1. Introduction to Business Unit 1: What is Entrepreneurship?

2. Do Now Brainstorm as many things you can think of that are necessary to running a successful business. Examples: Pick a product Deciding where to open a store, etc.

3. Objective We will be able to: Describe the contents of a business plan Explain why a business plan is important to running a successful business

4. What is a business plan? A business plan is a statement of your business goals, the reasons you think these goals can be met, and how you are going to achieve them.

5. Why do we need a business plan? Helps us to think through our business decisions, so we don’t make the wrong ones Forces us to consider all the different parts of running a business Convinces investors to give you money

6. What goes in a business plan? Executive Summary Market Analysis Company Description Product Description Marketing & Sales Strategy Competitive Analysis Management Team Description Financial Analysis

7. Executive Summary Half a page to 1 page summary of the entire business plan Allows investors to quickly see what your business is about without having to read 8-10 pages

8. Market Analysis Describes the market opportunity What kind of people/businesses are you selling to? How many customers are out there in this community? In the country? In the world? Why do the customers need your product? What do customers want? What are they currently using that’s not as good? Includes research about the market through reports, surveys, interviews, etc.

9. Company Description What does your company do? Where is it based? How many people work there? How can it expand in the future?

10. Product Description What product or service are you selling? What makes it better than competitors’ products or substitutes? How much will it cost? If the product is technologically complicated, provide a technical explanation of how it works.

11. Marketing & Sales Strategy How will you promote your product? How do you plan to reach the customer? Advertising? Publicity? Endorsements? Who will be selling your product? Where or how will you be selling your product? Online? In retail stores? Through a catalog?

12. Competitive Analysis How many other competitive products are out there in the market? Are there a lot of substitutes? Is it difficult to enter the market or start a similar business? Who are your competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

13. Management Team Description Who are the people running the company? What experience do they have in business or with the product?

14. Financial Analysis What is your budget? When will you break even?

15. Wrap Up Case Study Homework Read Sample Business Plan #2 in detail Write a 2-page, double-spaced, size 12 font summary that answers: What are the company’s strengths? What are the company’s weaknesses? What does the business plan do well? How can the business plan be improved?