Written Business Plan
Objective / Overview
Drawing on the research and findings presented for Assignment 1 (that is, in your class presentation), the objective of this major assignment is to devise, formulate and write up a comprehensive business plan to operate a new small local retail or service business – a partnership or private company set up in Melbourne/Victoria not interstate or overseas in the near future. Public companies or Manufacturing businesses should not be considered. Do NOT base your business plan on an already existing business.
A focus will be to present financial information.
Requirements:
You may wish to allocate or divide up the research areas across your group, but keep in mind that you must come together regularly to share your findings with your team members.
Write up your business plan
Your written business plan should include the results from the research you conducted for Assignment 1 (class presentation), as well as your financial plan, operating budgets and preliminary financial requirements. You should communicate how the business will be viable and successful. You could target the report to a potential lender, potential supplier, potential distributor or potential investor for your business.
The following plan/report template should be used to formulate your business plan however, you may include additional information relevant to your business and success strategy. Also included is a guide to the number of words appropriate for each section of the business plan.
Not all businesses are identical and likewise, not all reports will be the same. The word count provided for each section is a rough guide only, however, you must stay within the 3,500 max word count.
Template for your formal Business Plan Report:
1. Title page (not included in word count)
2. Table of Contents (not included in word count)
3. Executive summary (150 words) (Brief Outline. This is NOT an Introduction)
a) An overview of the business idea and goals
b) Brief summary of Marketing
c) Brief summary of Operations
d) Brief summary of Finances
- Note: this section (especially parts b to d) is best done after all other sections of the Business Plan have been completed.
4. Background (250 words)
a) Detailed description of business
b) Business strategy
c) Ownership and legal structure (including justification for ownership structure chosen)
d) Owners skills and expertise
5. Marketing (400 words: 200 words for sections a) to d) and 200 words for e) [pricing policy])
a) Products or services to be offered
b) Target market / customer demographics/ competitors
c) Industry Characteristics
d) Promotion and Advertising
e) * Pricing policy
* Note: Your business plan must use Cost Volume Profit analysis to demonstrate how the Pricing Policy has been determined.
6. Operations (450 words)
a) Organisational structure and staffing
b) Regulation considerations
c) Professional advisers
d) Business premises
e) Plant and equipment required
f) Service/Retail processes
g) Key sustainability consideration
7. Financial Projections (1,700 - 1,900 words). THIS SECTION SHOULD BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF YOUR BUSINESS PLAN.
a) Financial forecasts/Budgets1
b) Funding needs2 Notes (to Point 7 above):
You are required to use excel spreadsheets to prepare a comprehensive series of linked budgets/information from the list below. You must then discuss the budgets within the financial projections section of your written business plan. The excel spreadsheets can be attached as an appendix of the written business plan.
- Start-up costs summary
- Sales/Revenue Budget
- Purchases Budget
- Cost of Sales Budget
- Selling and Administrative Expenses Budget
- Schedule of Cash Collections
- Schedule of Cash Payments
- Cash Budget
- Income Statement Budget
(Statement of Financial Position is not a requirement of this assignment).
Note: Excel spreadsheets are not included in the word count.
- For the ‘Funding Needs’ section please discuss:
- The amount and timing of funding requirements
- Why funding is required; and
- The funding source. That is, where funding is in the form of debt (i.e. loans) also include details of:
- Proposed lenders (for example, bank etc.)
- Interest rates and amounts o Monthly repayments; and o Term of the loan.
8. Implementation timetable (150 words)
- Provide a detailed schedule of when the activities of the business are expected to be carried out.
9. Concluding statements (200 words)
- Provide a summary of why you believe the business plan provides information that substantiates the viability of your proposed business
- References (all references used and quoted in your research) (not included in word count).
- You must use the Harvard Referencing style. Please make sure that you also use appropriate referencing for the in-text citations.
- For information about Harvard referencing please see the referencing files and link provided on the MOODLE website under Week 1.
