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Welcome to the MiniPlan. Start by completing your Executive Summary and then work through each section.

Planning Topic

Executive Summary
Objectives
Mission
Keys to Success
Market Analysis Text
Market Analysis Table
Market Analysis Charts
Break-even Tables
Break-even Charts
Conclusion or Assessment

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Executive Summary: Step 1 of 10

Type your Executive Summary here

Instructions:

Click in the text box above and type your own text into it. Keep it short. This summary is the doorway to the rest of your plan. Get it right or your target readers will go no further.

Remember, match your plan to your purpose. This is business, not writing class. If you're selling an idea, hit the highlights, make it exciting. Cite growth rates, opportunities, and competitive advantage. If you're just exploring an idea for yourself, say so in the summary.

As a general rule in a real business plan, your first paragraph should include your business name, what it sells, where it is located, and the nature and purpose of the plan. You might also refer to the keys to success, or at least summarize them briefly.

Another paragraph should highlight important points. Projected sales and profits are normally included, as well as unit sales and profitability. Include the news you don't want anyone to miss. That might be an important strategic focus for the plan, new product or service, or something else. In some businesses, it might be taking on new partners, new investment or new expansion, or even cutting the expenses and preparing the business for hard times.

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Objectives: Step 2 of 10

Type your Objectives here.



Instructions:

Click on the text box above and type your own text into it. List your business objectives. Make your objectives specific, measurable business goals, such as sales, profits, growth rates, etc. Avoid listing more than three or four of your most important objectives; a short list emphasizes focus and concentration.

This is not your mission statement. Future implementation depends on your being able to track progress towards goals and measure results. And implementation is critical.


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Mission Statement: Step 3 of 10

Type your Mission Statement here.


Instructions:

Click in the text box above and type your own text into it. Describe your business' most basic and fundamental goals. Talk about the benefits you'll provide to your customers, your employees, and you as business owner. Think of what business you are really in, which is more about the benefits you offer to customers than the specific goods or services you sell.

A good mission statement is a critical element in defining your business and communicating its true goals to its customers, vendors, employees, and owners. For example, if you believe customer satisfaction and customer service is important to you, then say so in the mission statement. If growth and profits are important, say so. If you want employees treated fairly and creativity rewarded, then say that too.

Don't confuse the mission with objectives. They are both about goals. The mission is about fundamental values, and the objectives are about measurable concrete numbers.

The mission statement is also a good opportunity to specifically define what business you are in. This can be critical to understanding your keys to success. For example, many experts say railroads suffered badly in the 1930-1960 period because they thought they were in the business of trains when they were really in the business of transporting goods and people; as a result, competition from highway transportation and the emerging airline industry was brutal.

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Keys to Success: Step 4 of 10

Instructions:

Click in the text box above and type your own text into it. Listing your keys to success is a great way to develop a strong focus on priorities.

Every business has different keys to success. They are a few key factors that make the difference between success and failure. What they are for your business depends on who you are and what you offer. In a restaurant business, for example, location and parking might be keys to success. For accountants and attorneys, the keys might include professional quality, reliability, and participation in community organizations.

The idea of keys to success is based on the need for focus. Don't let your list of keys to success get too long. Three or four items is ideal.


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Market Analysis Text: Step 5 of 10

Type your Market Analysis here

Instructions:

Click in the text box above and type your text describing your market analysis. Use the text to explain the numbers from the Market Analysis Table(the next step).

For the numbers in the Market Analysis Table, think about groups of target customers, called market segments. For example, students, faculty, and staff are different market segments. So are home offices, small businesses, and large businesses. Name each segment and type its name into the "Target Market" column at the left. If you have fewer than three segments, then leave the other remaining rows blank.

For this table you want potential customers, not actual customers. Normally you'll have thousands of potential customers for every one who becomes an actual customer later. For example, a movie theater's potential customers are all the town's people aged 4-90.

For each segment you define, estimate its annual growth rate in whole numbers. Type the estimate into the second column, just to the right of the segment name. For example, type 10% growth per year should be just the number 10, no percentage sign, no decimals, no commas.

Finally, type the total potential customers for this year into the third column. Don't type commas or other punctuation, and summarize millions as thousands. For example, 11 million small businesses should be 11000.

As you finish with the total number for this year, press tab or enter to see the results. The system will automatically calculate future years based on the growth rate and starting values you estimate.

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Market Analysis Table: Step 6 of 10

Target Market Growth     2007    2008     2009    2010
                                   %
                                   %
                                   %
Totals:                       %


Instructions:

We recommend that the market analysis focus on potential customers, not actual customers.

For example, if you have a movie theater in a town of 100,000 population, then your total of potential customers is probably 100,000, even if you sell to only half of them. If you have an expensive auto dealership in that same town, then the total potential is probably some portion of the population whose income level would allow purchasing an expensive car. You might measure it as adults, households, or households and businesses.

