Putting it All Together Feasibility Analysis Nov. 7, 2010 Jeffrey A. Carr Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship Executive Director, Berkley Center

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

Successful Business Plans  Make better decisions  Articulate strategy and operations  Show integration of BP sections  Increase your chances of success  It’s about the planning, not the plan

New Venture Idea  Who is your customer? What is your market segment? Is there more than one customer group?  What is the problem you solve?  Describe the service/product – how will it change the way people live, work or do business?  What evidence is there that someone will buy your product/service?

Venture Model  What are your sources of revenue and funding?  What are your cash needs for first year of operations? And how will you get there?  What are your initial financial projections? Provide a simple 3-5 year income statement with revenue, cost of goods sold, other expenses and projected margins.  How can you scale the business?

Market Analysis  Who is the present competition and possible new entrants?  What is your competitive advantage?  What are the key drivers of growth?  What is your estimate of market size and what is it based on?  What is the marketing plan—how are you going to get sales?

Operations Plan  How does the business work?  Who are the key players necessary for your venture to succeed?  Critical success factors and major risks  What is your current status?  Articulate milestones for new venture

Management  What are the current team’s key skills and qualifications for launching the venture?  What skills need to be added to the team?

“No matter how far you have gone down a wrong road, turn back”. Turkish Proverb