sme consulting
DESCRIPTION
Business plan for the sale of SME consulting NEw ZealandTRANSCRIPT
BUSINESS PLAN
www.smeconsulting.co.nz
“Question & Improve”
�
This business plan consists
of a narrative and several
financial worksheets. The
narrative template is the
body of the business plan.
It contains more than 150
questions divided into several
sections. This business plan
although completed for the
SME Consulting strategic
planning project, is also
an important resource for
operating a consultancy
such as SME. This therefore
is also a template on which
you may rely on, to define
your client’s business model,
or re-aligning their strategy
to reflect their customer’s
expectations.
To use this Business plan as a draft
for your future you should skip any
questions that do not apply to your
client’s type of business. When
you are finished writing your first
draft, you’ll have a collection of
small essays on the various topics
of the business plan. Then you’ll
want to edit them into a smooth-
flowing narrative using the template
provided on your “SME Consulting
brand resource DVD”.
The real value of creating a business
plan is not in having the finished
product in hand; rather, the value
lies in the process of researching
and thinking about your business
in a systematic way. The act of
planning helps you to think things
through thoroughly, study and
research if you are not sure of
the facts, and look at your ideas
critically. It takes time now, but
avoids costly, perhaps disastrous,
mistakes later.
This business plan is a generic
model suitable for all types of
businesses. However, you should
modify it to suit the particular
circumstances. Before you begin,
review the section titled Refining
the Plan, found at the end. It
suggests emphasizing certain
areas depending upon the type of
business (manufacturing, retail,
service, etc.). It also has tips for
fine-tuning the plan to make an
effective presentation to investors
or bankers. If this is why you’re
creating the plan, pay particular
attention to the writing style. It
will be judged by the quality and
appearance of the work as well as
by the ideas behind it.
THE BUSINESS PLAN
“The act of planning
helps you to think
things through
thoroughly”
BUSINESS PLAN
�
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
GENERAL COMPANY DESCRIPTION 6
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 8
MARKETING PLAN 10
Economics 1�
Products and Services 14
Competition 14
Competitive Analysis 16
Niche 17
Strategy 18
Pricing �0
Distribution Channels �1
OPERATIONAL PLAN ��
Legal Environment ��
Personal ��
Suppliers ��
Credit Policies ��
Managing Your Accounts Recievable �4
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION �5
PERSONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT �7
START-UP EXPENSES AND CAPITALIZATION �7
FINANCIAL PLAN �8
RESOURCES �0
REFINING THE PLAN �1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SME Consulting is a ready
to run branded complete
consultancy.
It was established to be a packaged
brand company, meaning that the
initial hard work of developing a
brand and completing the required
pre-entry market research has
already largely been completed.
Strategically generic in nature, SME
Consulting has been designed in a
way to enable it to be developed
to the next preferred level with
ease. All forms of media have been
carefully developed by professional
graphic designers to ensure a
professional and modern brand.
The resources included have
been developed by experienced
Investment Bankers and Sales/
Marketing Consultants, whilst
carefully packaged inline with
the brand by experienced Brand
Consultants.
The market is currently well
developed for consulting services
within metropolitan areas. This fact
leaves the more rural and suburban
market wide open to be targeted
with few suppliers to the market and
growing demand as urban property
prices force more and more small
to medium businesses to move
out to the more rural townships
and secondary cities. Research has
shown good interest in locations
within the Wairarapa, Kapiti Coast,
Palmerston & Horowenua regions.
It is therefore to be assumed that
this business model and brand could
easily be developed into a licensed
national company or as a locally run
consultancy anywhere in the more
suburban/rural parts of the country.
Generally, when developing a
market you find that you have to
re-educate your actual market
targets to your ideas and methods.
To do this in the geographical areas
defined by our research, face to
face cold calling is required to
achieve the essential networking
needed. As any experienced sales
rep will tell you, the first impression
is the last impression. Therefore
where most consultancies go wrong
are that they believe you have to
have a good client network before
good, brand awareness, and this
assumption is totally incorrect.
A complete modern and essentially
relative brand is the key to these
initial contacts. SME Consulting
therefore provides that professional
vision and focus to gain that crucial
first time impression. Although
the brand is free to be developed
in which ever way the operator
chooses, many key resources
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“Strategically generic
in nature, SME
Consulting has been
designed in a way
to enable it to be
developed to the
next preferred level
with ease”
4
have been provided and designed
to compliment the brand keeping
inline with the concept by utilising
the logo and colour schemes and
specially designed templates.
In brief, a well designed and ready
to run consultancy free to be
developed into which ever niche
market the operator chooses. Below
are some examples of market
niches that fit into the brand:
• Brand Development
• Process Improvement
• Coaching/Mentoring
• Financial Planning
• Strategic Marketing
• Business Finance Broking
• IT Consulting
• Web Development
• Accounting
Economically we are now entering
a cycle in which small business
finance and consulting will become
essential with the rising cost of
money, as interest rates are steadily
increasing on a global scale. Due
to this, now is the time to establish
a professionally trusted brand to
reap the rewards in the near future
as the market moves through this
phase of the macro-economic cycle.
BUSINESS PLAN
5
www.smeconsulting.co.nz
SME Consulting is a
suitable investment for
any of the following
experienced professionals
looking to start their own
business:
Sales & Marketing Executive
Accountant
Banker
Entrepreneur
Business Analysts
IT Professional
Six Sigma Qualified
Importers & Exporters
Web Developer
Human Resources Manager
Finance Broker
Commercial Lawyer
In a recent research on the
aspirations of today’s teenage
populace, the question was posed
of “what do you want to do for
work when you leave school?” in
results of over 70%, the test group
answered that they wished to own
their own small business and work
from home. The reality is that a
large portion may at some stage of
their lives actually attempt this, but
with odds of 1:9 of them actually
managing to survive the first year
of trading, very few will actually
succeed.
Many of those failed start-ups did
not portray the true essence of the
firm’s mission through a correct
branding strategy. Branding is a
crucial part of starting a company.
It’s what defines the character, the
nature of what you are trying to
achieve and how you are trying to
achieve it. Whether that is through
a conservative colour scheme and
discrete logo, for say a consultancy
or a stylish and modern one to
portray an upmarket hotel chain.
Therefore this research has now
proven the need for ready branded
company set-ups, for those types
of people looking to move on from
their 9-5 bank jobs in the city for
example. Having a ready packaged
brand from the outset not only
saves the entrepreneur time and
therefore money, but also by having
the brand professionally designed
and pre-packaged by several facets
of the business consultancy areas
this entrepreneur will be able to
leave a lasting impression of quality
professional service during the
initial client contact.
