START A T-SHIRT BUSINESS CHAPTER 3

How to write a business plan|

How to Write a Business Plan
Introduction: How to Use This Book
Chapter 1: Benefits of Writing a Business Plan
Chapter 2: Do You Really Want to Own a Business?
Chapter 3: Choosing The Right Business
Chapter 4: Potential Sources of Money to Start or Expand Your Small Business
Chapter 5: Your Resume and Financial Statement
Chapter 6: Your Profit and Loss Forecast
Chapter 7: Your Cash Flow Forecast and Capital Spending Plan
Chapter 8: Write Your Marketing and Personnel Plans
Chapter 9: Editing and Finalizing Your Business Plan
Chapter 10: Selling Your Business Plan
Chapter 11: After You Open—Keeping on the Path To Success
Chapter 12: Good Resources for Small Businesses
Appendix 1: Business Plan for a Small Service Business
Appendix 2: Business Plan for a Manufacturing Business
Appendix 3: Business Plan for a Project Development
Appendix 4: Blank Forms
Introduction: How to Use This Book
“Nine to five ain’t takin me where I’m bound.”
—Neil Diamond,
from “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”
“You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there.”
—Yogi Berra
Overview
Here is a book designed to help you write a first-rate business plan and loan application. How to
Write a Business Plan contains detailed forms and step-by-step instructions designed to help you
prepare a well-thought-out, well-organized plan. It shows you how to apply proven financial and
business planning techniques usedby traditional lenders and investors to your benefit. Coupled
with your positive energy and will to succeed, this book shows you how to design a business plan
and loan package you will be proud to show to the loan officer at your bank, the Small Business
Administration or your Uncle Harry.
But this book does more than just take you through the steps of writing a business plan. More
importantly, the tools and techniques in this book help you decide if your business idea will work.
The same financial and analytical tools necessary to convince potential lenders and investors that
your business idea is sound can help you decide whether your idea is the right business for you.
After working with hundreds of business owners, I have observed an almost universal truth about
business planning: Writing a plan is an internal journey through the mind of one person. Even in
partnerships and corporations, usually one person has the vision and energy to take an idea and
turn it into a business by writing a business plan. For that reason, I have addressed this book to the
business owner as a single individual rather than a husband and wife team, group, committee,
partnership or corporation.
What Kind of Plan Do You Need?
You can use How to Write a Business Plan to write whatever type of plan best suits your needs:
•Complete business plan. By writing this type of plan, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of all
aspects of your business. A complete business plan is especially helpful for people who are
starting a new business. This form of plan is also excellent for convincing prospective backers to
support your business. You’ll be more successful in raising the money you need if you answer all
of your potential backers’ questions. A complete plan should include the following elements:
Title Page:Chapter 9, Section E
Plan Summary:Chapter 9, Section C1
Table of Contents:Chapter 9, Section E
Problem Statement: Chapter 3, Section D2
Business Description: Chapter 3, Section D3
Business Accomplishments:Chapter 5, Section B
Marketing Plan:Chapter 8, Section B7
Sales Revenue Forecast:Chapter 3, Section F1
Profit and Loss Forecast:Chapter 6, Section D
Capital Spending Plan:Chapter 7, Section B
Cash Flow Forecast:Chapter 7, Section C
Future Trends:Chapter 3, Section E
Risks Facing Your Business:Chapter 8, Section B8
Personnel Plan:Chapter 8, Section C4
•Business Personality:Chapter 8, Section C1
•Staffing Schedule:Chapter 8, Section C2
•Job Descriptions:Chapter 8, Section C3
Specific Business Goals:Chapter 2, Section B4
Personal Financial Statement:Chapter 5, Section C
Personal Background (Your Strong and Weak Points, General and Specific Skills Your
Business Needs, Your Likes and Dislikes):Chapter 2, Section B
Appendix: Table of Contents:Chapter 9, Section D
Appendix: Supporting Documents:Chapter 9, Section D
•Quick plan (one-day plan). This method allows you to produce a basic business plan in a short
time—as little as one day in some cases. If you know your business, are familiar with and able to
make financial projections and have done the necessary research, you may be able to create a
plan in one day. But understand that a quick plan is a stripped-down version of a business plan. It
won’t convince either you or your prospective backers that your business idea is sound. It is
appropriate only if your business idea is very simple or someone has already committed to
backing your venture.
Most lenders and investors receive many requests for money every week and they develop a set
of criteria that helps them screen proposals. The basic information in a quick plan is usually not
enough for them to make a decision. Sad to say, most busy backers will turn down a proposal
before they will ask for more information. Potential backers, just like most people, prefer a deluxe
version with all the extras to a stripped-down model.
A stripped-down quick plan has these few components:
Title Page: Chapter 9, Section E
Plan Summary: Chapter 9, Section C1
Table of Contents:Chapter 9, Section E
Problem Statement:Chapter 3, Section D2
Business Description:Chapter 3, Section D3
Business Accomplishments:Chapter 5, Section B
Sales Revenue Forecast: Chapter 3, Section F1
Profit and Loss Forecast: Chapter 6, Section D
Capital Spending Plan: Chapter 7, Section B
Cash Flow Forecast:Chapter 7, Section C
Supporting Documents:Chapter 9, Section D
Quick Plan. The “quick plan” icon appears at the beginning of each chapter containing quick plan
components and guides you to the sections you’ll need.
•Customized plan. Of course, you can start with a quick plan and add components from the
complete business plan to suit your needs. When deciding what to include and what to exclude,
ask yourself:
Which of my statements are the strongest?
Which statements do my backers want to see?
Note that the Appendices contain blank forms as well as sample business plans for a manufacturing
company, a project development and a service business.
Meet Antoinette
In an effort to make sense out of the thousands of types of small businesses, I have roughly
divided them into five main ones: retail, wholesale, service, manufacturing and project
development. All the financial tools I present can be used by all five. However, for the sake of
simplicity, I follow one particular retail business—a dress shop. In so doing, I illustrate most of the
planning concepts and techniques necessary to understand and raise money for any business.
As you read through the text you’ll meet Antoinette Gorzak, a friend of mine. Antoinette wants to
open a dress shop, and she has allowed me to use her plans and thought processes as an example
of a complete and well-prepared business plan for a retail store. You’ll find parts of her plan
presented in different chapters as we discuss the various components of a complete business plan.
Getting Started
Before you sit down to write your plan, you’ll want to gather together these essentials:
•a word processor or typewriter
•a calculator or computer spreadsheet program
•a good supply of 8H” by 11″ typing paper
•several pencils and a good eraser
•access to a photocopy machine.
Now, here’s a word about revisions and changing your plan. I firmly believe in writing your first
thoughts on paper and letting them rest for a day or two. Then you can edit, expand and revise
later to get a more perfect statement. In this book, I show examples of Antoinette’s writing process.
(I’m grateful she’s such a good sport.)
Most people discover about halfway through writing their plan that they want to change either their
assumptions or some of the plan they’ve already written. My best advice is this: Complete the plan
all the way through on your original set of assumptions. That way you can see the financial impact
of your ideas, and it will be much easier to make the right changes in the second draft. If you start
revising individual parts of the plan before you have the complete picture, you’ll waste a lot of
energy. If you’re like me, you’ll rewrite and edit your plan several times once you’ve finished the first
run-through.
And a Few More Words
As I write this, the book has been in print for over ten years and has sold more than 100,000
copies. I have heard that it has been pirated in some parts of the former Soviet Union. Since it first
came out I have taught, lectured and consulted on business plans in a wide variety of forums. I
have taken that experience and reformulated the exercises in the book to make them more
effective as well as easier and quicker to use. I remain friends with many of the people I met
through the book and occasionally help them over rough spots in their planning, which is the most
gratifying part of the experience for me. My business is helping people write business plans and
find money for their businesses. Call me at 510-533-1088 and I’ll listen or help if I can. You can
also email me at mckeever@ccnet.com
Finally, to avoid always using the pronoun “he” when referring to individuals in general, and to
further avoid clumsy neologisms like “s/he” and awkward phraseologies like “he/she” and “he or
she,” I have compromised by the random use of “he” in some instances and “she” in others. I hope I
have arrived at a fair balance.
Chapter 1: Benefits of Writing a Business Plan
“Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”
(proverb)
“A stitch in time saves nine.”
(proverb)
A. What Is a Business Plan?
A business plan is a written statement that describes and analyzes your business and gives
detailed projections about its future. A business plan also covers the financial aspects of starting or
expanding your business—how much money you need and how you’ll pay it back.
Writing a business plan is a lot of work. So why take the time to write one? The best answer is the
wisdom gained by literally millions of business owners just like you. Almost without exception, each
business owner with a plan is pleased she has one, and each owner without a plan wishes he had
written one.
B. Why Write a Business Plan?
Here are some of the specific and immediate benefits you will derive from writing your business
plan.

1. Helps You Get Money

Most lenders or investors require a written business plan before they will consider your proposal
seriously. Even some landlords require a sound business plan before they will lease you space.
Before making a commitment to you, they want to see that you have thought through critical issues
facing you as a business owner and that you really understand your business. They also want to
make sure your business has a good chance of succeeding.
In my experience, about 35% to 40% of the people currently in business do not know how money
flows through their business. Writing a business plan with this book teaches you where money
comes from and where it goes. Is it any wonder that your backers want to see your plan before
they consider your financial request?
There are as many potential lenders and investors as there are prospective business owners. If
you have a thoroughly thought out business and financial plan that demonstrates a good likelihood
of success and you are persistent, you will find the money you need. Of course, it may take longer
than you expect and require more work than you expect, but you will ultimately be successful if you
believe in your business.

2. Helps You Decide to Proceed or Stop

One major theme of the book may surprise you. It’s as simple as it is important. You, as the
prospective business owner, are the most important person you must convince of the soundness
of your proposal. Therefore, much of the work you are asked to do here serves a dual purpose. It
is designed to provide answers to all the questions that prospective lenders and investors will ask.
But it will also teach you how money flows through your business, what the strengths and
weaknesses in your business concept are and what your realistic chances of success are.
