Business Plan PreparationIntroduction

Frank MoyesLeeds School of Business

University of ColoradoBoulder, Colorado

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Tonight’s Agenda Introductions Course organization & syllabus Writing a business plan Discuss your ideas

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Communications

Frank Moyes frank.moyes@colorado.edu Office Hours: Koelbel 440

Monday 4:00 to 6:00pm Wednesday 3:00 to 5:30pm And by appointment

Website http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/Moyes

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Materials

Lawrence and Moyes, “Writing a Successful Business Plan”, 2007 (download from Resource section of Instructor’s website)

Moyes and Lawrence, “Financial Spreadsheets for the Business Plan” (download from Resource section of Instructor’s website)

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Objectives of the Course Understand what is a business plan & when

to write one Learn to write a viable business plan Experience the process

“Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise.” Bertrand Russell

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Course Structure Weeks 1 & 2: Evaluate opportunities Week 3: Select concept & team Weeks 4 & 5: Market & Industry Analysis Week 6 to 13: Instructor to describe a section

of the business plan (slides posted on course website)

Weeks 5 to 12: In the Fire sessions Week 14: Present business plan & hand in Week 15: Competition

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Grading Individual

Concept & resume Participation Peer evaluation

Team Assignments In the Fire sessions Written assignments & Presentations Final Business Plan & Presentation

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Business Plan Sections

Executive Summary Company Overview Product/Service Description Market & Industry Analysis Marketing Plan Operations Plan Development Plan Management Competitive Advantage Financial Plan Funding

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Why Write a Business Plan? Road Map

Establish goals to make sure that are on track and heading in the right direction

Action Plan Small steps lead to large results

Sales Tool to attract investors, vendors, customers, partners, employees

“If we don’t have a plan for ourselves, we will be part of someone else’s.” Joan Lunden

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A Good Business Plan Explains how you are going to do it Provides evidence that customers want to

buy Tells a story - creates excitement Addresses the critical elements Should be painful to write

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Critical Elements of a Business Plan(& You Must Address) Strong market Attractive industry Compelling Need Clear value proposition Sustainable competitive advantage Understanding of profitability & cash flow Management

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Why Not Write a Business Plan? Lack experience Information

Time & cost to get causes too great a delay Can’t get

Situation changes too quickly Founder has great experience, successful

track record & has a “gut feel” for the business

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““Writing a business planWriting a business plan is a life changing event.”is a life changing event.”

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Discuss IdeasDiscuss Ideas

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Concept & Team Selection Process

Identify Concept Conduct Idea Exercise (download from website)

Jan 23 discuss your concept in class Use Business Concept Description as a

framework for explaining your concept

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Concept & Team Selection Process (continued) Jan 25 (Friday) 1:00pm email Business

Concept Description as a Word attachment to instructor Must have your name & concept name in file name

and on the attachment Jan 28 (Monday) Instructor to email all

students which concepts with the greatest potential that have been selected

Jan 30 (Wednesday) Students whose idea are selected will form a teams of four in class

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Approach to Generating Business Concepts“From Student to Entrepreneur”

Doing what you love What bugs you Use your experience Recycle business concept Steps, pain points & solutions Developed by Neal Lurie, MBA 2004

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Concept Description Brief description Why is there an opportunity/need? What is the product/service? Who is the target market? What are the benefits to the target

market? Who is the competition? Your competitive

advantage. Profitability

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Concept Description Brief description Why is there an opportunity/need?

Problem you are solving Size & Trends

What is the product/service? What is unique How will it be produced or delivered?

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Unique/Different You must differentiate your business – it’s

already being done by someone More than unique product/service design

Marketing – positioning Operations – process or value chain Channels – create a new channel

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Concept Description (continued) Who is the target market?

Demographics & psychographics Industry, company size

What are the benefits to the target market? Features are not benefits

Who is the competition? Your competitive advantage

Profitability Revenue model Contribution margins

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Benefits Emotional: ambition, power, independence,

achievement, ambition, pride of ownership, comfort, love, friendship, security, style, self improvement, etc.

Social: status, image, popularity with friends or family members, reputation of brand, personal relationships, style, fashionable, etc.

Health: stress, fitness, mental capacity, strength, sex life, quality of life, muse, etc.

Financial: revenue, costs, savings, productivity, pricing, profitability, market share, save time, productivity, etc.

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Concept Description Brief description Why is there an opportunity/need? What is the product/service? Who is the target market? What are the benefits to the target

market? Who is the competition? Your competitive

advantage. Profitability

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Assignments for Next Week

Review ESBM 3700 materials on Opportunity Recognition

Email resume “From Idea to Entrepreneur” exercise Identify an opportunity to discuss in class

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