Mission Statement:
SME Consulting’s mission is to
provide a cost effective way to build
a brand whilst reducing the time
frame of setting up a business to
virtually zero.
Company Goals and Objectives:
SME Consulting’s goal is very simply
to be a ready branded package for a
budding entrepreneur, whose skills
lay outside of building a brand. This
gives the entrepreneur time to focus
on building his or her client network
from the outset with virtually no
distractions from building the
marketing side. SME being a
very generic brand was carefully
designed to be exactly that, generic.
Giving the operator freedom to add
their own fine touches or to perhaps
to even refine it in line with their
particular skill sets.
Business Philosophy: In business
trust from the outset is what
makes or breaks a consultancy. A
GENERAL COMPANY DESCRIPTION
6
professional brand gives that air of
quality service and professionalism
to build lasting relationships from
that crucial first contact.
The market research carried
out has shown that currently
non-metropolitan areas are
underserviced by business
consultants in nearly all facets.
With rising competition, and the
cost of borrowing, refining business
practices will be crucial to the future
of the small business market for the
foreseeable future. As prices rise
in the cities, more and more of the
operations will relocate to the more
suburban areas and rural centres.
Adding in the existing market
in these locations, makes it a
sufficient economy of scale for small
consultancies who manage to keep
their overheads low and therefore
their pricing inline with demand.
The strength of SME Consulting as
a brand is not only in the modern
aesthetics of the marketing material
(Website, Logo etc), but also in the
material provided. Although the
material is not the business itself,
that is the operators abilities in a
field of business. Therefore SME
Consulting is a fantastic opportunity
for an experienced business
professional looking to branch
out on their own who can provide
niche skills such as sales, process,
marketing, website development
and many more aspects of
managing a successful company.
Most small businesses cannot afford
to employ experienced staff in only
one role of their firm, commonly
referred to as multi tasking, most
employees are required to cover
several positions and responsibilities
within their day to day employment.
This creates a sense of “Jack of all
trades, but master of none” which
is not beneficial to the operation’s
long term growth prospects.
SME Consulting is therefore a
professional brand for someone
looking to exploit this skill shortage
as a form of outsourcing.
All Resources have been developed
by experienced professionals within
the following fields:
Finance, Banking, Service, Graphic
Design, Website Development
Legal form of ownership: Currently
a sole trader operation, this has
been the easiest form of operation,
although it is recommended that a
company formation be completed.
By leaving it as a sole trader
enables the brand to be sold with
no legal or financial obligations
pending.
BUSINESS PLAN
7
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
QUEENSTOWN-LAKES
The median age of people in the
Queenstown-Lakes District is 34.5,
compared with �4.8 for all of New
Zealand.
The most common language after
English in the Queenstown-Lakes
District is Japanese, spoken by
�.7% of people. For New Zealand
as a whole, the most common
language after English is Mäori
(4.5%).
�,688 households or 44.1% in the
Queenstown-Lakes District have
access to the Internet, compared
with �7.4% for all of New Zealand.
Queenstown is New Zealand’s
fastest growing city.
Abundance of SME’s, mainly based
in the tourism sector.
8
freelancers as they no longer have
to deal with the client relationship
portion of the project. So not only
can the freelancer design quicker,
but SME Consulting is able to feed
the pipeline more business as they
have more time to focus on sales
and service. This also has a major
impact on client satisfaction.
With all the benefits of the above,
it’s also important to understand
the possible issues that can arise
from such a structure and in the
event of them arising, be prepared
to deal with them effectively. The
major issue is with timing. This
means that with external parties
working on the same project timing
is of the essence. SME Consultants
need to be able to provide accurate
time frames by understanding the
exact productivity ratios for their
partners. This would enable all
parties to be able to accurately
keep the pipeline full but not over
full as that will lead to a damaged
brand image of SME Consulting
and not the freelancers as SME is
responsible for the contract, just
like a project management company
operates. Pricing for this is usually
a commission of between $1000
to 100% of the cost and should
be completed within 6 weeks (i.e
total cost to construct $1,500 =
SME Consulting has found to
date, that the geographical areas
targeted as test cases, were very
responsive to web development
and re-branding projects. Using
relationships with Graphic Designers
and a Website Developer, this
area is to be considered a highly
profitable and productive avenue
to be explored . The business
model used was that as a sales
and service outsourcing agent for
freelance designers. Therefore by
using several of these partners SME
Consulting is able to confidently
produce several websites at a
time due to the construction
being done externally whilst also
having more time to focus on the
‘Business to Client’ relationship
more effectively. If this as to be
completed internally rather than
through external third parties
the costs would rise dramatically
due to employing several high
income specialists. As Such, there
are no major overheads required
and in fact in a tax sense there
are even major financial benefits
in outsourcing the construction
of any website developments.
Another major benefit of this type
of structure is that it improves
not only the productivity of the
sales pipeline for SME Consulting,
but also the productivity for the
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
“...the brand itself
is generic enough
to be adapted to
any professional
expertise with
complete ease...”
BUSINESS PLAN
9
total price $�,000 and $1,500
profit that’s a margin of 100%!).
Therefore managing the sales
pipeline is the key to positive cash
flow from this enterprise
Another great new market is the Six
Sigma process improvement area.
Although normally a large corporate
management enhancement
methodology, it can very easily be
adapted to medium business and at
a very profitable rate. Most of these
types of medium businesses have
grown rapidly and to date are to
be considered successful start-up’s
and probably are trying to move
from the embryonic phase into a
more mature established service
provider. This is a very crucial stage
to the long term growth prospects
for these firms. Most are often
owned and operated on a day to
day basis by the founders who due
to the rapid growth have a need of
independent and subjective analysis
to be able to move the firm into
the next phase of growth. Usually
the founder is unprepared for the
success of the operation, and the
firm is starting to lose its drive
and direction. Six sigma methods
usually are able to point out through
process mapping and other tools,
the areas of process which need to
be addressed. A time consuming
exercise for the founders who
typically have no time to give to this
area which is also often confusing
for them. Pricing for this form of
project work can be charged at
$100 - $150 per hour carrying very
little overheads.
Although there are just two
profitable areas outlined above,
the brand itself is generic enough
to be adapted to any professional
expertise with complete ease and
with no need to alter the branding
in anyway.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
MACKENZIE
The median age of people in
the Mackenzie District is 38.3,
compared with �4.8 for all of
New Zealand.
The most common language after
English in the Mackenzie District is
French, spoken by 1.6% of people.
For New Zealand as a whole, the
most common language after
English is Mäori (4.5%).
The most popular occupational
group in the Mackenzie District is
agriculture and fishery workers. The
most popular occupational group in
New Zealand as a whole is service
and sales.