The detailed planning process described in this book is not infallible—nothing is in a small
business—but it should help you uncover and correct flaws in your business concept. If this
analysis demonstrates that your idea won’t work, you’ll be able to avoid starting or expanding your
business. This is extremely important. It should go without saying that a great many
businesspeople owe their ultimate success to an earlier decision not to start a business with built in
problems.

3. Lets You Improve Your Business Concept

Writing a plan allows you to see how changing parts of the plan increases profits or accomplishes
other goals. You can tinker with individual parts of your business with no cash outlay. If you’re
using a computer spreadsheet to make financial projections, you can try out different alternatives
even more quickly. This ability to fine tune your plans and business design increases your chances
of success.
For example, let’s say that your idea is to start a business importing Korean leather jackets.
Everything looks great on the first pass through your plan. Then you read an article about the
declining exchange ratio of U.S. dollars to Korean currency. After doing some homework about
exchange rate fluctuations, you decide to increase your profit margin on the jackets to cover
anticipated declines in dollar purchasing power. This change shows you that your prices are still
competitive with other jackets and that your average profits will increase. And you are now covered
for any likely decline in exchange rates.

4. Improves Your Odds of Success

One way of looking at business is that it’s a gamble. You open or expand a business and gamble
your and the bank’s or investor’s money. If you’re right, you make a profit and pay back the loans
and everyone’s happy. But if your estimate is wrong, you and the bank or investors can lose
money and experience the discomfort that comes from failure. (Of course, a bank probably is
protected because it has title to the collateral you put up to get the loan. See Chapter 4 for a
complete discussion.)
Writing a business plan helps beat the odds. Most new, small businesses don’t last very long. And,
most small businesses don’t have a business plan. Is that only a coincidence, or is there a
connection between these two seemingly unconnected facts? My suggestion is this: Let someone
else prove the connection wrong. Why not be prudent and improve your odds by writing a plan?

5. Helps You Keep on Track

Many business owners spend countless hours handling emergencies, simply because they haven’t
learned how to plan ahead. This book helps you anticipate problems and solve them before they
become disasters.
A written business plan gives you a clear course toward the future and makes your decision making
easier. Some problems and opportunities may represent a change of direction worth following,
while others may be distractions that referring to your business plan will enable you to avoid. The
black and white of your written business plan will help you face facts if things don’t work out as
expected. For example, if you planned to be making a living three months after start-up, and six
months later you’re going into the hole at the rate of $100 per day, your business plan should help
you see that changes are necessary. It’s all too easy to delude yourself into keeping a business
going that will never meet its goals if you approach things with a “just another month or two and I’ll
be there” attitude, rather than comparing your results to your goals.
C. Issues Beyond the Plan
I have written this book to provide you with an overview of the issues that determine success or
failure in a small business. Experienced lenders, investors and entrepreneurs want a plan that
takes these issues into account. Of course, this book can’t cover everything. Here are some of the
key business components that are left out of this initial planning process.

1. Bookkeeping and Accounting
This book discusses the numbers and concepts you as the business owner need to open and
manage your small business. You have the responsibility to create bookkeeping and accounting
systems and make sure they function adequately. (Some suggestions for setting up a system are
contained in Chapter 6, Section D.)
One of the items generated by your accounting system will be a balance sheet. A balance sheet is
a snapshot at a particular moment in time that lists the money value of everything you own and
everything you owe to someone else.
2. Taxes
While there are a few mentions of tax issues throughout the book, most of the planning information
doesn’t discuss how taxes will be calculated or paid. The book focuses its efforts on making a
profit and a positive cash flow. If you make a profit, you’ll pay taxes and if you don’t make a profit,
you’ll pay fewer taxes. A CPA or tax advisor can help you with tax strategies.
3. Securities Laws
If you plan to raise money by selling shares in a corporation or limited partnership, you’ll fall under
state or federal securities regulations. You can, however, borrow money or take in a general
partner without being affected by securities laws. A complete discussion of these issues is beyond
the scope of this book. For now, take note that you must comply with securities regulations after
you complete your plan and before you take any money into your business from selling shares or
partnership interests.
4. Your Management Skill
This book shows you how to write a very good business plan and loan application. However, your
ultimate success rests on your ability to implement your plans—on your management skills. If you
have any doubts about your management ability, check out the resources in Chapter 12. Also see
Chapter 11 for a thought-stimulating discussion of management.
5. Issues Specific to Your Business
How successfully your business relates to the market, the business environment and the
competition may be affected by patents, franchises, foreign competition, location and the like. Of
necessity, this book focuses on principles common to all businesses and does not discuss the
specific items that distinguish your business from other businesses. For example, this book doesn’t
discuss how to price your products to meet your competition; I assume that you have enough
knowledge about your chosen business to answer that question.

Chapter 2: Do You Really Want to Own a Business?
A. Introduction
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” said English poet and essayist Alexander Pope
several centuries ago. He wasn’t describing people expanding or starting a business, but he may
as well have been. Everyone who goes into business for themselves hopes to meet or surpass a
set of personal goals. While your particular configuration is sure to be unique, perhaps you will
agree with some of the ones I have compiled over the years from talking to hundreds of budding
entrepreneurs.
Independence. A search for freedom and independence is the driving force behind many
businesspeople. Wasn’t it Johnny Paycheck who wrote the song “Take This Job and Shove It?”
Personal Fulfillment. For many people, owning a business is a genuinely fulfilling experience,
one that lifetime employees never know.
Lifestyle Change. Many people find that while they can make a good income working for other
people, they are missing some of life’s precious moments. With the flexibility of small business
ownership, you can take time to stop and smell the roses.
Respect. Successful small business owners are respected, both by themselves and their peers.
Money. You can get rich in a small business, or at least do very well financially. Most
entrepreneurs don’t get wealthy, but some do. If money is your motivator, admit it.
Power. When it is your business, you can have your employees do it your way. There is a little
Ghengis Khan in us all, so don’t be surprised if power is one of your goals. If it is, think about how
to use this goal in a constructive way.
Right Livelihood. From natural foods to solar power to many types of service businesses, a great
many cause-driven small businesses have done very well by doing good.
If owning a small business can help a person accomplish these goals, it’s small wonder that so
many are started. Unfortunately, while the potential for great success exists, so do many risks.
Running a small business may require that you sacrifice some short-term comforts for long-term
benefits. It is hard, demanding work that requires a wide variety of skills few people are born with.
But even if you possess (or more likely acquire) the skills and determination you need to
successfully run a business, your business will need one more critical ingredient: money.
You need money to start your business, money to keep it running and money to make it grow. This
is not the same thing as saying you can guarantee success in your small business if you begin
with a fat wallet. Now, let me confess to one major bias here. I believe that most small business
owners and founders are better off starting small and borrowing, or otherwise raising, as little
money as possible. Put another way, there is no such thing as “raising plenty of capital to ensure
success.” Unless you, as the prospective business founder, learn to get the most mileage out of
every dollar, you may go broke and will surely spend more than you need to. But that doesn’t
mean that you should try to save money by selling cheap merchandise or providing marginal
services. In today’s competitive economy, your customers want the best you can give them at the
best price. They will remember the quality of what they get from you long after they have forgotten
how much they paid.
In practical terms, that means you must buy only the best goods for your customers. Anything that
affects the image your business has in your customer’s mind should be first-rate. It also means
that you shouldn’t spend money on things that don’t affect the customer. For example, unless
you’re a real estate broker your customers probably won’t care if you drive an old, beat-up car to
an office in a converted broom closet, as long as you provide them an honest product or service
for an honest price. Save the nice car, fancy office and mobile telephone until after your business
is a success.
B. Self-Evaluation Exercises
Here’s a question to ponder: Are you the right person for your business? Because running a
business is a very demanding endeavor that can take most of your time and energy, your business
probably will suffer if you’re unhappy. Your business can become an albatross around your neck if
you don’t have the skills and temperament to run it. Simply put, I’ve learned that no business,
whether or not it has sound financial backing, is likely to succeed unless you, as the prospective
owner, make two decisions correctly:
•You must honestly evaluate yourself to decide whether you possess the skills and personality
needed to succeed in a small business.
•You must choose the right business. (How to select the right business is covered extensively in
Chapter 3.)
A small business is a very personal endeavor. It will honestly reflect your opinions and attitudes,
whether or not you design it that way. Think of it this way: The shadow your business casts will be
your shadow. If you are sloppy, rude, crafty or naively trusting, your business will mirror these
attributes. If your personal characteristics are more positive than those, your business will be more
positive, too. To put this concretely, suppose you go out for the Sunday paper and are met by a
newsie who is groggy from a hangover and badmouths his girlfriend in front of you. Chances are
that next Sunday will find you at a different newsstand.
I’m not saying you need to be psychologically perfect to run a small business. But to succeed, you
must ask people for their money every day and convince a substantial number of them to give it to
you. By providing your goods or services, you will create intimate personal relationships with a
number of people. It makes no difference whether you refer to people who give you money as
clients, customers, patients, members, students or disciples. It makes a great deal of difference to
your chances of ultimate success if you understand that these people are exchanging their money
for the conviction that you are giving them their money’s worth.
The following self-evaluation exercises will help you assess whether you have what it takes to
successfully run a small business. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open a computer file.
1. Your Strong and Weak Points
Take a few minutes to list your personal and business strengths and weaknesses. Include
everything you can think of, even if it doesn’t appear to be related to your business. For instance,
your strong points may include the mastery of a hobby, your positive personality traits and your
sexual charisma, as well as your specific business skills. Take your time and be generous.
To provide you with a little help, I include a sample list for Antoinette Gorzak, a personal friend who
has what she hopes is a good business idea: a slightly different approach to selling women’s
clothing. You’ll get to know her better as we go along. Her strengths, weaknesses, fantasies and
fears are surely different from yours. So, too, almost certainly, is the business she wants to start.
So be sure to make your own lists—don’t copy Antoinette’s.
