prepared bakery mixes for its sister companies Yum Yum Donuts and Winchell Donuts. These and similar mixes are now sold to outlets in Japan. The added volume has reduced costs of production which has benefited all customers.


Amazon.com, the preeminent online marketer (and inspiration for thousands of online entrepreneurs) has a home page toolbar called “International”. Amazon says: “Around the World, wherever you are, get what you want—fast—from our family of Web sites.”
Read Transcript Importing
Good Tables, Inc. of Carson, California, formerly manufactured furniture in its California plant but was losing sales due to cheaper foreign made products. The manufacturing was moved to Mexico in a “maquiladoras” factory.

Funrise, Inc. Woodland Hills, California, has become a world leading marketer of toys. Design, packaging and production are outsourced, primary to vendors in China.

Hollow Corporations
International trade is especially appropriate for the rapidly growing number of “hollow corporations.” Session one of this course refers to a hollow corporation as a business without a factory and with a minimum number of employees in which manufacturing is performed by outside suppliers. A hollow corporation might depend on outside suppliers for virtually all of its products, such as an American toy company importing product from China. Or, it might depend on outside suppliers for selected components in its overall product line, such as The Boeing Company. (Boeing is using Japanese firms for components of the new 787 airliner.)

Session: 14
Finding overseas markets or suppliers and dealing with shipping complexities are only two of the challenges facing small firms seeking to participate in international trade. Entrepreneurs should be cautioned that international trade involves many complexities above and beyond the basic disciplines necessary for operating a domestic business.

* Warning Label

* What is International Trade?
o Exporting
o Importing
o Hollow corporations

* Is International Trade Appropriate for Small Business?

* Advantages and Disadvantages of International Trade

* Online Resources

* Common Mistakes Made in International Trade

* Importance of a Business Plan

* Suggested Activites

Session: 13
A growing business needs to have appropriate expansion policies in place, plans to motivate key employees and know-how in handling common business problems. Here's the advice from been-there-done-that experts.

* Rules to Follow Before Expanding

* Starting with a Pilot Operation First

* Problems in Expanded Business not Present in a Start-up
o Delegation of responsibility and authority
o Monetary incentive plans

* Ways to Motivate Key Employees
o Leveraged profit sharing plan
o Unleveraged profit sharing plan
o Commission plan

* Key Elements for Profit Centers
o Overall considerations
o Long-range financial planning

* Common Business Problems
o Uncontrolled cash flow
o Drop in sales or insufficient sales
o Higher costs
o New competition
o Business recessions
o Incompetent managers or employees
o Dishonesty, theft
o Basic rules for handling serious business problems

Session: 12
You are furnished with check-off lists to maximize your marketing results and avoid the most common mistakes made in opening a business.

* Opening for Business
o Before you start checklist

* Marketing
o Pinpoint your customers
o Recruit the "good" employees
o Train your employees thoroughly in marketing skills
o Check list for hiring and training of your marketing team
o What and how to buy
o How to buy checklist
o Marketing tools
o E-commerce
o Promotion and advertising
o Mailing lists

* Most Common Mistakes
o Checklist to avoid pitfalls

* Suggested Activities

Session : 11
You will learn how to make objective decisions when considering the purchase of a business or a franchise--and how to evaluate how much you should pay.

* How Should I Go About Buying A Business?
o Opportunities
o Financial ability
o Evaluating a Business
o Verify revenue information
o Buying an existing or new business

* Pro's and Con's of Buying a Franchise
o Pro's and con's of buying a franchise
o What I should know about a prospective franchiser
o Becoming a franchiser

* Suggested Activities
o Visit different operations
o Attend trade shows
o Understand your intended business
o Analyze any appropriate existing business
o Analyze a franchised operation

Session: 10
E-Commerce is the fastest growing segment of our economy. It allows even the smallest business to reach a global audience with its product or message with minimal cost.

* E-Commerce Overview
o What is E-Commerce?
o Is an E-Commerce website right for your business?
o Money transactions

* Setting Up a Website
o Registering your domain name
o Hosting your website
o Building your website
o Hiring a professional website developer
o Designing your own website

* Tips For Developing a Successful Site
o Make your site easy to use
o Provide useful content
o Encourage customer feedback
o Develop a mailing list

* Online Marketing and Promotion
o Search engines - your primary marketing tool
o How does your website rank?
o What are people searching for?
o How to manage search engine placement
o Key components to successful search engine marketing for a website
o Search Engines and Resources
o Targeted E-Mail

* eBay
o How to get started
o Listing basics
o Fees
o Get the most from your eBay experience
o Don'ts of eBay

Session: 9
You will learn how to locate, negotiate and maintain sources of money to get you started and help you expand your business.