Increase in property development
and net migration from Europe
leading to increasing property
values and therefore property
services.
Fast becoming the new place of
choice for people, looking to obtain
the typical kiwi lifestyle.
District Includes the Mt. Cook area.
10
MARKET RESEARCH - WHy?No matter how good your product
and your service, the venture
cannot succeed without effective
marketing. And this begins with
careful, systematic research. It is
very dangerous to assume that you
already know about your intended
market. you need to do market
research to make sure you’re on
track.
MARKET RESEARCH - HoW?Market research has been
performed more on identifying
the market target profile, than on
the market as whole due to the
fact of SME Consulting trying to
retain a generic nature for future
development. It’s therefore difficult
to define an exact market as
that would be dependent on the
operators, particular skill set.
In terms of the market in general,
the ideal market target has
proven to have the following
characteristics:
• Location is suburban to rural
• Staff of �-10
• Established operations, possibly
fallen behind competition
• Brand seen as stale
• Trades related business
• New management
• Need to diversify services
offered
• Location has an increasing
populace from outside the area
Due to the nature of the target
areas, it’s important to have an
ability to prospect for clients by
MARKETING PLAN
”...the venture
cannot succeed
without effective
marketing”
BUSINESS PLAN
11
cold calling. Before doing this, in
depth research should be performed
on the brand awareness of the
prospect and its services offered.
More often than not, the SME
Consultant finds themselves in a
position of educating the prospect
to the options available. Due to
nonexistent consulting services
offered to these areas within New
Zealand, the prospects usual answer
to a cold call is “I just don’t have
time to think about things like
that” which is exactly why SME
Consulting is needed. To make those
options available without placing the
customer under stress.
Below are some useful marketing
ideas for the eventual operator to
use, there are also resources on the
DVD supplied.
There are two kinds of market
research: primary and secondary.
Secondary research means
using published information
such as industry profiles, trade
journals, newspapers, magazines,
census data, and demographic
profiles. This type of information
is available in public libraries,
industry associations, chambers of
commerce, from vendors who sell to
your industry, and from government
agencies.
Start with your local library. Most
librarians are pleased to guide
you through their business data
collection. You will be amazed at
what is there. There are more online
sources than you could possibly
use. Your chamber of commerce
has good information on the local
area. Trade associations and trade
publications often have excellent
industry-specific data.
Primary research means gathering
your own data. For example, you
could do your own traffic count at
a proposed location, use the yellow
pages to identify competitors,
and do surveys or focus-group
interviews to learn about consumer
preferences. Professional market
research can be very costly, but
there are many books that show
small business owners how to do
effective research themselves.
In your marketing plan, be as
specific as possible; give statistics,
numbers, and sources. The
marketing plan will be the basis,
later on, of the all-important sales
projection.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
CENTRAL OTAGO
The median age of people in the
Central Otago District is 4�.6,
compared with �4.8 for all of
New Zealand.
93.8% of the population in the
Central Otago District (1�,�4�)
speak only one language, compared
with 8�.1% for New Zealand as a
whole.
1,740 households or �0.8% in the
Central Otago District have access
to the Internet, compared with
�7.4% for all of New Zealand.
Fastest growing wine district in
New Zealand leading to rapid
increase in tourism based services.
Highest sunshine count in
New Zealand providing a unique
lifestyle “Creating industry cluster
groups with a view to developing
their specific capabilities, economic
contribution and export potential.”
Central Otago District’s Economic
Strategy opens many opportunities.
looking for a change in direction
or lifestyle, the opportunity to hit
the ground running. With having
a well developed and presented
brand already built and designed,
the operator has only to begin
prospecting within that area with no
delays due to brand creation.
Although it is also important to
consider that as of February �006
more than 75% of all businesses
within New Zealand were based in
the North Island, �5% of them in
Auckland alone.
• Business and Property Services
are the largest industries in
New Zealand, not Agriculture as
perceived. Construction is now
New Zealand’s second largest.
• In �006 77% of all companies
use broadband.
• Large untapped markets in
locations offering unique
lifestyles.
• Barriers to market entry for
both the operator of SME
Consulting and the competitors
are: Business specialisation,
general business acumen,
sales experience, knowledge
of internet development,
small business networks.
ECONOMICSFacts about the SME industry:
Fastest growing business districts
with the top 10 being as at the end
of financial year 2005:
1. Queenstown-Lakes 9.1%
2. Mackenzie 7.5%
�. Central Otago 6.8%
4. Selwyn 6.5%
5. Chatham Is. 5.8%
6. Waimakariri 5%
7. Tauranga 5%
8. Ruapehu 4.7%
9. Porirua 4.6%
10. Southland 4.5%
Now this may not really seem so
wonderful when looking at these
small percentages, but when
compared to the national average of
3.3% growth and Auckland at 2.7%,
Wellington �.7% and Christchurch
at 4.6% its then obvious which
locations in New Zealand are in
need of independent small to mid
sized business consultants.
Also due to their isolation, these
areas are in general harder
to attract top staff. Therefore
SME Consulting gives someone
1�
“SME Consulting
gives someone
looking for a
change in direction
or lifestyle, the
opportunity to hit
the ground running”
* (These barriers are actually a
benefittothebusinessmodel,
asitrestrictsmarketentryto
thosefewwiththetrueability
todeliver.)
Howcouldthefollowingaffect
thecompany?
• Change in technology: SME
Consulting was founded to
identify client prospects that are
behind in the latest methods
and systems, therefore change
is the lifeblood of the model.
• Change in government
regulations: At this stage
there are no plans for
the government to change
regulations on business
consulting. All the regulations
are the same for all. Regardless
of type (i.e. the privacy act.)
• Change in the economy:
Business consulting is one of
the few industries that benefits
from all economic cycles. Due
to the nature of the business,
a bad economy is sometimes
better than a good one.
• Change in your industry: The
consultancy will not only be up
to date on the latest methods,
but will actually invent and
create some of their own. A
consultancy teaches
improvement and creative
thinking, therefore they must
also follow their own teaching.
QUEENSToWN-LAKES 9.1%
MACKENZIE 7.5%
CENTRAL OTAGO 6.8%
SELWYN 6.5%
CHATHAM IS. 5.8%
WAIMAKARIRI 5%
TAURANGA 5%
RUAPEHU 4.7%
PORIRUA 4.6%
SOUTHLAND 4.5%
BUSINESS PLAN
1�
14
PRODUCTS & SERVICESBelow is a table of possible services
that fit into the brand. It’s important
that the eventual operator of SME
Consulting has a clear selection of
the following and the experience
and knowledge required to deliver
professionally on these services.