Antoinette Gorzak: My Strong and Weak Points
Strong Points (in no particular order)
1.Knowledge of all aspects of women’s fashion business
2.Ability to translate abstract objectives into concrete steps
3.Good cook
4.Faithful friend and kind to animals
5.When I set a goal, I can be relentless in achieving it
6.Ability to make and keep good business friends—I have had many repeat customers at other
jobs
Weak Points
1.Impatience
2.Dislike of repetitive detail
3.Romantic (is this a weak point in business?)
4.Tendency to postpone working on problems
5.Tendency to lose patience with fools (sometimes I carry this too far—especially when I’m tired)
Your list of strong and weak points will help you see any obvious conflicts between your
personality and the business you’re in or want to start. For example, if you don’t like being around
people but plan to start a life insurance agency with you as the primary salesperson, you may have
a personality clash with your business. The solution might be to find another part of the insurance
business that doesn’t require as much people contact.
Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that their personalities will have a direct bearing on their
business success. An example close to the experience of folks at Nolo involves bookstores. In the
years since Nolo began publishing, they have seen all sorts of people, from retired librarians to
unemployed Ph.D.’s, open bookstores. A large percentage of these stores have failed because the
skills needed to run a successful bookstore involve more than a love of books.
2. General and Specific Skills Your Business Needs
Businesses need two kinds of skills to survive and prosper: skills for business in general and skills
specific to the particular business. For example, every business needs someone to keep good
financial records. On the other hand, the tender touch and manual dexterity needed by glass blowers
are not skills needed by the average paving contractor.
Next, take a few minutes and list the skills your business needs. Don’t worry about making an
exhaustively complete list, just jot down the first things that come to mind. Make sure you have
some general business skills as well as some of the more important skills specific to your particular
business.
If you don’t have all the skills your business needs, your backers will want to know how you will
make up for the deficiency. For example, let’s say you want to start a trucking business. You have
a good background in maintenance, truck repair, and long distance driving, and you know how to
sell and get work. Sounds good so far—but, let’s say you don’t know the first thing about
bookkeeping or cash flow management and the thought of using a computer makes you nervous.
Because some trucking businesses work on large dollar volumes, small profit margins and slowpaying
customers, your backers will expect you to learn cash flow management or hire someone
qualified to handle that part of the business.
Antoinette Gorzak: General and Specific Skills My Business Needs
1.How to motivate employees
2.How to keep decent records
3.How to make customers and employees think the business is special
4.How to know what the customers want—today and, more important in the clothing business, to
keep half-a-step ahead
5.How to sell
6.How to manage inventory
7.How to judge people
3. Your Likes and Dislikes
Take a few minutes and make a list of the things you really like doing and those you don’t enjoy.
Write this list without thinking about the business—simply concentrate on what makes you happy
or unhappy.
If you enjoy talking to new people, keeping books or working with computers, be sure to include
those. Put down all the activities you can think of that give you pleasure. Antoinette’s list is shown
as an example.
As a business owner, you will spend most of your waking hours in the business, and if it doesn’t
make you happy, you probably won’t be very good at it. If this list creates doubts about whether
you’re pursuing the right business, I suggest you let your unconscious mind work on the problem.
Most likely, you’ll know the answer after one or two good nights’ sleep.
WarningIf your list contains several things you really don’t like doing and nothing at all that you
like doing, it may be a sign that you have a negative attitude at this time in your life. If so, you may
wish to think carefully about your decision to enter or expand a business at this time. Chances are
your negative attitude will reduce your chances of business success.
Antoinette Gorzak: My Likes and Dislikes
Things I Like to Do
1.Be independent and make my own decisions
2.Keep things orderly. I am almost compulsive about this
3.Take skiing trips
4.Work with good, intelligent people
5.Cook with Jack
6.Care about my work
Things I Don’t Like to Do
1.Work for a dimwit boss
2.Feel like I have a dead-end job
3.Make people unhappy
4. Specific Business Goals
Finally, list your specific business goals. Exactly what do you want your business to accomplish for
you? Freedom from 9 to 5? Money—and if so, how much? More time with the children? Making
the world or your little part of it a better place? It’s your wish list, so be specific and enjoy writing it.
Antoinette Gorzak: My Specific Business Goals
1.Have my own business that gives me a decent living and financial independence
2.Work with and sell to my friends and acquaintances as well as new customers
3.Introduce clothing presently unavailable in my city and provide a real service for working women
4.Be part of the growing network of successful businesswomen
5.Be respected for my success
C. How to Use the Self-Evaluation Lists
After you’ve completed the four self-evaluation lists, spend some time reading them over. Take a
moment to compare the skills needed in your business to the list of skills you have. Do you have
what it takes?
Show them to your family and, if you’re brave, to your friends or anyone who knows you well and
can be objective. Of course, before showing the lists to anyone, you may choose to delete any
private information that isn’t critical to your business. If you show your lists to someone who knows
the tough realities of running a successful small business, so much the better. You may want to
find a former teacher, a fellow employee or someone else whose judgment you respect.
What do they think? Do they point out any obvious inconsistencies between your personality or
skills and what you want to accomplish? If so, pay attention. Treat this exercise seriously and you
will know yourself better. Oh, and don’t destroy your lists. Assuming you go ahead with your
business and write your business plan, the lists can serve as background material or even become
part of the final plan.
You have accomplished several things if you have followed these steps. You have looked inside
and asked yourself some basic questions about who you are and what you are realistically qualified
to do. As a result, you should now have a better idea of whether you are willing to pay the price
required to be successful as a small businessperson. If you are still eager to have a business, you
have said, “Yes, I am willing to make short-term sacrifices to achieve long-term benefits and to do
whatever is necessary—no matter the inconvenience—to reach my goals.”
D. Reality Check: Banker’s Analysis
Banks and institutions that lend money have a lot of knowledge about the success rate of small
businesses. Bankers are often overly cautious in making loans to small businesses. For that very
reason it makes sense to study their approach, even though it may seem discouraging at first
glance.
1. Banker’s Ideal
Bankers look for an ideal loan applicant, who typically meets these requirements:
•For an existing business, a cash flow sufficient to make the loan payments.
•For a new business, an owner who has a track record of profitably owning and operating the
same sort of business.
•An owner with a sound, well-thought-out business plan.
•An owner with financial reserves and personal collateral sufficient to solve the unexpected
problems and fluctuations that affect all businesses.
Why does such a person need a loan, you ask? He or she probably doesn’t, which, of course, is
the point. People who lend money are most comfortable with people so close to their ideal loan
candidate that they don’t need to borrow. However, to stay in business themselves, banks and
other lenders must loan out the money deposited with them. To do this, they must lend to at least
some people whose creditworthiness is less than perfect.
2. Measuring Up to the Banker’s Ideal
Who are these ordinary mortals who slip through bankers’ fine screens of approval? And more to
the point, how can you qualify as one of them? Your job is to show how your situation is similar to
the banker’s ideal.
A good bet is the person who has worked for, or preferably managed, a successful business in the
same field as the proposed new business. For example, if you have profitably run a clothing store
for an absentee owner for a year or two, a lender may believe you are ready to do it on your own.
All you need is a good location, a sound business plan and a little capital. Then, watch out
Neiman-Marcus!
Further away from a lender’s ideal is the person who has sound experience managing one type of
business, but proposes to start one in a different field. Let’s say you ran the most profitable hot dog
stand in the Squaw Valley ski resort, and now you want to market computer software in the Silicon
Valley of California. In your favor is your experience running a successful business. On the
negative side is the fact that computer software marketing has no relationship to hot dog selling. In
this situation, you might be able to get a loan if you hire people who make up for your lack of
experience. At the very least, you would need someone with a strong software marketing
background, as well as a person with experience managing retail sales and service businesses.
Naturally, both of those people are most desirable if they have many years of successful
experience in the software marketing business, preferably in California.
3. Use the Banker’s Ideal
It’s helpful to use the bankers’ model in your decision making process. Use a skeptical attitude as
a counterweight to your optimism to get a balanced view of your prospects. What is it that makes
you think you will be one of the minority of small businesspeople who will succeed? If you don’t
have some specific answers, you are in trouble. Most new businesses fail, and the large majority
of survivors do not genuinely prosper.
Many people start their own business because they can’t stand working for others. They don’t
have a choice. They must be either boss or bum. They are more than willing to trade security for
the chance to call the shots. They meet a good chunk of their goals when they leave their
paycheck behind. This is fine as far as it goes, but in my experience, the more successful small
businesspeople have other goals as well.
A small distributor we know has a well-thought-out business and a sound business plan for the
future. Still, he believes that his own personal commitment is the most important thing he has going
for him. He puts it this way: “I break my tail to live up to the commitments I make to my customers. If
a supplier doesn’t perform for me, I’ll still do everything I can to keep my promise to my customer,
even if it costs me money.” This sort of personal commitment enables this successful business
owner to make short-term adjustments to meet his long-range goals. And while it would be an
exaggeration to say he pays this price gladly, he does pay it.
Chapter 3: Choosing The Right Business
Overview
Quick plan.If you’ve chosen the quick plan method to prepare a business plan (see Introduction),
you need to read and complete only these sections of Chapter 3:
•Section D2 (Problem Statement)
•Section D3 (Business Description)
•Section F1 (Forecast Sales Revenue).
A. Introduction
This chapter helps you determine whether you have chosen the “right” business for you—one that
you know, like and will work hard for and that makes economic sense. Most experienced
businesspeople complete several steps as a rough and ready template to decide whether to
complete a plan. If your business passes all these steps with flying colors, it means it’s a good idea
to write a full business plan; it doesn’t guarantee success. On the other hand, if your proposal
doesn’t pass, you’ll probably want to modify or change your plans altogether.
If you’re like most people, chances are your business will pass some tests easily and fail some of
the others. Antoinette faces just that problem in this chapter. Pay careful attention to how she
approaches that dilemma; her method of proceeding may help you in your decision.
. Know Your Business
One of the most common questions people ask me is this: What business should I start? My
answer is always the same—start a venture that you know intimately already. I don’t believe any
business exists that is so foolproof that anyone can enter and make a sure profit. On the other
hand, a skilled, dedicated owner often can make a venture successful when others have failed.
Remember, your potential customers will exchange their money only for the conviction that you are
giving them their money’s worth. And that means you’ll need to know what you’re doing. While this
point should appear obvious, sadly—it isn’t.
