1. Creating a Winning E-Business Second Edition
Creating an E-Business Plan
Chapter 3

2. Business Plan Organization
Formal business planning document
Identifies the business and its mission
Names the key management team members
Describes the products or services to be offered
Provides a marketplace analysis
Identifies customers and competitors
Determines resources for profitable operations
Sets a timetable for profitability

3. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Government and for-profit sources for business planning information and templates
SCORE
SBA
BizPlanIt
Bplans.com
E-Future Centre (Canadian)

4. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Business plan components
Cover sheet and title page
Table of contents
Executive summary
Business description
Vision/mission statement

5. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Business plan components (continued)
Information on products/services
Industry, customer, competitor analyses
Operational, financial, and managerial plans
Identification of critical risks
Exit strategy
What is an exit
strategy?

6. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Cover sheet
Title of document and preparer’s name
Plan copy number
“Confidential” notation
Title page
Cover sheet information and
Contact numbers
Key team members’ names
Name of person receiving the plan

7. Business Plan Organization

8. Business Plan Organization (continued)

9. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Table of contents
Lists all the major sections and subsections of the plan
Prepared after rest of plan is complete
Carefully checked for omissions and page number errors

11. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Executive summary (A condensed version of the complete plan)
Used by interested parties to quickly assess the business idea and weed out plans
Keep it short (one to three pages)
Use clear and concise language and action words
Create last after plan details are developed

13. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Vision statement
A formal statement of a business’s hopes and desires
Written to guide and inspire employees
Mission statement
A formal statement that explains a business’s reason for existing

14. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Business description
Summary of business’s background
Information about legal form of business
Business’s history to date
Key personnel
Future goals

16. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Products or services section
Description of products or services offered
Anticipated sales for each product or service
Describes benefits of product or service to customers

18. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Marketplace analysis
Information about specific industry of which business is a part
Description of targeted customers
Description of major competitors
Overview of marketing and sales strategies

20. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Operational plan
Describes a business’s physical location and equipment
Notes the manufacturing or service actions needed to get products/services to market
Summarizes Web site operations

22. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Financial plan
Explains how your e-business idea, goals, and strategies translate into profits
Provides standard financial statements for income, expense, and cash flow data
Pro forma balance sheet
Projected income statement
Planned cash flow statement
May include “deal plan,” break-even analysis, ratio analysis

24. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Management plan
Organizational structure of business
Information on
Key members of management team
Outside advisors
Mentors
Consultants

27. Business Plan Organization (continued)
Appendices
Resumes
Pictures of products
Explanation of services
Legal documents
Other supporting documentation

28. Legal Forms of Organization
Sole proprietorship
Business started by an individual
Owner and business are one in the same for tax and legal liability issues

29. Legal Forms of Organization (continued)
Partnership
Legal business entity with two or more co-owners
Follows a partnership agreement
General partnership: Tax and legal liabilities flow through to individual partners
Limited partnership
General partner manages and assumes unlimited liability
Limited partners have liability for amount of their capital contribution and their accepted debt

30. Legal Forms of Organization (continued)
Corporation
Separate legal and taxable entity from its owners
“C” corporation owners are it shareholders
Liability is limited to investment in business
Profits are taxed twice: once for the corporation and again when distributed to owners as stock dividends

31. Legal Forms of Organization (continued)
Corporation (continued)
“S” corporation gives owners partnership status and corporate liability protection
Limited liability company (LLC)
Tax status of sole proprietorship or partnership
Liability status of a corporation