Website Development
Graphic Design
IT based sales
Financial Broking
Legal Consultancy
Process Improvement
Mentoring/Coaching
Sales Outsourcing
Human Resources
Marketing
Credit Control
Branding
Client Development
Accounting
Import & Export
Management Services
PleaseseetheresourceDVDfor
materialrelatingtosomeofthe
above.
COMPETITION
The Small Business Consulting
market is well developed within the
more metropolitan areas of New
Zealand. Although, as discussed
earlier in this piece, the small
business market maybe moving
away from these currently well
entrenched consultancies due to a
demographic shift for small business
in general as they seek to reduce
overheads and/or change of lifestyle
for the owners.
SME Consulting therefore is about
taking a professional brand actually
to the client, as outlined above
in the fastest growing business
districts. With well established
consultancies in the larger cities
like Wellington and Auckland for
example, it is currently very difficult
to set up a brand new operation
due to market oversaturation in
these places. So by following the
demographic shift as outlined
above, it is to be assumed therefore
that using the fastest growing
business districts as a geographical
market guideline would allow SME
Consulting to find untapped markets
for whichever niche skill set is
required.
The type and therefore amount of
competition the eventual operator
“...using the
fastest growing
business districts
as a geographical
market guideline
would allow SME
Consulting to find
untapped markets
for whichever niche
skill set is required”
BUSINESS PLAN
15
will have is dependent on several
variables such as the niche services
that the operator will decide to focus
on. our marketing research shows
us that currently there is large
demand for branding expertise and
web development within the target
locations as outlined in a previous
chapter. This is due to reluctance of
the larger firms who are currently
embedded within in the main
centres, to actually target the
smaller end section of the market.
This therefore leaves potential to
owner operators to exploit with
little to no competition in locations
outlined previously.
Indirect competition will also
remain in the form of lawyers
and accountants, although their
consulting skills are generally
focused on the broader horizon than
what is necessary for the day to
day running of a successful firm. In
the modern market, a full range of
professional services are paramount
and that has created a need to
have specialists in several niche
areas such as process improvement
and web development that the
enterprising business consultant
can target effectively with very
high rates of return but as always
dependent on the operators own
skill sets as to what area of service
that is.
How will your products or services
compare with the competition?
To understand the strengths
and weaknesses of a business,
it’s important to do a quick
SWoT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis
to have a general overview of
where your business or operation
needs to improve. This has been
completed as an example only and
this template can also be found on
the ‘Resources DVD’ as this is also
a very important part of assessing
your future client’s competitive
position if so required.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
SELWYN
The median age of people in the
Selwyn District is �5.�, compared
with �4.8 for all of New Zealand.
95.2% of people (25,353) in the
Selwyn District said they belong
to the European ethnic group. For
all New Zealand 80.1% said they
belong to the European ethnic
group.
The median income of people in
the Selwyn District is $�1,000,
compared with $18,500 for all of
New Zealand.
1�.0% of people aged 15 years and
over in the Selwyn District have
an annual income of more than
$50,000, compared with 11.5% for
New Zealand as a whole.
The most popular occupational
group in the Selwyn District is
agriculture and fishery workers. The
most popular occupational group in
New Zealand as a whole is service
and sales.
Small business growth seen mainly
around the tourist trail near Arthurs
pass & the lakes.
This assessment was based on
the current positioning of SME
Consulting. The table shows us that
having a professionally presentable
brand when working within the
business services industry is an
essential ingredient when trying
to establish that crucial client
FACTOR ME COMPETITOR A COMPETITOR BIMPORTANCE
TO CUSTOMER
PRODUCTS � � � 4
PRICE 5 1 � 5
QUALITY � 4 5 5
SERVICE 5 � � 4
RELIABILITY 5 4 � �
STABILITY � 4 4 4
EXPERTISE 4 � � 5
COMPANY REPUTATION
1 � � �
LOCATION 5 1 � 4
APPEARANCE 5 � � 5
SALES METHOD � 4 � �
CREDIT POLICIES
� 4 4 1
ADVERTISING � � � �
IMAGE 5 4 4 5
TOTALS 50 41 40 5�
TABLE 1: CoMPETITIvE ANALySIS
network. The target being at all
times, the customers expectations.
This is a brief overview of a
business’s current brand positioning
as compared against internal
assumptions, competitors and the
most important being what the
customer expects in return for
16
5 = very strong
1 = weak
BUSINESS PLAN
17
their money. This table is a useful
quick insight into assessing the
clients (and SME Consultings) actual
current brand perception from
several different angles.
The SME Consulting brand therefore
gives that air of professional
experience needed to be successful
Some disadvantages do remain
however, as it is still apparent that
a lack of advertising does make
it hard to generate leads quickly.
Therefore the eventual operator
will need to define the best source
of marketing dependent on the
operators chosen location and field
of expertise.
NICHENow that we have systematically
analyzed the industry, the product,
customers, and the competition,
you should have a clearer picture of
where your future consultancy can
fit into the market.
The particular niche of the
consulting market is entirely
dependent on the operator’s skills,
experience and chosen lifestyle.
Example 1; if a business banking
representative who currently
is working in one of the large
institutional banks but wishes to
perhaps return to their place of birth
within New Zealand (i.e. Invercagill)
and start their own business, it’s
probably logical to expect that that
person has many skills learnt as
a Business Banking rep that could
easily be applied to their own clients
needs. This person therefore would
logically move into the business
finance consulting market.
Example 2; a Marketing executive
within a large corporate company
in Auckland, wishes to raise their
newborn child away from the cities
and closer to their own family
(i.e. Central Otago)whilst having a
more relaxed lifestyle at the same
time, would easily find that the
skills learnt in the corporate world
which the person has probably until
now taken for granted as standard
business practice, are in desperate
shortage in the locations outlined as
being New Zealand’s fastest growing
business districts. This person would
then logically look to move into the
branding and strategic marketing
nice of the industry.
These are just two examples of
how the often taken for granted or
overlooked skills of the operator can
be used to exploit the exact niche
within the market to become a very
successful consultant.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
CHATHAM IS.
The median age of people in the
Chatham Islands District is ��.8,
compared with �4.8 for all of New
Zealand.
Very Sparse population
Fishing is the main industry
�6.7% of people aged 15 years
and over in the Chatham Islands
District said they have no formal
qualifications, compared with 27.6%
of people aged 15 years and over in
New Zealand.
51 households or ��.�% in the
Chatham Islands District have
access to the Internet, compared
with �7.4% for all of New Zealand.
Although there has been a slight
increase in tourism, there is still too
small a population (800 apx) for it
to be considered a viable option.