Are You Choosing a Risky Business?
When considering the businesses you know, it is helpful to know how well they typically fare. For
instance, these businesses have higher than average failure rates:
•computer stores
•laundries and dry cleaners
•florists
•used car dealerships
•gas stations
•trucking firms
•restaurants
•infant clothing stores
•bakeries
•grocery and meat stores.
If your business idea is on this list, it doesn’t mean you should abandon it automatically. However,
it should remind you to be extra critical and careful when preparing your plan. I’ve known
successful businesspeople in every category listed, just as I have known people who have failed in
each of them.
Many people enter businesses they know little or nothing about. I did it once myself. I opened an
automobile tune-up shop at a time when, seemingly, they couldn’t miss. I knew a good deal about
running a small business, had a personality well suited for it and could borrow enough money to
begin. The end of what turned out to be a very sad story is that it took me two years and $30,000
to get rid of the business. Why? Because in my hurry to make a profit, I overlooked several crucial
facts. The most important of these was that I knew virtually nothing about cars and I didn’t really
want to learn. Not only was I unable to roll up my sleeves and pitch in when it was needed, I didn’t
even know enough to properly hire and supervise mechanics. In short, I made a classic mistake—I
started a business in a “hot” field because someone was foolish enough to lend me the money.
How can you apply my lesson to your situation? Let’s say you’ve heard pasta shops make lots of
money and you want to start one. First, if at all possible, get a job working in one, even if you work
for free. Learn everything you can about every aspect of the business. After a few months, you
should be an expert in every aspect of pasta making, from mixing eggs and flour, flattening the
dough and slicing it into strips. Ask yourself whether you enjoy the work and whether you are good
at it. If you answer “yes,” go on to the second important question: Is the business a potential
money maker? You should have a pretty good answer to this question after working in the field for
a few months.
If you’re unable to find employment in the pasta business, make a tour of delicatessens and shops
that make their own pasta. Interview the owners. To get reliable answers, it’s best to do this in a
different locale from the one in which you plan to locate. Small business owners are often quite
willing to share their knowledge once they are sure you will not compete with them.
I remember reading a management philosophy that said that a good manager doesn’t have to know
every job, only how to get other people to do them. That approach may work well in a large
corporation but for a small business, it’s dangerously naive. In short, don’t start your small venture
until you know it from the ground up. I mean this literally. If you’re opening a print shop, you should
be able to run the presses and do paste-up and layout, as well as keep a coherent set of books. If
it’s your elegant little restaurant and the food isn’t perfect, you’re the one who either improves it in a
hurry or goes broke. If you don’t like getting your hands dirty, choose a clean business.
C. Be Sure You Like Your Business
Does the business you want to own require skills and talents you already possess? If you have the
necessary skills, do you enjoy exercising them? Think about this for a good long time. The average
small business owner spends more time with his venture than with his family. This being so, it
makes sense to be at least as careful about choosing your endeavor as you are about picking your
mate. A few of us are sufficiently blessed that we can meet someone on a blind date, settle down a
week later and have it work out wonderfully. However, in relationships, as in business, most of us
make better decisions if we approach them with a little more care.
Be sure you aren’t so blinded by one part of a small business that you overlook all others. For
example, suppose you love music and making musical instruments. Running your own guitar shop
sounds like it would be great fun. Maybe it would be, but if you see yourself contentedly making
guitars all day in a cozy little workroom, you’d better think again. Who is going to meet customers,
keep the books, answer the phone and let potential customers know you are in business? If you
hate all these activities, you either have to work with someone who can handle them, or do
something else.
Here’s one last thing to think about when considering how much you like your business idea. In fact,
it’s a danger that threatens almost every potential entrepreneur. Precisely because your business
idea is yours, you have an emotional attachment to it. You should. Your belief in your idea will help
you wade through all the unavoidable muck and mire that lies between a good idea and a profitable
business. However, your ego involvement can also entail a loss of perspective. I’ve seen people
start hopeless endeavors and lose small fortunes because they were so enamored with their
“brilliant ideas” that they never examined honestly the negative factors that doomed their ventures
from the start.
D. Describe Your Business
What is your good idea? What business do you want to be in? It’s time to look at the specifics.
Let’s say you want to open a restaurant. What will you serve? What will your sample menu look
like? What equipment will you need? Note that including french fries means you’ll have to install
french-fryers, grease traps in the sewer line, hoods and fire extinguishing systems. On the other
hand, by not serving fried foods you will save a lot of money in the kitchen, but maybe you’ll go
broke when all the grease addicts go next door.
Or suppose you want to sell VCRs, video games or video camera equipment. Do you plan to have
a service department? If so, will you make house calls, or only accept repairs at your store? What
sort of security system will you install to protect your inventory? What about selling component
sound systems or home entertainment centers? What about competition from nearby retailers?
Answers to these types of questions will be crucial to the success of your venture and to writing
your business plan. Let me tell you from hard, personal experience that you need a written
document—even if you’re sure you know exactly what your business will do.
With this foundation document to refer to, you are less likely to forget your good plans and
resolutions in the heat of getting your business under way. Any changes you later make can be
made both consciously and with consideration.
To write a complete description of your proposed business, simply follow the suggestions on the
next few pages.
1. Identify Your Type of Business
Find the business category listed below that most closely matches your business. You’ll use the
description that follows as a reference when you describe your own business.
WarningEach of the business categories requires different skills to run efficiently. Many small
businesses involve one or two types of business in the same endeavor. But if your idea will involve
you in several types of business, it may be too complicated for you to run efficiently. As a general
rule, small businesses work best when their owners know exactly what they are about and strive
for simplicity.
•Retail. Retail businesses buy merchandise from a variety of wholesalers and sell it directly to
consumers. Some retailers provide service and repair facilities, while most do not. Most retailers
just take in the goods and mark up the price, sometimes doubling their purchase price to arrive at
a sales price.
Supermarkets, mail order catalog merchants, computer stores, dress shops, department stores
and convenience marts are retailers.
•Wholesale. Wholesalers buy merchandise from manufacturers or brokers and resell the goods to
retailers. Normally, a wholesaler maintains an inventory of a number of lines. A wholesaler
normally does not sell to consumers in order to avoid competing with his retailer customers.
Wholesalers usually offer delivery service and credit to customers. This type of business is
characterized by low gross profit margins (sometimes varying between 15% and 33% of the
wholesaler’s selling price) and high inventory investment.
Wholesalers typically buy in large lots and sell in smaller lots. Like retailers, they seldom make any
changes to the products. Most wholesalers aren’t well known to the general public.
•Service. People with a particular skill sell it to consumers or to other businesses, depending on
the skill. The end product of a service business is normally some sort of advice or the completion
of a task. Occasionally, a service business sells products as an ancillary function. For example, a
baby diaper cleaning service may also sell diapers and baby accessories. Service business
customers normally come from repeats and referrals. It’s common to have to meet state licensing
requirements.
Hairdressers, carpet cleaners, consultants, housecleaners, accountants, building contractors and
architects are examples of service businesses.
•Manufacturing. Manufacturers assemble components or process raw materials into products
usable by consumers or other businesses. This type of business ranges from an artisan who
makes craft items to General Motors. The most difficult part of the manufacturing business is to
find a product, or even better, a series of products, that have acceptance in the marketplace and
generate a steady sales volume. Or, as one business person put it: “Production without sales is
scrap.”
•Project development. Developers create and finish a saleable commodity by assembling
resources for a one-time project. Normally, the developer knows the market value of the finished
product before she begins work. When the project is complete, the developer sells her interest in
the project, normally directly to the user or consumer.
•To understand project developers, consider a woman building a single-family house on
speculation. She buys the lot, secures permits, hires a contractor, gets a loan, builds a house and
sells it. She is then ready to go on to another project. Other examples of project developers
include someone who buys, restores and sells antique cars and someone who purchases
dilapidated buildings at a bargain price, fixes them up and sells them.
NoteSoftware development note: Software development differs from software production and
sales in that software developers create a product that another entity produces and markets. For
example, Fred Jones creates a bookkeeping program for employment agencies on his own time.
Then he sells production and marketing rights to the Acme Programs Co. for $1,000 cash and 5%
of future sales. Fred is the project developer and Acme is the manufacturer. If Fred also produces
copies and markets them himself, he acts as both developer and manufacturer.
2. Problem Statement
Successful businesses share a common attribute: They do something useful for their customers.
One way to determine what is useful for your customers is to identify and describe the problem
that your business will solve. For example, a window washing service solves the customer’s twin
problems of wanting clean windows but lacking either the time or physical ability to clean windows
himself. If you accurately understand your customers’ problems and needs, your business will
have a better chance of success.
For example, here’s a problem faced by a customer of a pizza-by-the-slice stand: “I’m hungry and I
don’t have much time or money, but I’m tired of hamburgers and want a change of pace. Also, I’d
like to be able to specify the exact ingredients I want in my meal. And, it would be really swell to
have a glass of wine or beer with the meal.”
Now, think about your customers for a minute. What is the problem that you solve for them? Take
a sheet of blank paper or open a computer file and write out your description of the problem your
business solves for its customers. This statement will become part of your completed business
plan.
Problem Antoinette’s Dress Shop Will Solve
Professional working women like to buy fashionable, slightly conservative clothing at moderate
prices. They prefer shopping at convenient times and patronizing stores that offer a wide selection
of merchandise. These women like to talk to sales clerks who understand fashion and know their
store’s merchandise; few clerks in the local department stores have this knowledge. At the present
time, many of these women travel 45 miles to shop because no local store meets their needs.
3. Business Description
Next, describe how your business will solve your customers’ problem. Take your time and do a
thorough job. It’s very likely that the first time you attempt this task, questions will occur to you that
you didn’t consider previously. If so, figure out a good answer and rewrite your description. The
important thing is not how long it takes to do this, but that you end up with a realistic, well-thoughtout
business description. After all, it’s cheaper to answer questions and solve problems on paper
than it is with real money.
Your business description should explain exactly what you will provide for the customer as well as
what you’ll exclude. Each of the choices you make in your business description will affect the
amount of money you’ll need to start or expand and how much sales revenue you can expect.
