Business Plan -

In this assignment you are to review your Outline (Assignment 2) and then fill in and actually write the first half of the Business Plan. You will combine this with the Second Half of the Business Plan (Due Week 6) and then, after incorporating instructor feedback you will combine the first half of the Business Plan with the second half of the Business Plan for your final Signature Assignment for this class.

SWOT

Also, please remember and important part of this assignment is to prepare your preliminary SWOT. It is best to have your SWOT in two forms. The first is a visual display using the Smart Art in Word (Insert > Smart Art). See the SSWOT Analysis handout in Week 2 Documents and Resources for more information and an example. In addition, check out this link for more information on SWOT: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm.

Note: Your SWOT analysis will be included in your Business Plan - Part 1 assignment (Week four); however, it is important to do a preliminary SWOT analysis now before you develop the mission and vision of your company.  Prepare words that explain each section of the SWOT and link those to the data you are gathering this week in your Literature Review. Remember, the SWOT is an analysis of internal and external factors that will affect your new business.

For this assignment prepare and write out the following sections of your proposed business. Use APA and follow APA guidelines for your headings. Each section is to have primary source data and you should cite the textbook at least three times in this section. Remember to alphabetize all of your sources for this paper and list them in a reference section at the end.

It is recommended that you use short citations often to fifteen words, trying to fill up your paper with long citations of five to ten lines long is never appropriate in a business plan.( If you quote more than 40 words, follow APA guidelines https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/) Also remember the "voice" of a business plan is never to write that something "must, should" be done. The Business Plan "voice" is to recommend or provide options and opportunities. Also avoid using any pronouns (we, us, they, them, etc.) as they are always confusing and should be completely avoided in a business plan.

For this paper have at least five or six paragraphs for each section (remember a paragraph is usually about half of a page and is never just one sentence,

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/02/). Each section should have two to three citations. 

Remember you will write the Executive Summary (abstract) with the second half of the Business Plan (not now) as you cannot write the abstract until the entire paper is researched, data is analyzed and written.

1. Mission and Vision Statement & Innovation Description

The Mission and Vision should be carefully crafted. You should see evidence of how your operational, financial, and marketing plans are executed in light of the mission and vision.

Innovation Description (proposed new innovation)

Mission and Objectives

Distinctive Core Competencies

2. Industry Analysis and Trends (state of the industry, market research, barriers to entry, identifying competitors, identifying market niche and segmentation, expert advice, competitive analysis, strategic positioning, etc.).

The history of the industry

Size of the industry

Industry evolution

The trend--where the industry is expected to be in five to ten years

The key players in the industry (those who do something like this well and those who do not).

Barriers to entering the market

3. Strategic Positioning, Strategic Intent (Measurable Goals)

Competition strengths and weaknesses (using SWOT, AAA, and other matrices)

Have the SWOT as part of the body of the paper (see above on SWOT)

4. Product / Service (define product or service, what makes the product worthwhile, liability concerns, expert advice, etc.)

How does the position in the Product Life Cycle affect this Business Plan?

How does the position in the Industry Life Cycle affect this Business Plan?

5. Management Plan (hiring projections, board of directors or advisors, outside professionals, licenses, expert advice, etc.)Management and Ownership

Management staff structure

Key managers

Plans to attract, develop ,and retain key personnel

Future additions to the current management team

Compensation plan

Insurance plan

Government Rules and Regulations that might apply

Answer Drucker's Five Questions at it relates to your business http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/5-essential-questions-entrepreneurs.html

6. Marketing Plan (defining the product, defining the customer, selling prices, place, promotion, follow-up plan, and expert advice, etc.).

What is the competitive advantage that this innovation will create?

Major characteristics of the target market (what do the customers look like?)

What is the demand of this target market?

Nature of the competition (demographics)

What are total sales to this market in geographic area?

What are total sales expected in five years?  In ten years?

What percentage of this demand does this innovation expect to capture?

What are the 4 P's? (https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ec/ec-730.pdf)

Overall marketing strategy

Specific marketing mix

Strengths and weaknesses in ability to satisfy target market needs

Communication plan internally and externally