STRATEGYAs above, giving an exact detailed
marketing strategy is dependent on
knowing the right niche to target.
Although some marketing tips and
ideas are as follows:
Cold calling: Door to Door, calling
in on small businesses within the
area. Use of the resources on
the DvD is the key to this as a
professional presentation is required
from the offset. It’s Important to
keep the time short but effective
as the objective is to gain a first
name basis with the potential client
and arrange a more suitable time
to do a proper presentation as
to the services offered, how they
can benefit the client and more
importantly… why you.
Referrals: Establish a relationship
with an accountant, lawyer, graphic
designer, business broker etc within
your area and feed off their client
list. Leave brochures in their offices
or even in the office of a local hotel
that caters to businesspeople. Use
a client fidelity program to keep
your brand at the forefront, using
a dedicated mailing list and post
sale follow up... remember their
birthdays! Referrals are the life
blood of a consultant as they will
add in future goodwill.
Internet: Currently the strongest
and most effect form of internet
marketing is via Google Adwords.
Google Adsense enables the
advertiser to pay as much per
month as needed (min $50) and
have a link placed onto hundreds if
not thousands of different websites
which have something in common
with the advertisers particular
market segment and products/
services supplied.
Once the funds have been paid
via credit card, a simple link and/
or pictorial advertisement will be
placed on any websites that have
placed Google’s code enabling this
link to be shown. This also works
both ways, as by enabling the
Google Adsense product, the cost
of Google Adwords can be negated
via page impression & click through
advertisements placed on the SME
Consulting website.
Both Products only require a simple
registration at no cost and are
highly recommended as one of the
most cost effective way to advertise.
Development of the current
website should be done inline
with whichever niche the operator
targets. Resources for the clients
should become downloadable
from using a logon and password
system and then a download page
“Development
of the current
website should be
done inline with
whichever niche the
operator targets”
18
or local school with the correct
technology (projector etc). Use your
accountant, lawyer etc to obtain
potential mailing lists and names of
attendees as well as a local radio/
newspaper advertisement combined
with posters strategically placed
around areas that attract small
business owners like the post office
or local bank.
Small high street office: As the
geographical locations identified
are more or less all semi-rural or
rural districts (see fastest growing
business districts), it’s not out of
the question to eventually look at
opening up a highly visible high
street office. This will add overheads
to the operation but due to the
general nature of the commercial
lease expenses being lower than
the national average, it’s therefore
an important mid growth step to
consider. Remember, for every dollar
you put into the operation… how
many will you get back? This would
be ideal for when the business
moves past the embryonic stage
and has a need to distribute some of
the more mundane responsibilities
by delegating this to employees.
with .pdf links attached so that
the client can then obtain copies
of any material required whenever
they require it (possible passive
income opportunity i.e. charge per
download).
Seminars: Arrange a seminar
type presentation. The objective
for the seminar is to create public
awareness of the SME brand,
create the ‘need’ (realisation
that the client needs to use your
service) and generate leads by
arranging appointments during
the coffee break (also at the end,
but this strategy is more effective
during the seminar). Seminars
should cover the following: current
market situation on a global &
local scale, trend of that market,
SME Consulting mission statement,
services offered, how those
services can benefit the client,
facts & figures on the success
rate of your services, examples of
situations where a company should
bring in a consultant, disaster
examples of where they didn’t,
give names of existing or past
clients (with permission) and lastly
cost. Seminars of this type are
usually a �-� hour affair and light
refreshment should be provided.
It is important that the seminar
is held at a proper venue such
as a conference room of a hotel
Local Newspapers: These generally
are not suitable for B�B (business
to business) as these are targeting
the consumer market and therefore
are suitable for B�C (business to
consumer). Again this is heavily
dependent on the actual location to
be chosen by the eventual operator.
Local Radio: This is in general
a very effective way to create
awareness of the brand. Most
businesses in New Zealand have
the local radio station playing
somewhere on the premises.
Although some leads can be
generated by this form of media,
it is mainly about creating brand
awareness.
BUSINESS PLAN
19
�0
Sponsorships: Quite often people
think this means giving some money
to the local sports club to have
the logo included on team shirts.
But the most effective form for a
business such as SME Consulting
is to sponsor a business planning/
innovation competition such as the
“Cable Car Challenge” sponsored by
Rod Drury the founder of Xero Ltd.
Again, this is very effective brand
awareness creation.
This is all very dependent on the
location and niche to be targeted,
but the above can be used to define
the exact mix required.
Important questions to be asked
when defining that mix are as
follows:
• How will you get the word out to
customers?
• Advertising: What media, why,
and how often?
• Have you identified low-cost
methods to get the most out of
your promotional budget?
• Will you use methods other
than paid advertising, such as
trade shows, catalogues, dealer
incentives, word of mouth (how
will you stimulate it?), and
network of friends or
professionals?
• How do you want customers
to see you? Is that inline with
the brand?
• Should you have a system to
identify repeat customers and
then systematically contact
them?
• How much will you spend on the
items listed above?
PRICINGFor most small businesses, having
the lowest price is not a good policy.
It robs you of needed profit margin;
customers may not care as much
about price as you think; and large
competitors can under price you
anyway. Usually you will do better
to have average prices and compete
on quality and service. Therefore
the following questions must be
asked by the operator:
Does your pricing strategy fit
with what was revealed in your
competitive analysis?
Compare your prices with those of
the competition. Are they higher,
lower, the same? Why?
How important is price as a
competitive factor? Do your
intended customers really make
their purchase decisions mostly on
price?
What will be your customer service
and credit policies?
How important
is price as a
competitive factor?
Do your intended
customers really
make their purchase
decisions mostly
on price?
BUSINESS PLAN
�1
Proposed Location
Once the geographical location has
been selected, it’s important to
remember that metropolitan based
clients don’t care so much about
where you are based but more
about the quality of service and
reputation. If you have selected
one of the districts (or similar)
outlined in this plan then where
your operation is actually based
does become an important factor for
many prospective clients.
Generally this particular market
segment will trust locally run
businesses over the larger city
based ones due to accessibility
and convenience of the service
provider. Again this may also raise
the question of the actual premises
of the operation. It’s important
that if a client does come to you
for a meeting, that there is an
actual ‘place of business’ feel to the
premises whether that be a room
in your own home used as an office
or an actual leased office space. For
example, is there off street parking?
Are there any family pets? These
can all easily damage the image of
the operation.
Itcouldbeprudenttoask“is
itwhatyourcustomerswant
andexpect”?
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELSHow are you going to sell your
products or services?