* First Things First

* How Much Money Do You Need?
o What do you need it for?
o Unsecured Loans
o Secured Loans
o Collateral

* Loans vs. Investment

* Where to Get the Money
o Types of Funding Sources
o Lender Comparison Table

* The Art of Getting the Money
o Business Loans
o Repayment Plan
o Other Quick Tips

* After You Get the Money

* Activities

Session: 8
Before you start your business, you will need to learn how to keep score (basic accounting) and how to maintain cash in your bank account (cash flow control). This session explains both in simple terms.

* Step One: Gain the knowledge

* Step Two: Select an accountant
o Methods of Accounting
+ Cash Basis Method
+ Accrual Method
o Tax Liability Issues
+ Income taxes
+ Payroll taxes
o Financial and Technical Assistance
o Internal Controls
o Quarterly Returns
o Bank Account Reconciliation
o Employee Benefits Policy

* Step Three: Do your own bookkeeping!
o The Three Major Financial Statements
+ The Balance Sheet
+ The Income Statement
+ Cash Flow Control

Session: 7
A wonderful business can be crippled by a poor location or a poorly negotiated lease. You will learn how to create your own site model and the important aspects of a lease agreement.

* Location, Location, Location
o Zoning Categories
o Criteria for Home Based Business
o Criteria for a Manufacturing, Warehousing or Industrial Business
o Criteria for a Retail Business

* Leasing Do's and Don'ts
o Do's and Don'ts
o Points to Consider Before Signing a Lease or Purchasing Property
o Lease Check-Off List
o To Rent or to Buy Considerations

* Do Your Homework

* Site Location Criteria
o Evaluation Table

Session: 6
This session will explain in simple terms the various forms of insurance you will need and explain the importance of each of them.

* Insurance Coverage For Small Businesses
o Business Property Insurance
o Liability Insurance
o Worker's Compensation Insurance
o Other Insurance Coverage
o Excess Liability Coverage
o Employment Practices Liability Coverage
o Life Insurance

* Suggested Activities

Session: 5
Choose a suitable name for your business and find out what licenses and permits you may require, and how to get them.

* First Things First

* Licenses & Permits
o Local Licenses and Permits
o State Licenses and Permits
o Federal Licenses and Permits
o Where do I go to get a licenese?
o How about if I am working from home?

* Business Name or DBA (Doing Business As)
o Do I need to have a DBA?
o What are the benefits to establishing a DBA?
o What is the process of getting a DBA?
o Banking Under Your Business Name
o Should I Trademark My Business Name?

* Seller's Permit
o What is a seller's permit?
o Where do I get a seller's permit?

* Employer Identification Number (EIN)
o What is the importance of EIN?
o Do I need an EIN?
o An EIN is required if:
o How do I apply for an EIN?
o Useful Links

* Business License and Permits Checklist

* Suggested Activities

Session: 4
This session will clearly spell out your options for deciding the form of business that is right for you.

Decisions that every entrepreneur must make:

1. Whether to go into business alone or with a partner.
2. What type of business organization to use for the business: proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company.
3. What professional advisors to select.

* Should You Have a Partner
o Arguments For
o Arguments Against

Session : 2
This key ingredient for a successful business is too often skipped. This session will show you how to create your own individualized business plan and provide the tools to make it easy.

* What is a Business Plan?

* Why Prepare a Business Plan?
o What to avoid in your business plan

* Business Plan Format
o Vision statement
o The people
o Business profile
o Economic assessment

* Six Steps to a Great Business Plan
o Basic business concept
o Feasibility and specifics
o Focus and refine concept
o Outline the specifics of your business
o Put your plan into a compelling form
o Review sample plans

* Business Plan's Necessary Factors
o Understanding your market
o Healthy, growing and stable industry
o Capable management
o Able financial control
o Consistent business focus
o Mindset to anticipate change

Session 1:
The most common serious mistake made in business is not picking the right one to begin with. This session will provide you with important evaluation techniques.

* Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

* Step-by-Step Approach
o Decide if you really want to be in business
o Decide what business and where
o Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight

* Selection Strategy

* Things to Watch Out For

* Required Activities
o Comparative Evaluation
o How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in Mind
o "For" and "Against" List
o Get Completely Qualified

The basics of good business letter writing are easy to learn. The following guide provides the phrases that are usually found in any standard business letter. These phrases are used as a kind of frame and introduction to the content of business letters. At the end of this guide, you will find links to sites that give tips on the difficult part of writing successful business letters – arguing your business objective. By using these standard phrases, you can give a professional tone to your English business letters.

Over the past decade, Growthink has developed more than 1,500 business plans for clients in a wide variety of industries. From this vast experience, we have developed a proprietary engagement methodology that ensures high-quality, fully customized business plans for every client.

Our process consists of seven distinct phases, designed to maximize quality and client satisfaction.

1. Management Interviews: Here, we collect and document your "verbal" growth plan, including your vision, key accomplishments to date, mission-critical challenges and opportunities, key objectives and goals, and growth strategies. In this phase, we also identify and refine key research questions, and work to define and communicate an effective "story" for the business plan.
2. Strategic Market Research: In this phase, we size the relevant market place, analyze competitors, profile existing and prospective customer groups, and assess the business opportunity. Growthink also conducts "benchmarking research" during this phase of its engagement process. This involves identifying other companies that have succeeded and/or failed with similar businesses and/or initiatives.
3. Checkpoint Document: At this stage, we deliver a "checkpoint" document to confirm that we are in agreement with you regarding the strategic direction of the plan, the business plan's focus, and the tone and language of the plan. (The checkpoint document is delivered either as a business plan outline or a draft of an executive summary).
4. Additional Research and Strategy Work: After incorporating your feedback from the "checkpoint" document, we begin additional research regarding your business strategy (roll-out, financials, marketing, operations, etc.) and communication strategy (how best to articulate your unique opportunity to existing and potential stakeholders and investors).
5. Draft Plan: Next, we provide a draft of the deliverables, which typically include an Executive Summary, Integrated Financials (historical and projected), and a complete business plan (company analysis; customer and market analyses; industry and competitive analyses; marketing, operations, and development plans; management team; appendices).
6. Review and Revise: In this phase, we review the draft plan with you and and discuss the focus, wording, and flow of the document. We incorporate any necessary revisions and refinements, and prepare the revised plan.
7. Package and Finalize: The final stage involves creating a clean, professional document, with graphical enhancements, that is copy-edited, formatted, and ready to be presented to stakeholders and investors.

Did you know that venture capitalists, loan officers, and even angel investors have a very specific way they want and expect a business plan to look?

If any part of your plan doesn’t match what they want and are used to, that’s it. They’ll never look again, and they certainly won’t invest.

Did you also know that most business plans never receive a single dollar of funding?

And do you know how to avoid the critical flaws that practically guarantee that any potential investor looking at your plan will lose interest within the first few pages and get scared off from your idea, even if they had interest before?

And finally…do you know that even when they raise capital, most businesses fail?

If you’re here because you need a great business plan to get your company off the ground or to the next level, you’ve come to the right place.

Why? Because Growthink's consulting team has a track record of developing business plans that raise money and transform entrepreneurs' visions into successful businesses.

In fact, over the past decade, Growthink has helped over 2,000 entrepreneurs like you to create successful business plans. Our clients have raised over $1 Billion in funding and, more importantly, they’ve gone on to build numerous multi-million dollar empires.

Different business structures: by function and area
Every business, from a sole trader to the largest company, is organised in a particular way. You should review this structure regularly to ensure that it fits the objectives of the business. More

Businesses can be organised by:

function
geographical area
product
project
Structure by function
Larger businesses are traditionally organised into departments according to their role. Individuals, teams and line managers in sales, for example, will be grouped together and report to the head of department, ie the sales director.

The advantages of this type of structure are:

specialisation - departments focus on one area of work
accountability - there are clear lines of management
clarity - employees understand their own and others' roles
The disadvantages are:

closed communication - for example, the sales team may not interact much with other departments and therefore may not realise how their work affects or can be informed by the activities of these departments
co-ordination may become difficult
departments may become resistant to change
Structure by area
Some businesses organise their activity according to geographical area. This is common in large multinational companies but it might also be appropriate for medium-sized businesses, eg a group of taxi firms, a small retail chain or a fast-food chain with several branches, as each site can operate according to local demand but still be directed by business policy.

The advantages of this type of structure are:

divisions can better serve local needs and communicate with local customers
you can encourage positive competition between departments
The disadvantages are:

there may be conflict between local and central management
potential duplication of resources and functions