Consider the following series of questions when writing your business description. If you answer
both the general business questions and each question that applies to your business, you’ll
present your business accurately and fairly.
For an example of a well-thought-out business, refer to the accompanying sample, which contains
the first draft of Antoinette’s Dress Shop’s business description. You will find three additional
business descriptions in Appendices 1-3 at the back of the book.
a. General Business Questions
These questions apply to most small businesses. Feel free to skip any questions that don’t pertain
to you.
1.What problem do I solve for my customers? (You answered this question in detail in Section D2,
above.)
2.Who is my typical (target) customer?
3.How will I communicate with my target customer?
4.What products and/or services will I provide? Are there any products or services my customers
may expect me to provide that I don’t plan to provide?
5.Where will my business be located?
6.Where will I buy the products I need?
7.What hours will I operate?
8.Who will work for me and how will they be paid?
9.Who will handle critical tasks like selling, ordering, bookkeeping, marketing and shipping?
10.How will I advertise and promote my business?
11.What are the competition’s strengths and weaknesses?
12.How am I different from the competition, as seen through the eyes of my customers? (Make
sure that you answer this question from a customer’s perspective and not from an owner’s point of
view.)
b. Specific Business Questions
Some issues your business faces can be categorized by business type. Make sure your business
description addresses both the general business questions that apply to your business and the
questions specific to your type of business.
WarningIf you plan to conduct operations in more than one category, be sure to use the specific
questions for each type of business that applies.
Retail
1.How will I keep abreast of fashion and taste in my field?
2.Does my location have enough drive-by or walk-by traffic to support my business, or must I rely
on heavy advertising for sales?
3.Is it better to be in a shopping center with high rents and operating restrictions, or in a separate
location with lower costs and less drive-by or walk-by traffic?
4.How much inventory will I buy in comparison to my expected sales revenues? (This is a critical
question in the retail field and deserves your close attention.)
Wholesale
1.Which product lines will I carry in inventory and which will I order as required?
2.Will I carry accounts for my customers or work on cash only?
3.Are there any exclusive distributorships available to me?
4.Will I have to market all the products myself or will the manufacturers have marketing programs?
Service
1.Are my credentials and skills equal to or better than others in my field?
2.Can I sell my service as well as I can perform it?
3.Will I take work on speculation or will I insist on cash for each job?
4.Do I have a client list to begin with or will I start cold?
5.Am I better off associating with others or being independent?
Manufacturing
1.Does my manufacturing process create toxic or polluting materials? If so, how will I deal with
them and what regulatory agencies handle them?
2.Is there a pool of readily available, affordable skilled labor where I want to locate?
3.Will I make products for inventory or per order?
4.Will I make one product only or a line of products?
5.If I succeed on a small scale, do I plan to sell out to a larger company or try to compete
nationally or internationally?
6.Is my competition from small or large firms?
Project Development
1.Am I sure of the selling price of my project?
2.Am I sure of my projected costs? What will happen if my costs are higher than estimated?
3.Am I sure of the time factors? What will happen if it takes longer than expected to complete and
sell the project?
4.What portions of the work will I contract with others to perform?
5.Is there a definite buyer for my project? If not, what costs will I incur before it’s sold?
Business Description for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Antoinette’s Dress Shop will be a women’s retail clothing store designed to serve the growing
market of professional working women. The store will buy clothing and accessories from a variety
of manufacturers that provide good quality and dependable service. Antoinette’s Dress Shop will
resell them “as is” to our target market. Antoinette’s will specialize in fashionable, reasonably
priced clothing suitable to this city’s working environment. The store will sell only a limited line of
sportswear or leisure wear. We will carry business suits, pantsuits and dresses for daytime wear,
together with normal accessories like purses and belts. We will make prompt minor alterations at
no charge.
Antoinette’s will regularly publish a newsletter containing clothing tips for working women, which
we will send to customers on our mailing list. We will maintain a card file on our customers that
contains their size and style and color preferences. Antoinette’s will schedule fashion shows for
our customer base as a marketing device.
Antoinette’s will offer a relaxed atmosphere with personalized attention and unlimited fitting room
time. Our store will be decorated in a simple, classic style. All our employees will be knowledgeable
about fashion in general and about the clothing we sell. Antoinette’s will be located in approximately
2,000 square feet in the downtown mall and will maintain regular mall hours of Monday through
Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. These hours
will be a convenience to our customer base. The store will not offer delivery on a regular basis,
although we will offer Federal Express shipments when requested and we will have a fax machine.
E. Taste, Trends and Technology: How Will the Future
Affect Your Business?
Let’s assume you have a good description of your proposed business, and the business is an
extension of something you like and know how to do well. Perhaps you have been a chef for ten
years and have always dreamed of opening your own restaurant. So far, so good—but you aren’t
home free yet. There is another fundamental question that needs answering: Does the world need,
and is it willing to pay for, the product or service you want to sell? For example, do the people in
the small town where you live really want an Indonesian restaurant? If your answer is “yes”
because times are good and people have extra money, ask yourself what is likely to happen if the
economy goes into a slump ten minutes after you open your doors.
To make this point more broadly, let’s use a railroad train as a metaphor for our economic society.
And let’s have you, as a potential new businessperson, stand by the tracks. How do you deal with
the train when it arrives? You can get on and ride. You can continue to stand by the tracks and
watch the train disappear in the distance. Or you can stand in the middle of the tracks and get run
over.
To continue this metaphor, let’s now assume the economic train has three engines: taste, trends
and technology. Together they pull the heavy steel cars which can give you a comfortable ride or
flatten you. Let’s take a moment to think more about each of these engines.
1. Taste
People’s tastes drive many of the changes our society speeds through. For example, in the 1970s,
many of us changed our taste in automobiles from large gas guzzlers to small, well-built cars.
American manufacturers didn’t recognize this change in taste until they almost went broke. The
Japanese were in the right place with small, reliable cars and realized great prosperity.
Consider popular music as another example. Music styles change every few years, and some
bright businesspeople succeed by selling clothing and other accessories associated with each new
music style.
What does this mean to you? Look at your business idea again. How does it fit with today’s tastes?
Is your business idea part of a six-month fad? Are you going into something that was more popular
five years ago than it is now and is declining rapidly? If so, you are likely to go broke no matter
how good a manager you are and how much you love your business.
2. Trends
It’s one thing to understand that people’s tastes have changed and will undoubtedly change again
and again, but it’s a lot harder to accurately predict what will be popular in a few years. I wish there
were a central source of information about predicting future trends in any field, but there isn’t. You
have the task of looking into the future and deciding where it is going and how that affects what
you do today. Fortunately, a little research can do wonders. Here are some tips on how to
proceed.
Read everything you can about your field of interest. Attend trade shows and talk to people in
ll b i h i d f h fi ld T lk l i i il b i R db k
small businesses at the cutting edge of the field. Talk to people in similar businesses. Read back
issues of magazines aimed at your proposed field. Your goal is to know enough about your
proposed business to spot the trends that will continue into the next decade. For example, if you’re
interested in opening a night club from the 1950s featuring a piano bar, mixed drinks and lots of
room for smokers, you should know that the consumption of hard liquor and cigarettes has gone
down sharply in recent years and that certain types of reduced-smoke lounges with wine and
imported beer are doing very well. Putting this information together with other factors, such as your
anticipated location and target customers, should give you a pretty good idea of what drinks you
should offer. You might decide to serve a number of varieties of fine wine and imported beer and
forget about a hard liquor license altogether.
3. Technology
This is a fancy name for the new items just coming out on the market. Technology is your
innovative kitchen appliance, your home computer, NASA’s new spacecraft and even the
proverbial better mousetrap. For example, lots and lots of people are working feverishly to come
up with better video games, laser toothbrushes, wristwatches, TVs and the like. Sometimes it
takes years to perfect an item. That can be good news for small businesspeople, as there is plenty
of time to prepare to profit. Perhaps you’ve heard of satellite telephones. This is the new telephone
technology which will transmit and receive directly from your telephone to a satellite. Satellite
telephones obviously will require large amounts of capital and can produce great profits. Some
people will surely profit handsomely from the opportunities that arise.
Of course, there is a downside to new technology, too. It often involves high risk. There’s no
guarantee of success just because the product is new. In fact, something like 80% of the new
products introduced into the marketplace die a quick death. Remember 3-D movies, the Edsel and
eight-track tape players?
What should you do to take advantage of new technologies? First, recognize that large-scale new
technology ventures require vast amounts of money and will be beyond your reach unless you
plan to have your small business grow in a hurry. Many companies expect to lose money for years
during product development and approval before developing a big hit. However, there are often
ways creative small businesspeople can find to participate in new technological trends. For
example, many computer software companies started with little more than a good idea and a
computer. Or to think even smaller—but not necessarily less profitably—lots of carpenters have
done well making ergonomically correct furniture for computer work stations.
Pay attention to new developments in your chosen field and think about how you can take
advantage of them. With all the camcorders being sold, many people will make a good living
repairing them. Maybe that’s a good business for you. Or, if you plan to open a television repair
shop, you should know that in the next few years many, if not most, new televisions will have
HDTV technology. If you are the first TV shop to specialize in that technology in your area, you
may do very well.
In short, new technology is a mighty engine that can pull the economy in new directions at terrific
speed. Be sure you are riding on the train and not picking daisies on the tracks in front of it.
4. Write a Future Trends Statement
the broad movements in the economy that can affect your business idea. Also, remember that
there are similar trends in your local community. It’s at least as important that you pay attention to
these. For example, perhaps you live in a farming community with no manufacturing industries and
many migrant workers. It is unlikely that a high fashion clothing store would do well there, but you
might do very well selling a new lighter, stronger, cheaper work boot, or chain saw, or stump puller.
Write down your first thoughts about what trends affect your business and where they will be in five
years. Nobody expects a perfect forecast, but most financial backers want to know that you have
thought through how your business will fit into the world in the next few years.