• Retail
• Direct (mail order, Web,
catalogue)
• Wholesale
• Your own sales force
• Agents
• Independent representatives
• Bid on contracts
• Sales Forecast
Use the sales forecast database
(ResourcesDVD) to prepare a
month-by-month projection. The
forecast should be based on the
marketing strategies that have just
been described and industry data, if
available.
you may want to do two forecasts:
1) a “best guess”, which is what you
really expect, and �) a “worst case”
low estimate that you are confident
you can reach no matter what
happens.
Remember to keep notes on your
research and your assumptions as
you build this sales forecast and all
subsequent spreadsheets into the
plan. This is critical if you are going
to present it to funding sources.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
CHATHAM IS.
The median age of people in the
Chatham Islands District is ��.8,
compared with �4.8 for all of
New Zealand.
Very Sparse population
Fishing is the main industry
�6.7% of people aged 15 years
and over in the Chatham Islands
District said they have no formal
qualifications, compared with 27.6%
of people aged 15 years and over in
New Zealand.
51 households or ��.�% in the
Chatham Islands District have
access to the Internet, compared
with �7.4% for all of New Zealand.
Although there has been a slight
increase in tourism, there is still too
small a population (800 apx) for it
to be considered a viable option.
��
PERSONNEL• Type of labor (skilled, unskilled,
and professional)
• Where and how will you find the
right employees?
• Quality of existing staff
• Pay structure
• Training methods and
requirements
• Who does which tasks?
• Do you have schedules and
written procedures prepared?
• Have you drafted job
descriptions for employees?
If not, take time to write
some. They really help internal
communications with
employees.
• For certain functions, will you
use contract workers in addition
to employees?
LEGAL ENVIRONMENT• Licensing of several software
packages is a must such as
MYOB or XERO (recommended)
• If you will be offering Financial
Planning services then you
should check to make sure you
have the relevant qualifications
• Health, workplace, or
environmental regulations are
adhered to
• Currently there is no compulsory
regulation to have any formal
qualification to be a business
consultant. (Does not apply to
all services i.e. law)
• Please speak to your local
business insurance
representative to understand
your requirements or we
recommend speaking to your
solicitor.
OPERATIONAL PLAN
“Do you know what
it will cost you to
extend credit? Have
you built the costs
into your prices?”
BUSINESS PLAN
��
SUPPLIERSIdentify key suppliers:
• Names and addresses
• Type and amount of inventory
furnished
• Credit and delivery policies
• History and reliability
Should you have more than one
supplier for critical items (as a
backup)?
Do you expect shortages or short-
term delivery problems?
Are supply costs steady or
fluctuating? If fluctuating, how
would you deal with changing costs?
CREDIT POLICIES• Do you plan to sell on credit?
• Do you really need to sell on
credit?
• How will you check the
creditworthiness of new
applicants? We recommend
www.creditconsultants.co.nz
• What terms will you offer your
customers; that is, how much
credit and when is payment
due?
• Will you offer prompt payment
discounts?
• Do you know what it will cost
you to extend credit? Have you
built the costs into your prices?
(Help with pricing is offered as
part of the sale agreement)
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Waimakariri
The median age of people in
the Waimakariri District is 37.4,
compared with �4.8 for all of
New Zealand.
The population of the Waimakariri
District contains a smaller
proportion of Pacific peoples (0.5%)
and smaller proportion of Asian
people (0.8%) compared with the
whole of New Zealand (at 6.5% and
6.6% respectively).
9.2% of people aged 15 years and
over in the Waimakariri District have
an annual income of more than
$50,000, compared with 11.5% for
New Zealand as a whole.
The most popular occupational
group in the Waimakariri District is
service and sales workers. This is
also the most popular occupational
group in New Zealand as a whole.
4,60� households or �4.7% in the
Waimakariri District have access to
the Internet, compared with �7.4%
for all of New Zealand.
�4
MANAGING YOUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLEIf you do extend credit, you should
do an aging at least monthly to
track how much of your money is
tied up in credit given to customers
and to alert you to slow payment
problems.
Accounts Receivable Aging
You will need a policy for dealing
with slow-paying customers: (see
ResourcesDVD)
• When do you make a
phone call?
• When do you send a letter?
• When do you get your attorney
to take legal action?
We recommend a reputable credit
consulting agency be brought on
board such as Credit Consultants
Ltd. By doing this you will be able
to collect debts owing without
having to waste valuable time
and resources chasing them.
Credit Consultants have an array
of policies and products that can
benefit a small business selling
on credit. They also can help to
manage your accounts receivable
through outsourcing or factoring
them on. They also would make a
very useful partner for the operator
of SME Consulting for future clients
consulting packages.
Managing Your Accounts
Payable
You should also age your accounts
payable, what you owe to your
suppliers. This helps you plan whom
to pay and when. Paying too early
depletes your cash, but paying late
can cost you valuable discounts and
can damage your credit. (Hint: If
you know you will be late making
a payment, call the creditor before
the due date.)
Do your proposed vendors offer
prompt payment discounts?
“We recommend
a reputable credit
consulting agency
be brought on
board...”
BUSINESS PLAN
�5
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION
In the tables above, list the support
people you wish to use.
The following are our recommended
suppliers for various services:
(TheVendorsareunderno
financialobligationtomakethese
recommendationsandaremade
solelyasameansofproviding
crediblecontactinformationfor
futureneeds)
www.creditconsultants.co.nz
Credit Consultants provides a wide
range of credit management and
related services throughout New
Zealand and Australia. Our clients
include private and public sectors
organisations, large corporate and
small/medium sized businesses.
www.net24.co.nz (Current
reselleragreementinplace)
Net�4 is one of New Zealand’s
leading web hosting and data
hosting providers. We have been
providing robust, secure and fast
New Zealand based web hosting
services to New Zealand businesses
since 1999. Learn about our data
centre and find out why thousands
of businesses trust Net�4.
www.1stdomains.co.nz
See Net �4.
www.webdeveloper.com
A web developer forum and
resources, database. Links web
developers from all over the world
to solve any coding issues. Also
provides useful, free educational
resources.
PROFESSIONAL AND ADVISORY SUPPORT
Support type: Name Name
Board of directors
Management advisory board
Attorney
Accountant
Support type: Name Name
Insurance agent
Banker
Consultant or consultants
Mentors and key advisors
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Tauranga
The most popular occupational
group in Tauranga District was
Service and Sales Workers (16.8
percent). The most popular
occupational group for New Zealand
as a whole was Service and Sales
Workers (14.8 percent).
Thriving economy, driven by
commercial enterprise and tourism
combined with ten years of strong
property values.