Once you understand the idea of potential customers, then your problem is information gathering and making estimates. To manage the table, you add segments as needed and input the names of your market segments.

Remember, this is an initial assessment, not a final business plan. For this first step, you want a practical market analysis that will help you decide whether or not you want to develop the full plan. Does it guide you to better business decisions, better focus on priority segments? Do your research for business reasons, to guide your decisions, not just for the sake of research.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Market Analysis Table: Step 6 of 10

You need to fill out your Market Analysis Table before the Market Analysis Chart can be calculated. Scroll all the way down this screen to insert your numbers

Target Market Growth    2007   2008   2009   2010
                               %
                               %
                               %
Totals:                  %


Instructions:

We recommend that the market analysis focus on potential customers, not actual customers.

For example, if you have a movie theater in a town of 100,000 population, then your total of potential customers is probably 100,000, even if you sell to only half of them. If you have an expensive auto dealership in that same town, then the total potential is probably some portion of the population whose income level would allow purchasing an expensive car. You might measure it as adults, households, or households and businesses.

Once you understand the idea of potential customers, then your problem is information gathering and making estimates. To manage the table, you add segments as needed and input the names of your market segments.

Remember, this is an initial assessment, not a final business plan. For this first step, you want a practical market analysis that will help you decide whether or not you want to develop the full plan. Does it guide you to better business decisions, better focus on priority segments? Do your research for business reasons, to guide your decisions, not just for the sake of research.

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Break-even Analysis: Step 8 of 10

Assumptions
Average Per-Unit Revenue           =
Average Per-Unit Variable Cost   =
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost     =

Break-even Analysis
Monthly Units Break-even           =
Monthly Sales Break-even           =

Instructions:

Put your numbers into the assumptions cells area - no commas, $ signs, only numbers - and click the "save" button to see the break-even points. Remember you have to click "save" or "continue" to save the numbers.

Your average per-unit revenue is your selling price - not the official price, necessarily, but how much you really get for each unit. If you sell anything that you don't count in units, just put a 1 in that cell.

Your average per-unit variable cost has to be less than the revenue above it. Variable costs are per-unit costs that you won't have if you don't build the unit, such as raw materials for a manufacturer, cost of goods sold for a store, or cost of providing a service. If you put 1 into the revenue assumption then start this one with a decimal, such as .1 or .33, which stands for your incremental cost per dollar of sales.

Your monthly fixed costs are what you expect to spend in an average month on rent, payroll, utilities, and the other normal running costs you'd expect to pay regardless of sales. Technically, fixed costs have a slightly different meaning; however, for this exercise you should even include expenses like advertising and promotion, anything in what you might also call your "burn rate," your regular monthly spending.

When those three numbers are typed in, hit the tab button on your keyboard to see how many units (or how much in total sales) you need to break even in a standard month. This is your break-even point. If you look at that and think how easy it would be to sell more than that break-even amount, that's good news. If it looks like it would be hard to reach that amount, that's bad news. You can also view your break-even chart, which shows your profits, losses, and break-even points on a line chart.




Assumptions
Average Per-Unit Revenue
Average Per-Unit Variable Cost
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost

Break-even Analysis
Monthly Units Break-even
Monthly Sales Break-even

Instructions:

Put your numbers into the assumptions cells area - no commas, $ signs, only numbers - and click the "save" button to see the break-even points. Remember you have to click "save" or "continue" to save the numbers.

Your average per-unit revenue is your selling price - not the official price, necessarily, but how much you really get for each unit. If you sell anything that you don't count in units, just put a 1 in that cell.

Your average per-unit variable cost has to be less than the revenue above it. Variable costs are per-unit costs that you won't have if you don't build the unit, such as raw materials for a manufacturer, cost of goods sold for a store, or cost of providing a service. If you put 1 into the revenue assumption then start this one with a decimal, such as .1 or .33, which stands for your incremental cost per dollar of sales.

Your monthly fixed costs are what you expect to spend in an average month on rent, payroll, utilities, and the other normal running costs you'd expect to pay regardless of sales. Technically, fixed costs have a slightly different meaning; however, for this exercise you should even include expenses like advertising and promotion, anything in what you might also call your "burn rate," your regular monthly spending.

When those three numbers are typed in, hit the tab button on your keyboard to see how many units (or how much in total sales) you need to break even in a standard month. This is your break-even point. If you look at that and think how easy it would be to sell more than that break-even amount, that's good news. If it looks like it would be hard to reach that amount, that's bad news. You can also view your break-even chart, which shows your profits, losses, and break-even points on a line chart.

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Break Even Analysis: Step 9 of 10

Graph of result in Step 8

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Conclusion: Step 10 of 10

Executive Summary
Objectives
Mission
Keys To Success
Market Analysis Text
Market Analysis Table

To go to one of the topics and fill it out, simply click its link from the above list, or click here to start from the beginning.

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