Future Trends Affecting Antoinette’s Dress Shop
There are two conflicting trends affecting my business. First, more women are entering the
workforce. However, women increasingly must work to pay for family necessities rather than to
make money for extras. For my business, this means that professional working women will
appreciate even more in the years ahead the extra service and convenience that we offer.
Second, as the baby boom matures, the number of women in the age group that enters the
workforce is declining. This means that I cannot count on an ever-expanding population base for
my business.
To accommodate these trends, I plan to pay attention to my customers’ changing tastes as they
grow older. I also intend to find new ways to market to the smaller number of younger women
entering the workforce.
F. Break-Even Analysis: Will Your Business Make Money?
Some people have a bigger problem than others when opening a new business. These are folks
who are positively enamored with their business concept and are desperately eager to begin. They
are so smitten and eager to start, they have no patience with the economic realities involved in
their business. If you recognize this tendency in yourself, it’s extra important that you prepare a
financial forecast carefully and pay attention to what it tells you. This step tells you whether your
idea is a sure winner or a sure loser or, like most ideas, whether it needs work and polishing to
make it presentable.
How can you tell if your business idea will be profitable before you implement it? The honest
answer is, you can’t. This essential fact makes business scary. It also makes it adventurous. After
all, if it were a sure thing, everyone would go into business.
Just because you can’t be sure you will make money doesn’t mean you should throw up your
hands and ignore the whole problem. You can and should make some educated guesses. I like to
call them SWAGs (“Scientific,” Wild Ass Guesses). The challenging part is to make your profit
estimate SWAGs as realistic as possible and then make them come true.
The best way to make a SWAG about your business profitability is to do a break-even forecast.
Although a break-even analysis or forecast can never take the place of a complete business plan,
it can help you decide if your idea is worth pursuing.
Most financial backers expect you to know how to apply break-even analyses to your business.
Your backer may ask what your profits will be if sales are slightly higher or lower than your
forecast.
Many experienced entrepreneurs use a break-even forecast as a primary screening tool for new
business ventures. They won’t write a complete business plan unless their break-even forecast
shows that the sales revenue they expect to obtain far exceeds what they need just to pay all the
bills. Otherwise, they know their business will not last very long.
WarningYou can use this technique as a “quick and dirty” profit analysis, but don’t use it as a
substitute for the full profit and loss forecast presented in Chapter 6. A break-even forecast is a
great screening tool, but you need a more complete analysis before spending any money.
NoteProject development note: The break-even analysis described below does not apply to a
project development, since only one sale occurs. This exercise is designed for a continuing
business with ongoing sales revenue. Before they begin, developers must know how much profit
they will make after the project is completed. A developer prepares a break-even forecast every
time she calculates the likely sale proceeds and subtracts estimated costs. Developers can skip
this section, unless they need a refresher course on break-even analyses.
To complete a break-even forecast of your business, you’ll make four separate estimates:
•Sales revenue. This consists of the total dollars from sales activity that you bring into your
business each month, week or year.
•Fixed costs. These are sometimes called “overhead” and you must pay them regardless of how
well you do. Fixed costs don’t vary much from month to month. They include rent, insurance and
other set expenses.
•Gross profit for each sale. This is defined as how much is left from each sales dollar after
paying for the direct costs of that sale. For example, if Antoinette pays $100 for a dress that she
sells for $300, her gross profit for that sale is $200.
•Break-even sales revenue. This will be the dollar amount your business needs each week or
month to pay for both direct product costs and fixed costs. It will not include any profit.
WarningMath alert: The following section requires that you make some simple mathematical
calculations, which you’ll use to analyze your business before writing a complete plan. If the very
thought of math makes your head spin, you’ll probably want to find someone to help you.
1. Forecast Sales Revenue
Your first task is to estimate your most likely sales revenue by month for your first two years of
operation. This is both the hardest thing to do and the most important part of your business plan.
Much of your hope for success rides on how accurately you estimate sales revenue.
Keep in mind that you’re honestly trying to decide if your business will be profitable. This means
that you must base your forecast on the volume of business you really expect—not on how much
you need to make a good profit. If you estimate sales too high, your business won’t have enough
money to operate. But if you estimate sales too low, you won’t be prepared or able to handle all
the business you get.
Appendix 4 contains a Sales Revenue Forecast form, where you can fill in your estimated two-year
monthly sales revenue. Depending on the type of business, you may also choose to fill in the
number of units you expect to sell. Here are some methods different types of businesses use to
forecast sales revenues.
NoteYou may decide to round off your forecasts to the nearest $1,000 instead of writing out each
single dollar amount. For instance, a monthly sale of $33,333 would become $33,000. After all,
these are guesses, and it’s hard to guess at single dollar amounts when you’re in the five-figure
area.
a. Retail Sales Revenue Forecast
The simplest way to forecast retail sales revenue is to find the annual sales revenue per square
foot of a comparable store. Then multiply that dollar figure by your estimated floor space to derive
an estimate of your annual sales revenue.
Example: A similar business shows $200 of sales per square foot per year. If you have 1,000
square feet of floor space, your estimated annual sales revenue will be $200,000 (1,000 x $200).
Naturally, your estimate should take into account everything that makes you different from the
other store.
Sales Revenue Forecast for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Antoinette wants to open a 2,000-square-foot dress store in a downtown shopping mall. The
shopping mall manager says that women’s clothing stores in the mall average between $200 per
foot and $250 per foot per year.
After checking with other clothing retailers, reading trade magazines, visiting similar stores in other
cities and integrating her own experience in the business, Antoinette decides that she can achieve
the $250 per foot per year figure. This means her annual sales should be $500,000 (2,000 x $250).
To be conservative, she plans for the first year’s sales to be about 20% below that level to allow for
her business to build. This means that first-year sales will be about $400,000, or $200 per foot.
Because Antoinette must forecast monthly sales for the first two years, she now has to decide how
the sales revenue will occur each month. She could simply divide this $400,000 by twelve months
and get $33,333 per month. But in the dress business, Antoinette knows, this would be inaccurate.
In women’s clothing, there are four sales seasons: spring, early summer, fall and Christmas. The
kind of shop Antoinette plans to open is slow in mid-summer and in January and February.
Antoinette also figures that sales will be a little lower than the average for the first few months until
her advertising campaign catches on.
Antoinette’s monthly sales add up to $401,000 for the first year, so she reduces the December
figure by $1,000 to make a nice, round $400,000.
Sales Revenue Forecast Year 1:
March 1, 2000 to February 28, 2001
Month
Revenue
Month 1:
March
20% below average due
to just opening
$27,000
Month 2:
April
10% below average due
to just opening
30,000
Month 3:
May
20% above average
because of cumulative
effects of grand opening
& seasonal peak
40,000
Month 4:
June
An average month
33,000
Month 5:
July
10% below average due
to seasonal slow-down
30,000
Month 6:
August
10% below average due
to summer slow-down
30,000
Month 7:
September
10% above average due
to back to school
37,000
Month 8:
October
10% above average due
to fall season
37,000
Month 9:
November
20% above average due
to fall season
40,000
Month 10:
December
40% above average due
to Christmas
47,000
Month 11:
January
30% below average
since everybody’s broke
after Christmas
23,000
Month 12:
February
20% below average
27,000
Year One Total:
$401,000
Some chain stores, such as supermarkets and drug stores, have refined the art of estimating sales
to a science. Of course, they have the advantage of learning from their experience with their other
stores. Even so, they occasionally make bad estimates.
Supermarket executives first gather statistics on how much the average person living in town
spends every week in grocery stores. These numbers are available by obtaining total sales volume
of grocery stores from the state sales tax agency; normally that data is broken down by county.
They estimate how many people live in the area for which sales volume statistics are gathered.
Dividing the sales volume data by the number of people in the area gives them the average sales
per person from grocery stores.
Then they compare the average sales per person with state averages. If it’s higher, it might mean
that people living in the area have a higher-than-average income. They can verify that by referring
to the United States Census, which lists average income per family and per person for every
census tract. If the income per person is average or below average, and sales per person are
higher than average, it probably means that people come from surrounding areas to do their
shopping. If the sales per person are lower than average in the area, it might mean that income is
below average or that people leave the area to do their shopping. On the basis of this sort of data,
together with an analysis of competition and demographics, supermarket executives can develop
relatively accurate estimates of sales volume for a new store.
b. Service Business Sales Revenue Forecast
To estimate sales revenue for a service business, you’ll need a good understanding of what steps
you go through to generate a billable sale. Then make a forecast of how many times you expect to
go through all those steps every week or month and how much revenue you’ll derive from those
steps.
Don’t forget to allow time for internal matters and marketing. If you’re a sole proprietor, you’ll need
to allow somewhere between 20% and 40% of your time for non-billable activities. If you have
employees or partners, you’ll want to make similar allowances for them.
The sales revenue forecasting process for Central Personnel Agency shows the kind of logical
process you’ll need to go through. (Central’s complete business plan is provided in Appendix 1.)
Sales Revenue Forecast for Central Personnel Agency
I like to allow room for mistakes in my forecast, so this sales forecast seems like overkill; my
experience shows the overage is needed.
Since it’s harder to find qualified people than it is to find job openings, I’ll concentrate on finding
people after I build a backlog of openings. I estimate I can find about 10 job openings per week. I
will allow myself two weeks to find 20 job openings. After the first 20, I’ll get plenty of openings by
referrals and repeats. My income goal is to gross $3,000 to $4,000 per month, and I know that the
average job order filled is worth $500 to $600 in gross fees, so filling only 10 openings per month
should give me about $5,000 to $6,000 in gross fees.
Finding good people is the hard part. It takes me up to 20 interviews to find one excellent person.
Some of these interviews are done in a few minutes over the phone, but just the same, I allow one
hour per interview. It takes an average of three good people sent out on interviews to fill one job.
Of course, once I have a good person, I send that person out on every interview I can.
This means that to fill six to eight job orders per month and meet my gross income goal, I need 25
to 30 good people on file. Since it takes an average of one hour per person and 20 interviews to
get one good person, I have a lot of interviewing to do. I can average five to eight per day, and it
will take me about 60 days of interviewing to build a base of qualified people. I anticipate three
months of fairly low income before I begin to reach my income goals.
c. Manufacturing or Wholesale Business Sales Revenue Forecast
If you plan to be in a manufacturing or wholesale business, read Sections F1a and F1b, just
above, and combine some of the concepts to estimate your sales volume. If you know as much
about your business as you should, it shouldn’t be difficult to develop a reasonable estimate. If
you’re having great difficulty, the chances are that you need to learn more about your business.