Large population of 109,100 (2006),
Tauranga is growing by 5� people
a week and 88 new dwellings per
month creating demand for all retail
services
Papamoa is expected to become a
city itself within 15 years
� New Motorways are almost near
completion which is expected to
lower the drive time to Auckland
significantly and result in a much
higher influx of new residents.
�6
www.business.govt.nz
You’re at the New Zealand
government business site. The
information and tools here are
designed to help you start, manage
or grow your business and deal with
the day-to-day challenges along the
way.
www.leasetech.co.nz
You don’t have to be a big business
to enjoy the benefits of leasing
with Leasetech. Get the capital
equipment you need with one of our
business friendly leases and enjoy
smoother cash flow, tax effective
payments and flexible options.
Leasetech is ideal for any business,
small, medium or large and gives
you the choice of equipment
supplier.
www.buildwebsite4u.com
Web page templates are ready-
made Web pages created to use
as a basis for fast and high-quality
website development. All you need
is to add your text and pictures to
your Web design template - and
you’ll get a functional and individual
site ready for upload.
www.graphicsolutions.co.nz
Graphic Solutions is a graphic
design business based in Wellington
which provides highly innovative
branding and marketing solutions.
(TheSMEConsultingbrandwas
developedundertheirguidance)
www.francisconsulting.co.nz
Francis Consulting is a boutique
business advisory and chartered
accountancy firm in the heart of
Wellington’s CBD. We are committed
to providing business owners with
new ideas and quality advice
www.iponz.govt.nz
This New Zealand Government
website provides information on
patents, trade marks and designs.
Here you can search the registers,
pay renewal fees, file trade mark
applications, and find forms and
guides on intellectual property in
New Zealand
Graphic Solutions
is a graphic design
business based in
Wellington which
provides highly
innovative branding
and marketing
solutions.
BUSINESS PLAN
�7
You should also complete personal
financial statements (SeeResources
DVD) for each owner and major
stockholder, showing assets and
liabilities held outside the business
and personal net worth. Owners
will often have to draw on personal
assets to finance the business, and
these statements will show what
is available. Bankers and investors
usually want this information as
well.
It’s important to estimate expenses
accurately and then to plan where
you will get sufficient capital.
This is a research project, and
the more thorough your research
efforts, the less chance that you
will leave out important expenses
or underestimate them. (See
ResourcesDVD)
Even with the best of research,
however, opening a new business
has a way of costing more than
you anticipate. There are two ways
to make allowances for surprise
expenses. The first is to add a
little “padding” to each item in
the budget. The problem with
that approach, however, is that
PERSONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
START-UP EXPENSES AND CAPITALIZATION
it destroys the accuracy of your
carefully wrought plan. The second
approach is to add a separate
line item, called contingencies, to
account for the unforeseeable. This
is the approach we recommend.
Talk to others who have started
similar businesses to get a good
idea of how much to allow for
contingencies. If you cannot get
good information, we recommend
a rule of thumb that contingencies
should equal at least �0 percent
of the total of all other start-up
expenses.
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Ruapehu
The most popular occupational
group in Ruapehu District was
Agriculture and Fishery Workers
(��.5 percent). The most popular
occupational group for New Zealand
as a whole was Service and Sales
Workers (14.8 percent).
Increasing amount of tourism
development due to the ski fields
Strong Hospitality industry with
festivals held at ohakune every
year for the start of the ski season.
This creates more demand for new
bars and cafes.
The tourist towns of Whakapapa,
National Park and ohakune are also
located here.
Population is decreasing due to
rising property values as more
city based investors are buying up
holiday homes around the main
tourist spots of ohakune and
Whakapapa.
�8
so that you can explain them later if
necessary, and also so that you can
go back to your sources when it’s
time to revise your plan.
FOUR-YEAR PROFIT PROjECTION (OPTIONAL)The 1�-month projection is the
heart of your financial plan. This
section is for those who want to
carry their forecasts beyond the first
year.
of course, keep notes of your key
assumptions, especially about
things that you expect will change
dramatically after the first year.
PROjECTED CASH FLOWIf the profit projection is the heart
of your business plan, cash flow is
the blood. Businesses fail because
they cannot pay their bills. Every
part of your business plan is
important, but none of it means a
thing if you run out of cash.
The point of this worksheet is to
plan how much you need before
start-up, for preliminary expenses,
operating expenses, and reserves.
you should keep updating it and
using it afterward. It will enable you
to foresee shortages in time to do
something about them—perhaps cut
expenses, or perhaps negotiate a
loan. But foremost, you shouldn’t be
taken by surprise.
The financial plan consists of a 12-
month profit and loss projection, a
four-year profit and loss projection
(optional), a cash-flow projection,
a projected balance sheet, and a
break-even calculation. Together
they constitute a reasonable
estimate of your company’s financial
future. More important, the process
of thinking through the financial
plan will improve your insight into
the inner financial workings of your
company.
1�-MONTH PROFIT AND LOSS PROjECTIONMany business owners think of the
12-month profit and loss projection
as the centerpiece of their plan. This
is where you put it all together in
numbers and get an idea of what
it will take to make a profit and be
successful.
Your sales projections will come
from a sales forecast in which you
forecast sales, cost of goods sold,
expenses, and profit month-by-
month for one year.
Profit projections should be
accompanied by a narrative
explaining the major assumptions
used to estimate company income
and expenses.
Research Notes: Keep careful notes
on your research and assumptions,
FINANCIAL PLAN (SEERESouRCESDVD)
“If the profit
projection is the
heart of your
business plan,
cash flow is
the blood...”
BUSINESS PLAN
29
And of course, depreciation does
not appear in the cash flow at all
because you never write a check
for it.
OPENING DAY BALANCE SHEETA balance sheet is one of the
fundamental financial reports that
any business needs for reporting
and financial management. A
balance sheet shows what items
of value are held by the company
(assets), and what its debts
are (liabilities). When liabilities
are subtracted from assets, the
remainder is owners’ equity.
Use the start-up expenses and
capitalization spreadsheet as a
guide to preparing a balance sheet
as of opening day. Then detail how
you calculated the account balances
on your opening day balance sheet.
optional: Some people want to add
a projected balance sheet showing
the estimated financial position of
the company at the end of the first
year. This is especially useful when
selling your proposal to investors.
There is no great trick to preparing
it: The cash-flow projection is just
a forward look at your checking
account.
For each item, determine when you
actually expect to receive cash (for
sales) or when you will actually
have to write a check (for expense
items).
you should track essential operating
data, which is not necessarily part
of cash flow but allows you to track
items that have a heavy impact
on cash flow, such as sales and
inventory purchases.
you should also track cash outlays
prior to opening in a pre-start-up
column. You should have already
researched those for your start-up
expenses plan.
your cash flow will show you
whether your working capital is
adequate. Clearly, if your projected
cash balance ever goes negative,
you will need more start-up capital.
