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LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Name: ______________________________Section: _________________ Score: ________
Subject: ____________________________Teacher: _________________Date:__________

Type of Activity: (Please check the appropriate box. Individual Group

. Concept Notes Exercises Graphing Others:
Activity Title

 Developing a Business Plan

Learning Targets

 The learner independently creates/provides a quality and marketable

product and/or service in Entrepreneurship.
 The learner independently or with his/her classmates presents an acceptable
detailed business plan.

Learning Concepts

3 Rules for Writing a Business Plan:

1. Keep it short.
Business plans should be short and concise.

a. First, you want your business plan to be read (and no one is going to read
a 100-page or even 40-page business plan).
b. Second, your business plan should be a tool you use to run and grow your
business, something you continue to use and refine over time. An excessively long
business plan is a huge hassle to deal with and guarantees that your plan will be relegated
to a desk drawer, never to be seen again.

2. Know your audience.

Write your plan using language that your audience will understand.

For example, if your company is developing a complex scientific process, but

you’re prospective investors aren’t scientists (and don’t understand all the detailed
scientific terminology you want to use), you need to adapt.

3. Don’t be intimidated.
The vast majority of business owners and entrepreneurs aren’t business experts.
Just like you, they’re learning as they go and don’t have degrees in business.

Writing a business plan may seem like a difficult hurdle, but it doesn’t have to
be. If you know your business and are passionate about it, writing a business plan and
then leveraging your plan for growth will be not nearly as challenging as you think.

Key questions that the business plan must answer include the following:

1. What is the basic idea for the new product or services? What makes it unique?
2. How will the idea for this proposed venture be realized?
3. Is the potential market big enough to make the business viable?
4. How much revenue and income is the business expected to generate?
5. Who are the people behind the business? Do they have the knowledge, skills, and experience
required to develop the product or service idea and to run the proposed venture?
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Start your plan with a modern business plan template

Writing a business plan can seem like a big task, especially if you’re starting a business
for the first time and don’t have a financial background. Even if you do have some experience,
getting a refresher on what a modern business plan template looks like is always a good idea.

After all, business plan templates have changed over the years, and what lenders and
investors expect now is different than it was even just 10 years ago.

The Template:

The outline of our business plan template appears below. It is simplified a bit for this
page,

1. Executive Summary
A. Opportunity
i. Problem Summary
ii. Solution Summary
iii. Market Summary
iv. Competition
v. Overview
vi. Why Us?
B. Expectations
i. Forecast
ii. Financial Highlights by Year [chart]
iii. Financing Needed

2. Opportunity
A. Problem & Solution
i. Problem worth Solving
ii. Our Solution
B. Target Market
C. Competition
i. Current Alternatives
ii. Our Advantages

3. Execution
A. Marketing & Sales
i. Marketing Plan
ii. Sales Plan
B. Operations
i. Locations & Facilities
ii. Technology
iii. Equipment & Tools
C. Milestones & Metrics
i. Milestones Table
ii. Key Metrics

4. Company
A. Overview
B. Team
i. Management Team
ii. Advisors

5. Financial Plan
A. Forecast
i. Key Assumptions
ii. Revenue by Month [chart]
iii. Expenses by Month [chart]
iv. Net Profit (or Loss) by Year [chart]
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B. Financing
i. Use of Funds
ii. Sources of Funds
C. Statements
i. Projected Profit & Loss
ii. Projected Balance Sheet
iii. Projected Cash Flow Statement

6. Appendix
A. Monthly Financial Forecasts
B. Additional Documentation

THE ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN

6 things to include in a Business Plan

Now that we have the rules of writing a business plan out of the way, let’s dive into the
details of building your plan.

Rest of this article/module will provide the specifics of what you should include in your
business plan, what you should skip, the critical components of the all-important financial
projections, and links to additional resources that can help jump-start your plan.

Remember, your business plan is a tool to help you build a better business, not just a
homework assignment. Good business plans are living documents that you return to on a regular
basis and update as you learn more about your customers, sales and marketing tactics that work
(and don’t), and what you got right and wrong about your budget and forecast. Your plan sets
out the goals you’d like to achieve and you should use it to track your progress and adjust course
as you go.

INTRODUCTORY PAGE
This cover page provides a brief summary of a business plan’s content it must
contain the following;
a) The name and address of the company
b) The name of the entrepreneur and his/her contact information (Tel. No., Fax N., email
address, and personal website, if available)
c) A brief description of the company and the nature of the business
d) The amount of financing needed
The entrepreneur might also want to include a statement of confidentiality, especially if his
business idea involves a novel or cutting edge technology.

