Writing a Winning Business Plan Workshop

Presented by:

Mark Engle, Director

MCCD Small Business Development Center

2400 N. Central Avenue, #104

Phoenix, AZ 85004

480-784-0590

Before We Get Started

• Introductions of Site SBDC staff

• Questions can be posed through moderators

• www.maricopasbdc.com

• Plan and Workbook

Why Do A Business Plan?

• Failure to Plan is like Planning for Failure

• Roadmap to chart path to success

• Goals lead to success

• Decision making tool

Why Do A Business Plan?

• Educate and Motivate Others

• Failure to Plan is like planning to fail

• Forces you to think it through

• Avoid costly mistakes!

Who Is The Plan For?

• For a banker

• For an investor

• For an insurance policy

• For employees & family

• For YOU!

Authorship Issues

• Neat, typed & free of errors

• YOU need to do the plan

• Not too slick or polished

• Not too long

Authorship Issues

• Avoid the “trust me” or too many generalizations

• Use facts & figures to make points

• SBA Guideline for what to have for an SBA loan

Authorship Issues

• Protecting the Confidentiality of Your plan

• Non-disclosure statements

• Loaning vs. giving

What Do Lenders Want?

• What is your background? Years in industry, experience factors

• Answer the lenders questions:• What you will use funds for

(schedule if possible), source of repayment (show in projection), collateral (schedule if possible), your equity (sources & uses schedule), and backup repayment plans

What Do Investors Want?

• Must believe in you, first and foremost

• Answer the investors questions:

• How soon can you buy them out? What is the potential for future deals? What will you do if things don’t turn out as expected?

The Physical Plan• 3-ring Binder for your

plan• Not too fat for the banker

or investor• Use your plan as a tool, to

evaluate progress over time

• Name, address, phone #’s, email, website all on the front.

The Business Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY• Write last• Concept/mission

statement• Summary statements and

results

Management & Operations

• Organization structure

• Key management personnel (resumes attached)

• Other management & organizational matters

The Industry Analysis

• The Name and information

• The Industry

• The Company

• Products and/or services

The Marketing Strategy

• Market research• Who is your customer?• Competitive Analysis• Market evaluation & trends

The Marketing Plan

• Show marketing objectives and goals – overall strategy

• Pricing strategies

• Sales tactics

• Advertising & other methods

• Service & warranty issues

• Show timelines & Budget

Critical Risks & Problems

• Shows forethought and planning

• Murphy’s Law

• Product improvement and new products

• Costs of improvements or startup costs

The Financial Plan

• The financial history is shown – three years financials

• A projection for three to five years of:– Balance sheet– Profit and Loss– Cash Flow– Ratios– Breakeven & other analysis

The Financial Plan

• Show “reasonable” assumptions• For financing or investors, show them:

– Need for financing– Use of funds– Sources & Uses Statement– Collateral?– Repayment– Debt coverage ratio– Breakeven analysis

The Financial Projections

SBDC Excel Workbook

• Either on your own or with our help• Download from

www.maricopasbdc.com go to Free Downloads section and save to hard drive (before loading)

Where do we go from here

• Getting “hopping” on the plan• Do like the Nike slogan “Just Do It”• Using other organizations resources

– SBDC– SCORE– Accountant/Attorney/Banker– Employees/Associates

Thank you for attending!

Building Your Winning Business Plan Workshop

Presented by:Mark Engle, Director

Maricopa Community Colleges Small Business Development Center

2400 N. Central Avenue, #104Phoenix, AZ 85004

480-784-0590www.maricopaSBDC.com

Satellite locations – Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler,

Avondale, Glendale, Surprise & Online!