The CORE FOUR Business Planning Course®
Table of Contents
CORE 1: Success Planning
I Am an Entrepreneur
Define Your Business, Your Dream
How do you define your business?
Case Study
The Nightmare: Mike the Mechanic
What Are The Characteristics Of A Successful Business Owner?
Know Yourself and What You Need
Capitalize on your strengths
Business Owner Resume
WORKSHEET – Business Owner Resume
Compensate for your weaknesses
WORKSHEET – Professional Development Plan
What Do You Want Your Business To Do For You?
What is a personal financial goal?
How to set personal financial goals
Owner draw
What is a business failure?
WORKSHEET – Personal Income and Expenses (Monthly)
What do you have to use or to lose?
WORKSHEET – Personal Financial Statement
Your Credit Report
How to get your credit report
How Will Your Life Change?
WORKSHEET – What do you want to do? What don’t you want to do?
Contingency Planning
“When” Instead Of “If”
Business Planning
Why write a business plan?
Due diligence
How other people look at your business plan
Sample Business Readiness Assessment Checklist
Business Plan Outline
SAMPLE SERVICE BUSINESS PLAN – BRILLIANT CLEANING SERVICE
SAMPLE RETAIL BUSINESS PLAN – The Salsa Company
CORE 2: Market Planning
The Master Plan
Market Planning
What is marketing?
What is a marketing plan?
What does the successful marketing plan focus on?
Have you ever prepared a marketing plan?
How do you build a marketing plan?
Identify your niche your market position
Create an appealing image/package
Develop a promotional plan
Price your products/services
Sell your products/services
Identify Your Products or Services
What do you sell? What do customers buy?
What is a feature?
What is a benefit?
Benefits – People Want or Need to:
WORKSHEET – Features and Benefits
Identify Your Distribution Process
What are your choices of distribution?
What should you consider before choosing your distribution method?
WORKSHEET – Distribution
Market Research: Industry, Customers and Competition
What types of market research should you do?
Market Research Chart
Market Research Sources
WORKSHEET – Market Research
QUESTIONNAIRE – For Interviewing a Business Owner
Identify Your Industry
WORKSHEET – Industry
Section A – Individual Customers
WORKSHEET – Individual Customer Needs Survey
WORKSHEET – Individual Customer Profile
Section B – Commercial/Industrial Customers
WORKSHEET – Commercial/Industrial Customer Profile
Section C – Existing businesses – customer profile
WORKSHEET – Individual Customer Satisfaction Survey
WORKSHEET – Commercial/Industrial Customer Satisfaction Survey
Identify Your Competition
Who are your competitors?
WORKSHEET – Competitive Analysis
Competitor Evaluation Criteria
WORKSHEET – Competitor Evaluation 1
WORKSHEET – Competitor Evaluation 2
Position Your Products/Services
Find your market niche
Rate your competitive evaluations
Prepare a Competitor Evaluation Worksheet for your business
Example – Competitive Analysis Chart – Flower Shops
Example – Marketplace Position – Flower Shops Part 1
Example – Marketplace Position Worksheet – Flower Shops Part 2
WORKSHEET – Competitor Evaluation Summary
WORKSHEET – Market Position
Create an Appealing Image/Package
What is packaging?
Why is packaging so important?
What types of packaging issues should you address?
WORKSHEET – Location
WORKSHEET – Image/Packaging/Signage
Create A Marketing Plan
Overview
Why do customers buy? What’s in it for them?
How do you use benefits to motivate customers?
Motivation Chart
What are the three basic objectives when promoting your product?
Advertising, Marketing, Promotion – What’s the difference?
What is Marketing?
What is Advertising?
What is Promotion?
How much should you spend on Marketing? (Promotion, Advertising, Etc)
Where, when and how often?
Marketing options
Types of paid advertising
Low cost marketing ideas
E-Commerce and Your Website
Marketing Your Website
WORKSHEET – Marketing Plan
Example – Marketing Plan
WORKSHEET – Create Your Marketing Plan
Pricing Your Products or Services
What should you consider when pricing your products or services?
Basic Pricing Formula
What are variable costs?
What are fixed costs?
What are value costs?
WORKSHEET – Pricing: Identify Your Cost Types
Direct Selling: The Sales Presentation
Who will you be selling to?
How do you feel about selling your products or services?
Example – Sales Presentation
How can you be more successful at selling?
WORKSHEET – Creating Your Sales Presentation
Build Your Marketing Plan
How do you build your marketing plan?