1. Executive summary

 The executive summary introduces your company, explains what you do, and lays out
what you’re looking for from your readers. Structurally, it is the first chapter of your
business plan. And while it’s the first thing that people will read, I generally advise that
you write it last. Why? Because once you know the details of your business inside and
out, you will be better prepared to write your executive summary. After all, this section
is a summary of everything else, so start writing the Opportunity section first and come
back here last.
 Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the
highlights of your detailed plan. In fact, it’s very common for investors to ask for only
the executive summary when they are evaluating your business. If they like what they
see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan,
a pitch presentation, and other data about your business.
 The executive summary introduces your company, explains what you do, and lays out
what you’re looking for from your readers.
 The executive summary, which is prepared after the total plan has been written, must
stimulate the interest of its reader, especially if he or she is a potential investor. If it is
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written in a concise and compelling manner, the business plan might just convince the
potential investor that the entire business plan is worth reading.

2. Opportunity
 This section answers these questions: What are you actually selling and how are you
solving a problem (or “need”) for your market? Who is your target market and
competition?

 The opportunity section of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives.

 This is where you will describe in detail the problem that you’re solving, your solution,
which you plan to sell to, and how your product or service fits into the existing
competitive landscape. You’ll also use this section of your business plan to demonstrate
what sets your solution apart from others, and how you plan to expand your offerings in
the future.

 Readers of your business plan will already know a little bit about your business because
they read your executive summary. But, this chapter is still hugely important because
it’s where you expand on your initial overview, providing more details and answering
additional questions that you won’t cover in the executive summary.

Problem:
 Summarize in one or two sentences the problem you are solving in the market. Every
business is solving a problem for its customers and filling a need in the market.

Solution:
 This is your product or service. How are you addressing the problem you have identified
in the market?

Target market:
 Who is your ideal customer? How many of them are there? It’s important here to be
specific.

 For Example: If you’re a shoe company, you aren’t targeting “everyone” just because
everyone has feet. You’re most likely targeting a specific market segment such as “style-
conscious men” or “runners.” This will make it much easier for you to target your
marketing and sales efforts and attract the kinds of customers that are most likely to buy
from you.

Competition:
1. How is your target market solving their problem today? Are there alternatives or
substitutes in the market?
2. Our advantages?
3. Every business has some form of competition and it’s critical to provide an
overview in your executive summary.

3. Execution

 How are you going to take your opportunity and turn it into a business? This section will
cover your marketing and sales plan, operations, and how you’re going to measure
success.

 Now that you’ve described your opportunity, you’re going to move on and describe how
you’re actually going to make your business work. You’ll cover your marketing and
sales plans, operations, how you’ll measure success, and the key milestones that you
expect to achieve.

Marketing and sales:

 The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach
your target market segments, how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your
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pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your
business a success.

 Before you even think about writing your marketing plan, you must have your target
market well-defined and have your buyer persona(s) fleshed out. Without truly
understanding who you are marketing to, a marketing plan will have little value.

Operations:

Locations & Facilities

 Your business's location is key to successful operations and overall growth. When
choosing your location, consider company needs, customers, employees and equipment
needed to complete the services.
 Small business owners should carefully consider their business facility needs so that
they can select the right site and location for their business.
 As a small business owner, one of your vital concerns is to accurately determine your
facility needs so that the facility where you conduct business contributes to your
profitability.

Technology:

Equipment & Tools

 Businesses must have ample space for the equipment required to produce their products
and services. If you have a manufacturing company, you will require extensive space for
equipment and inventory. Consider your business's products and services when
establishing your location.

Milestones and Traction

 The last key element of an executive summary that investors will want to see is the
progress that you’ve made so far and future milestones that you intend to hit. If you can
show that your potential customers are already interested in—or perhaps already
buying—your product or service, this is great to highlight.

 You can skip the executive summary (or greatly reduce it in scope) if you are writing an
internal business plan that’s purely a strategic guide for your company. In that case, you
can dispense with details about the management team, funding requirements, and
traction, and instead treat the executive summary as an overview of the strategic
direction of the company, to ensure that all team members are on the same page.

4. Company

Team and company

 Investors look for great teams in addition to great ideas. Use this chapter to describe
your current team and who you need to hire. You will also provide a quick overview of
your legal structure, location, and history if you’re already up and running.

 Provide a brief overview of your team and a short explanation of why you and your team
are the right people to take your idea to market.

 Investors put an enormous amount of weight on the team—even more than on the idea—
because even a great idea needs great execution in order to become a reality.

5. Financial Plan

Your business plan isn’t complete without a financial forecast. We’ll tell you what to include in
your financial plan.

A. Forecast
i. Key Assumptions
ii. Revenue by Month [chart]
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iii. Expenses by Month [chart]

iv. Net Profit (or Loss) by Year [chart]

B. Financing
i. Use of Funds
ii. Sources of Funds

C. Statements
i. Projected Profit & Loss
ii. Projected Balance Sheet
iii. Projected Cash Flow Statement

6. Appendix

A. Monthly Financial Forecasts

B. Additional Documentation

Exercises: DO YOUR BEST!

Group Activity: Business Plan Presentation

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