| Typical business plan segments |
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| Vision statement |
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(EXAMPLE) Company will become a market-driven organization that is noted for superlative quality.
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| Mission statement |
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(EXAMPLE) The mission of the company is to be a positive force in the agricultural industry by providing customers with safe, nutritious, state-of-the-art food products.
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| Company values & goals |
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SUCH AS: creativity & innovation; cutting edge business practices; honesty, integrity & openness; safe operations; sustainability business practices.
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| Company background |
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- Give the history of the firm.
- Who owns the company?
- How is the company organized?
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| Business environment |
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- Macro-economic trends – What are the global trends that can impact the vision? Free trade? Increased competition? Farm policy provides more/less support to agriculture.
- Micro-economic trends – State of Oregon economic forecast and/or regional economic data, for example.
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| Competitive strategy |
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- How will the company respond to each trend?
- What experience does the company have with producing and bringing the product to market? Who will manage the company? Who are the key people in the company?
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| Describe the product |
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- Define your product(s) giving as much detail as possible.
- What makes the product unique?
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| Define the market |
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- Which market segment do you plan to pursue: Retail? Wholesale? Institutional? Direct?
- Describe the expected customer in terms of: age, gender, income, occupation, location, attitude, life style, likes and dislikes?
- How many consumers fit this definition?
- Why will the customer buy the product? (convenience, taste, nutrition, environmental advantages, price, etc.)
- Who are the competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Is the number of competitors growing?
- Is the market growing?
- Where is the product in terms of its life cycle?
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| Outline a marketing plan |
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- What is required to get the product to the customer and make the customer aware of the product’s value?
- Determine a promotional budget. Do you have to educate the consumer about your product?
- What makes the product different compared to its competition?
- What is the appropriate price?
- What is the appropriate distribution?
- Will distributors require discounts?
- Will the company be required to pay for in store promotion?
- How about slotting allowances?
- What is the appropriate promotional message?
- Can the product be branded?
- Who will manage the marketing? The marketing manager will tell the sales staff what they need to emphasize about the product to potential buyers based on market data.
- Who will sell the product? Selling is about establishing relationships with people and giving the customer what they want in a consistent and timely manner.
NOTE: Marketing a product IS NOT the same thing as selling a product. Selling is what you do after you define a market and what the market needs.
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| Operation plan |
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- Where will the product be produced?
- What is the firm’s production capacity?
- Who are the suppliers of the raw materials? What do they cost?
- What type of equipment is required?
- Who will manage the production operation?
- What are the quality control and safety procedures?
- Who will perform what tasks?
- What skills does the company need to acquire to produce and to deliver the product?
- Where and how will the company get these skills? Who specifically will perform what duties?
- If you have a product and a market, can you deliver a quality product every time?
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| Financial projections |
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- Estimate revenues based on market definition and associated demand estimates. It’s OK to guess. A “three year projections” is sufficient with one year broken into months.
- What are the costs associated with the given level of production?
- What is the projected net income? Is the plan feasible? When will the business make money? If so, how much?
- What are the capital requirements? Loans?
NOTE: Grants & loans – no one can expect to get a grant or a loan without having a business plan in hand.
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| Keys to Success |
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- What needs to happen to succeed?
- What can go wrong?
- Provide a “Time Table of Events”
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