Example:Patty plans to import and wholesale modems for Acme computers. Acme has told her
that they have sold 100,000 computers to date and projections show about 1,000 per month for the
next three years. Patty realizes she doesn’t know what percentage of Acme owners will want
modems and decides to conduct a mail survey of Acme owners before completing her sales
forecast.
d. Project Development Sales Revenue Forecast
Project developers are not required to complete a monthly sales revenue forecast. They need to
know the likely amount they can sell the project for before they begin work; all revenue comes
when the project is sold.
2. Forecast Fixed Costs
For most small businesses, the difference between success and failure lies with keeping costs
down. Many smart people start successful businesses in a spare room in their house, the corner of
a warehouse or a storefront in a low-rent neighborhood. Unfortunately, others sink their original
capital into essentially cosmetic aspects of their business, such as fancy offices, and then go
broke.
On a blank sheet of paper or in a computer file, make a list of the fixed or regular monthly
expenses of your business. Your objective is to develop a dollar amount of expense that you are
committed to pay every month. This is your “nut,” or the dollar figure you must be able to pay to
keep the business viable. Include rent, utilities, salaries of employees, payroll taxes, insurance
payments, postage, telephone, utilities, bookkeeping and so forth. Some costs will be paid each
month and others will be paid once or twice a year. If a cost is less than about 10% of your total
fixed costs, you can divide the cost by 12 and show an amount each month. If the cost is larger
than 10% of the total, record the cost in the month you expect to pay it. You can choose whether to
include a draw for yourself as part of the fixed costs. If you plan to take your compensation only if
the business shows a profit, do not include your draw.
Your fixed cost list should also include some “discretionary costs”—expenses that change from
time to time due to your conscious decision. For example, your promotion expenses may change
occasionally as you increase or decrease advertising to take advantage of slow or busy times.
Include them in the fixed cost category even though the amount may fluctuate from time to time.
WarningCertain expenses are not “fixed costs.” Do not include as fixed costs:
•the costs to actually open your business (covered in Chapter 7, Section B)
•loan repayments (covered in Chapter 7, Section C)
•the costs you pay for any goods you’ll resell or use in the manufacturing or development process
(covered in Chapter 6, Section C).
Fixed Costs Forecast for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Antoinette estimates her fixed costs on a monthly basis:
Rent, including taxes, maintenance
$3,850
Wages, employees only (average including payroll taxes, etc.)
3,600
Utilities
800
Advertising
1,000
Telephone
600
Supplies
900
Insurance
1,500
Freight
700
Accounting/Legal
600
Bad debts
500
Bad debts 500
Miscellaneous
2,000
Total per month
$16,050
By completing this simple exercise, Antoinette has gained important information. She now knows
that she must sell enough every month so that she has at least $16,050 left after accounting for
the merchandise she sells. On an annual basis, that’s $192,600 ($16,050 multiplied by 12).
Antoinette must also bear in mind that she has not shown any salary or draw for herself. To
prosper, she obviously must not only cover fixed costs, but also must take in enough to make a
decent living.
3. Forecast Gross Profit for Each Sales Dollar
How much of each sales dollar will be left after subtracting the costs of the goods sold? That
number will pay fixed costs and determine your profit for your business. At this stage, you are
trying for a broad brush, quick and dirty forecast, so it’s okay to make a rough estimate of your
average gross profit.
Let’s look at how Antoinette calculates her gross profit for her first year of business. Antoinette
plans to sell about half her products at double the cost she pays. A dress she buys for $125 she
sells for $250. That means that her gross profit per dress sale is 50%. She plans to derive her
selling price for sale dresses, mark-downs and accessories by adding one-half of her cost to her
selling price; for example, if a belt cost her $10, she’ll sell it for $15.
Gross Profit Calculation for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Regular
Dresses
Sale Dresses &
Accessories
Total
Average Costs each
$125
$10
N/A
Bags, wrap
1
1
N/A
Average Total Cost
126
11
N/A
Average Selling Price
250
15
N/A
Gross Profit
(Selling Price less
Total Cost)
124
4
N/A
Gross Profit %
(Gross Profit divided
by Selling Price)
49.6%
(or 0.496)
26.7%
(or 0.267)
N/A
N/A
Total Annual Sales
$200,000
$200,000
$400,000
Total Annual Gross
Profit
$99,200
$53,400
$152,600
Average gross profit percentage = 38.2% ($152,600 divided by $400,000 equals 38.2%)
NoteThe prices in the Sales Dresses & Accessories column illustrate gross profit calculations;
they do not represent the selling price of sale items.
The calculations are similar for different type businesses. Service businesses will have higher
gross profit margins than retailers; most revenue is gross profit because little merchandise is sold.
Wholesale businesses will be similar to the retail example. Manufacturing businesses will be
similar in appearance even though the cost of goods will include materials from a variety of
sources and any labor that is paid per piece.
Project developers have only variable costs in each project. There are usually no fixed costs since
the developer’s business ends with the sale of the project. However, if a project developer works
on several projects at the same time, he may have some fixed costs that continue after any
particular project is sold. For a project developer, the gross profit is the difference between the
project’s selling price and all the project costs.
a. Forecast Gross Profit for a Start-Up Business
For a new business, calculate the average gross profit for your business by following these steps:
1.For each product or service that you sell, list every individual item that goes into that product,
i l di i l b d i i F l A i b d f id
including piece-rate labor and commissions. For example, Antoinette buys dresses from outside
suppliers and resells them. The cost of the dress is the major component of the total product cost.
She may add the cost of the pre-printed bag to derive the total cost of the sale.
2.Once you have a complete list of all the cost components for your products or services, add up
the cost of each item.
3.Write the selling price of the item below the total cost of the item.
4.Subtract the total cost from the selling price to derive the gross profit from each sale of that item.
5.Divide the selling price into the gross profit to derive the gross profit percentage for each
product.
6.Repeat for each product you’ll sell; if you have more than four or five individual products, then
it’s better to group them by gross profit percentage rather than to make an estimate for each
individual product.
7.Write down how much total dollar sales you expect for each product or product group.
8.Multiply the gross profit percentage by the total dollar sales to derive the dollar gross profit from
each product.
9.Add together the total dollar gross profit figures to derive the total dollar gross profit from the
year’s sales.
10.Divide the dollar gross profit by the annual sales revenue to derive the average gross profit
percentage for the year’s sales.
Completing this gives you an average gross profit percentage for your business.
b. Forecast Gross Profit for an Existing Business
If you’re already operating and have a profit and loss statement for your business from prior
months, your job is even easier. Simply subtract the total cost of sales from the total revenue to get
the gross profit for the period. Then, convert the dollar gross profit figures to a percentage of sales
revenue by dividing total dollar gross profit by total sales for the period. The percentage gross
profit figure you get will be the percentage gross profit figure you use for your break-even forecast.
If you’re already operating and your expansion will change the percentage of total sales revenue
that each product group brings, then you will need to forecast your new average gross profit by
following the procedure for a new business listed just above.
4. Forecast Your Break-Even Sales Revenue
Now that you have the fixed costs per month for your business and the average gross profit per
sale, you can estimate how much revenue you will need to just break even. You can use any
period you wish, although most people use a month or a year. As this chart shows, it’s simple to
calculate. Obtain the fixed costs figure from Section F2, above, and the average gross profit
percentage from F3, above. Then just divide the fixed costs by the average gross profits
expressed as a decimal.
Break-Even Sales Revenue Forecast
A
B
C
Fixed costs per
month or year
Average gross profit
percentage expressed as a
decimal
Break-even sales revenue
(A divided by B)
_______________
_______________
_______________
Example: Ronnie Ryann runs the Religious Sounds Round Table in Rye, New York. It’s a small
business, but she loves it dearly. The gross profit on the CDs, tapes and videos she sells is 50%.
This is the same as saying that after adding up the cost of the products, packaging and postage
(all variable costs), Ronnie is able to sell at double this amount. Ronnie rents 1,000 square feet for
$800 per month, pays her part-time clerk $950 per month and budgets $650 per month for utilities,
taxes and so forth. This means her operating expenses (all fixed costs) are $2,400 per month. (Her
costs seem low because some parts of New York State are behind the inflation curve.) Therefore,
Ronnie has to sell $4,800 of records per month to break-even. Her salary comes out of the money
she takes in over the $4,800. Fortunately, it will cost Ronnie very little in extra overhead to sell up
to $10,000 of records per month, so if she can achieve this volume, she will get to keep close to
half of it.
a. How to Calculate Your Profit
Perhaps you’re lucky enough that your break-even sales forecast shows you’ll make more than
you need to break even. If so, you can easily calculate your profit. Simply multiply your projected
sales revenue that is over the break-even point (Section F1, above) by your average gross profit
percentage (Section F3, above).
Example: Deborah needs $140,000 to break even in her bookkeeping business. Her projected
sales revenue shows that she will be bringing in $185,000 the first year—or $45,000 more than
she needs to break even. To determine the profit, she multiplies her average gross profit
percentage (0.692) by $45,000. Her profit will be $31,140.
b. If Your Forecast Shows a Loss
b. If Your Forecast Shows a Loss
What will you do if your break-even sales forecast shows that you’ll lose money? First of all, don’t
panic. You’ll need to do some sober, serious and meticulous thinking. Carefully check all your
numbers and double-check your arithmetic. Incidentally, many people doing this exercise for the
first time make some simple mistake in arithmetic that throws off the whole forecast. You might
have someone with good math skills review your work.
Let’s look at Antoinette’s situation and see how her figures have turned out.