This plan will also predict just
when and how much you will need
to borrow.
Loan payments, equipment
purchases, and owner’s draws
usually do not show on profit and
loss statements but definitely do
take cash out. Be sure to include
them.
FINANCIAL PLAN (SEERESouRCESDVD)
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Porirua
The most popular occupational
group in Porirua City is clerks.
The population of Porirua City
contains a larger proportion of
Pacific peoples (26.7%) and
smaller proportion of Asian
people (4.0%) compared with
the whole of New Zealand (at
6.5% and 6.6% respectively).
The median age of people
in Porirua City is �0.8,
compared with �4.8 for all
of New Zealand.
�8.0% of people (1�,�87) in
Porirua City are aged under 15,
compared with ��.7% for all of
New Zealand.
Rapid expansion of SME’s
seeking to lower their costs by
moving away from Wellington.
Again property inflation can be
blamed.
High Internet usage and
excellent modern transport.
�0
BREAK-EVEN ANALYSISA break-even analysis predicts the
sales volume, at a given price,
required to recover total costs. In
other words, it’s the sales level
that is the dividing line between
operating at a loss and operating at
a profit.
Expressed as a formula, break-even
is:
Breakeven Sales =
Fixed Costs
ü Brochures and advertising
materials
ü Industry studies
ü Magazine or other articles
supporting findings
ü Copies of any contracts
ü Any other materials needed to
support the assumptions in this
plan
ü Market research studies
ü original files specific to SME
Consulting (logo etc)
ü Databases
ü Brand Manual
ü Stationary (invoices, letterhead
etc)
RESOURCES TO BE FOUND ON THE ‘RESOURCES DVD’
“A break-even
analysis predicts the
sales volume, at
a given price,
required to recover
total costs”
BUSINESS PLAN
�1
FOR INVESTORSInvestors have a different
perspective. They are looking for
dramatic growth, and they expect to
share in the rewards:
• Funds needed short-term
• Funds needed in two to
five years
• How the company will use
the funds, and what this will
accomplish for growth.
• Estimated return on investment
• Exit strategy for investors
(buyback, sale, or IPo)
• Percent of ownership that you
will give up to investors
• Milestones or conditions that
you will accept
• Financial reporting to be
provided
• Involvement of investors on the
board or in management
The generic business plan presented
here in should be modified to suit
your specific type of business
and the audience for which the
plan is written. Thiscanbedone
incollaborationwiththecurrent
operatorsofSMEconsultingatan
extracosttobenegotiatedaspart
ofthesaleagreement.
FOR RAISING CAPITALYou will need to supply the following
information in a professional format.
FOR BANKERSBankers want assurance of orderly
repayment. If you intend using this
plan to present to lenders, include:
• Amount of loan
• How the funds will be used
• What this will accomplish—
how will it make the business
stronger?
• Requested repayment terms
(number of years to repay).
You will probably not have
much negotiating room on
interest rate but may be able to
negotiate a longer repayment
term, which will help cash flow.
• Collateral offered, and a list
of all existing liens against
collateral
REFINING THE PLAN
FASTEST GROWING
BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Southland
The median age of people in the
Southland District is �6.8, compared
with �4.8 for all of New Zealand.
3,030 households or 29.7% in the
Southland District have access to
the Internet, compared with �7.4%
for all of New Zealand.
The Southern Institute of
Technology offers free education.
This brings net youth migration,
leading to an increased demand for
all services & hospitality.
Stewart Is. is becoming a major
tourist attraction.
Currently one of the fastest
growing property markets left in
New Zealand due to economic
expansion.
MANAGING THE BRAND“Don’t try to
reinvent the wheel,
keep ‘it’ clean and
consistent”
COLOURSThere are 3 main colour spaces, RGB, CMyK and PANToNE. you will find the
SME Consulting logo supplied in all of these formats on the Resources DVD.
Below are the explanations and SME brand colour information.
RGB (red, green, and blue) refers to a system for representing the colors
to be used on a computer display. Used in basically anything intended to be
viewed on screen(note Microsoft applications also use RGB).
R:159 G:39 B:41 R:181 G:176 B:173
CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) This most common colour space
used for professional level print. Also called full colour, and is used for any
printed work using photographs. (Digital Printing only uses CMyK)
C:25 M:96 Y:90 K:21 C:30 M:�6 Y:�8 K:0
PANTONE A set of standard colours for printing, each of which is specified
by a single number. Pantone Colours are also sometimes referred to as
corporate colours and are mostly used for printing of company stationery or
in one or two colour print runs.
PANTONE 704 PANTONE Cool Gray 6
FONTSLogo Font: Trade Gothic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
General Use Font: Verdana
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNoPQRSTUvWXyZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNoPQRSTuVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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OPENING DAY BALANCE SHEET
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash in Bank $-
Inventory $-
Prepaid Expenses $-
Other $-
Total Current Assets $-
Fixed Assets
Machinery & Equipment $-
Furniture & Fixtures $-
Leasehold Improvements $-
Property / Buildings $-
Other $-
Total Fixed Assets $-
Other Assets
Specify $-
Specify $-
Total Other Assets $-
Total Assets $-
LIABILITIES & NET WORTH
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable $-
Taxes Payable $-
Notes Payable (due within 1� months) $-
Current Portion Long-term Debt $-
Other current liabilities (specify) $-
Total Current Liabilities $-
Long-term Liabilities
Bank Loans Payable
(greater than 1� months) $-
Less: Short-term Portion $-
Notes Payable to Stockholders $-
Other long-term debt (specify) $-
Total Long-term Liabilities $-
Total Liabilities $-
Owners’ Equity (Net Worth) $-
Total Liabilities & Net Worth $-
BUSINESS PLAN
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�4
BUSINESS PLAN
�5
STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS ANALYSIS
My Company Competitor 1 Competitor � Competitor �
STRENGTHS
What are your business
advantages?
What are your core
competencies?
Where are you making
the most money?
What are you doing well?
WEAKNESSES
What areas are you avoiding?
Where do you lack resources?
What are you doing poorly?
Where are you losing money?
What needs improvement?
OPPORTUNITIES
Any beneficial trends?
Niches that competitors
are missing?
New technologies?
New needs of customers?
THREATS
obstacles to overcome?
Aggressive competitors?
Successful competitors?
Negative economic conditions?
Government regulation?
Changing business climate?
vulnerabilities?
www.smeconsulting.co.nz
“Question & Improve”