What do you do now that your marketing plan is done?
CORE 3: Cash Flow Planning
Figure It Out!
Cash Flow Planning
What is cash flow?
What is a cash flow plan?
What does the successful cash flow plan focus on?
Why do cash flow planning?
Business Financial Goals
Primary business financial goals
How to set business financial goals
How Do You Create A Cash Flow Plan?
Go Figure!
Basic cash flow planning steps
Think, research, analyze, calculate, decide
Summarize your assumptions:
Record the results on your cash flow foRM
Then ask yourself…
Your cash flow projection is a working tool
People have friends, Businesses have customers
People have wants, BusinessES have needs
Assumptions to Your Cash Flow Projections
Projecting Startup Cash
What is startup cash?
Bootstrapping
Staging Risk
WORKSHEET – Startup Cash Assumptions
Projecting Cash for Goods or Services
What is cash for goods or services?
WORKSHEET – Cash for Goods or Services Assumptions
Projecting Cash for Operations
What is cash for operations?
WORKSHEET – Cash for Operations Assumptions
Projecting Sales
Key components of sales projections
Breakeven Method for projecting sales
How to project sales using the cash breakeven method
WORKSHEET - Sales to Cash Breakeven
Cash and Profits are Not the Same
Calculating profits versus ending cash
Profit Breakeven versus Cash Breakeven
Breakeven Analysis
Cash Breakeven Example: The Pie Bakery and Brilliant Cleaning Service
Cash Breakeven Worksheet: The Salsa Company
Sensitivity Analysis
Projecting Other Sources and Uses of Cash
How Much Money Do You Need to Start Your Business?
WORKSHEET – Projected Sources and Uses of Funds
WORKSHEET – Cash Flow Projections
CORE 4: Operations Planning
A problem: is it a crisis or an opportunity?
Form of Business
What Does Form of Business Mean?
Forms Of Business
How Should You Choose?
The Partnership Toast
Prepare a Conflict Resolution Plan
Forms of Business Chart
Assumed Name
Intellectual Property
Trademarks
Patents
Copyrights
Home-Based Businesses
Tax Identification Numbers
You are authorized, responsible, and accountable to determine your business responsibilitIes
Tax Identification Numbers
Four Principal Types of Identification Numbers
State Tax Identification Number
Workforce Identification Number
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
State Sales and Use Tax ID
Taxes
About Taxes
Five Principal Types of Business Taxes
Business Income Tax
Self-Employment Tax
Excise Tax
Employment Taxes
Federal Income Tax Withholding
Social Security and Medicare Taxes
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
State Income Tax Withholding
State Unemployment Tax
Sales And Use Taxes
Estimated Taxes
Individuals
Corporations
Depositing Tax payments
Information Tax Returns
Licenses and Permits
Zoning
Pollution Control Programs
Issues for Employers
Types Of Employment Relationships
Other Employment Issues
Minimum Wage Requirements
Overtime Pay Requirements
Workers' Compensation
Occupational Safety And Health (OSHA)
Other Considerations
Employee Manual
Managing Risk
Insurance
Considerations
Types Of Insurance
General Liability
Product Liability
Property Damage
Workers' Compensation
Health and Medical
Disability or Long-Term Income Continuance
Key Person or Life Insurance
Business Interruption
Bonding
Managing Insurance Costs
WORKSHEET – Insurance
Legal and Accounting Professionals
How To Find An Accountant Or Attorney
Banking
Your Business Bank Account
How To Shop For MONEY
Loans and credit line
Merchant status
Opening Your Account
Types of Funding Sources
Recordkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting
Two Fundamental Rules of Bookkeeping
Computerized accounting systems
Why We Keep Records
Things Your Record keeping System Should Help You Know, Do, or Monitor
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Audit Trail
Purchasing
What should you consider?
Negotiating
Keep Your Promises
Goals, Functions, Policies and Procedures
Goals
Functions
Policies & PRocedures
So What?
An Example of How They All Fit Together
Customer Service
Defining Customer Service
Walk-ins
Telephone Etiquette
Email Etiquette
Requests for Information
Complaints
Repairs and Service
Internet Ratings
Technology
Cell Phones
Computers
E-mail and Internet
Computer-Enhanced Equipment
Business Dress Rehearsal
WORKSHEET – Operations Planning Checklist
What Next?
WORKSHEET – Work Plan Outline
APPENDIX
Helpful Website Addresses
INDEX OF WORKSHEETS