Break-Even Sales Revenue Forecast
A
B
C
Fixed costs per
year
month or year
Average gross profit
percentage expressed as a
decimal
Breakeven sales revenue
(A divided by B)
$192,600
0.382
$504,188
Antoinette needs $504,188 in sales revenue just to break even. That is $104,188 more than she
expects the first year and $4,188 more than she expects for the second year. Despite her
enthusiasm and determination, Antoinette’s first reaction to this news is to panic and consider
giving up. After some reflection, she re-examines the calculations to make sure she hasn’t made a
mistake in her arithmetic. Then she starts considering her options. Should she abandon her idea
and work for someone else? Should she proceed with her loan application and fudge figures to
show a profit? Or is there some other alternative?
In any business, only these things can improve profits:
•you can increase the sales revenue by selling more of your product or service
•you can reduce fixed costs
•you can increase the gross profit percentage by raising selling prices or by lowering your product
cost.
Let’s see how Antoinette applies that knowledge to her break-even analysis.
First, Antoinette thinks about increasing sales. Maybe she was too conservative in her original
sales forecast. What would happen if she increased her annual sales forecast by $150,000 (to
$550,000) and kept the same fixed costs and gross profit margin? That is more than the breakeven
sales and should be enough to give her a profit for her efforts. How much profit? Let’s see.
Break-Even Sales Revenue Forecast for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Revision 1:
Increase Sales Volume to $550,000
Annual sales $550,000
Annual fixed costs 192,600
Gross profit 0.382
Break-even sales
($192,600 divided by 0.382)
504,188
Sales over break-even
($550,000 minus $504,188)
45,812
Profit
($45,812 x 0.382)
$ 17,500
Antoinette concludes that a very aggressive sales increase alone brings her a small profit, but
believes that the sales increase of $150,000 is very high. The profit resulting from that sales
increase is probably not enough to justify the risk of that high an increase in the sales forecast.
If a sales increase of $40,000 or $50,000 would show that profit, she would be more comfortable
increasing sales. She just isn’t sure she can do as well as the most established women’s clothing
store in the mall in her first year. After all, the range of women’s clothing sales per square foot per
year is $200 to $250, and she used the $250 figure to project sales of $500,000 in the second
year.
As a second thought, and even though she has no idea how to accomplish it, she wonders what
would happen to profits if she reduced fixed costs by $50,000 per year (about one-quarter of the
current total) and left the sales forecast at $400,000 and her gross profit at 38.2%.
Let’s see what would happen.
Break-Even Sales Revenue Forecast for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Revision 2:
Reduce Fixed Costs by $50,000
Annual sales
$400,000
Annual fixed costs
($192,600 minus 50,000)
142,600
Gross profit
0.382
Break-even sales
($142,600 divided by 0.382)
373,300
Sales over break-even
($400,000 minus 373,300)
26,700
Profit
($26,700 x 0.382)
$ 10,200
That fixed cost reduction shows a profit of $10,200, but it requires a reduction of one-quarter of the
fixed costs. Antoinette believes it will be very difficult to reduce fixed costs that much. Perhaps a
combination of fixed cost reduction and sales increase will improve the profits enough and still be
possible. Before she thinks about that option, though, she completes the break-even forecast
analysis by seeing what will happen if she can increase the average gross profit to 50% while
leaving the sales revenue and the fixed costs the same. She doesn’t know if she can really do it,
but wants to see what will happen to the numbers.
Break-Even Sales Revenue Forecast for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Revision 3:
Increase Gross Margin to 50%
Annual sales
$400,000
Annual fixed costs
192,600
Gross profit
0.5
Break-even sales
($192,600 divided by 0.5)
385,200
Sales over break-even
($400,000 minus 385,200)
$14,800
Profit ($14,800 x 0.5)
$ 7,400
It seems that Antoinette needs to find some combination of higher sales estimates, lower fixed
costs and higher gross profit margin that will improve profits so that she can make a living wage.
But the really critical part is this: She must be absolutely sure that she can meet all the forecast
changes she makes.
Antoinette was sure of her first forecasts; unfortunately, those forecasts produced a loss for the
first year of business. Now, while she can manipulate the numbers to show a profit, the danger is
that the numbers may not be achievable. She may be able to create a good-looking business plan
but may be unable to meet those revised projections. Or, just as dangerous, she may become
uneasy about the project’s success. A lack of confidence may just be enough to take the edge off
her drive and dedication and enough to make the project fail.
WarningMake sure that you have the same level of confidence in the revised forecast that you
had in the first forecast. Obviously, you can fiddle with the numbers and show good profits, but the
danger lies in making the goals impossible to reach. We all have a desire to make things work, and
making the numbers work is very easy to do. Just remember that you’ll have to live with the
numbers you write down for a very long time. Make sure they’re right.
G. What You Have Accomplished
We’ll follow Antoinette throughout her journey later in the book and see what combination of
figures she settles on. For now, let’s review what you’ve learned so far. You’ve decided whether to
write a complete plan for your business by completing these steps:
•choosing a business you know well
•identifying a need you can fill (the customer’s problem)
•describing your business and how it will fill that need
•deciding that your business is the right idea at the right time
•deciding that you like your business and
•forecasting enough profits to make writing a complete business plan worthwhile.
In this chapter, you’ve been answering questions for yourself. Now that you’ve answered the
questions positively, you can proceed to sell your idea and your answers to potential financial
partners. The next few chapters show you how to write a document that sells your idea.
Chapter 4: Potential Sources of Money to Start or
Expand Your Small Business
A. Introduction
This chapter helps your writing process because it gives you an idea of what lenders and investors
want to see in a finished plan. Your ability to understand your financiers’ motives can mean the
difference between getting a loan or investment and coming up empty-handed. If you already have
financial backing, you can skip this chapter.
Many people and institutions are looking for sound loans and investments. From their side of the
fence, it can often seem extremely difficult to find a good one. Many potential financiers have been
frightened by news stories about small business financial problems, con artists selling phony tax
shelters, business bankruptcies and so on.
What does this mean to you? Simply that you must both create a sound business plan and present
it, and yourself, in a way that appeals to lenders’ and investors’ needs for security and profit.
If you have a good business idea and are patient and persevering, you should be able to find
financing. It was Calvin Coolidge who, sometime in the 1920s, said, “The business of America is
business.” It’s no less true today.
B. Ways to Raise Money
Before you can sensibly plan to raise money, you need to know how it’s commonly done.
1. Loans
A loan is a simple concept: Someone gives you money in exchange for your promise to pay it
back. The lender could be a bank, friend, family member or anyone else willing to lend you money.
The lender will almost always charge interest, which compensates the lender for the risk that you
won’t pay back the loan. Usually, the lender has you sign some papers (called a note and loan
agreement) spelling out the details of your loan agreement. (See Chapter 10, Section D1, for
examples.)
While these basic concepts are simple, not everyone seems to clearly understand them. For
example, some people put a great deal of energy into arranging to borrow money, but think little
about the hard work that goes into repaying it. The important thing to understand is that the lender
expects you to pay the money back. It’s only fair that you honor your promise if you possibly can.
Your business may be so successful that you can pay back the loan sooner than the original note
calls for and save some interest expense in the process. Some state laws allow repayment of the
entire principal at any time with no penalty. However, laws in some states allow the lender to
charge a penalty of lost interest if the borrower pays the loan back sooner than called for. Make
sure you read the loan documents and ask about prepayment penalties. Your lender may be
willing to cross a prepayment penalty clause out of the agreement if you ask.
As for the manner in which loans are repaid, there are about as many variations as there are
loans. Here are the most typical:
•Fully amortized loan. This type of loan repayment provides for principal and interest to be paid
off in equal monthly payments for a certain number of months. When you’ve made all the
payments, you don’t owe anything else. The interest rate and the number of years or months you
agree to make payments can change your monthly payments a great deal; pay close attention to
these details. For example, if you borrow $10,000 for five years at 10% interest, you will agree to
make sixty monthly payments of $212.48, for a total repayment of $12,748.80. That means you
will pay $2,748.80 in interest. Now let’s say you borrow $10,000 for five years at 20% interest.
Your monthly payments will be $264.92 and you will end up paying $15,895, including $5,895 in
interest.
•Balloon payment loan. This loan (sometimes called an interest-only loan) calls for repayment of
relatively small amounts for a pre-established period of time. You then pay the entire remaining
amount off at once. This last large payment is called a “balloon payment,” because it’s so much
larger than the others. Most balloon payment loans require interest-only payments for a number of
years until the entire principal amount becomes due and payable. Although this type of repayment
schedule sounds unwieldy, it can be very useful if you can’t make large payments now, but expect
that to change in the near future.
Problems With Co-Signed Loans
Bankers sometimes request that you find a co-signer for your loan. This is likely if you have
insufficient collateral or a poor or nonexistent credit history. Perhaps someone who likes your idea
and has a lot of property, but little cash, will co-sign for a bank loan.
A co-signer agrees to make all payments you can’t make. It doesn’t matter if the co-signer gets
anything from the loan—she’ll still be responsible. And if you can’t pay, the lender can sue both
you and the co-signer. The exception is that you’re off the hook if you declare Chapter 7
bankruptcy, but the co-signer isn’t. Co-signing a loan is a big obligation, and it can strain even the
best of friendships. If someone co-signs your loan, you might want to consider rewarding your
angel for taking this risk.
From my own experience, I co-signed a car loan for an employee once, and I’ll think twice before I
do it again. I didn’t lose any money, but the bank called me every time a payment was 24 hours
late, and a couple of times I thought I might have to pay. I didn’t like being financially responsible
for a car that I had never driven and might never see again.
a. Secured Loans
Lenders often protect themselves by taking a security interest in something valuable that you own,
called “collateral.” If you pledge collateral, the lender will hold title to your house, your inventory,
accounts receivable or other valuable property until the loan is paid off. Loans with collateral are
called “secured” loans.
If you don’t repay a secured loan, the lender sells your collateral and pockets the unpaid balance
of your loan, plus any costs of sale. Not surprisingly, if you have valuable property to secure a
loan, a lender will be much more willing to advance you money. But you also risk losing your
house or other collateral if you can’t pay back the loan.
A lender will expect you to maintain some ownership stake in the asset. This will normally be 10%
to 30%, depending on the type of asset and the type of lender. That means you can’t expect to get
a loan for the same amount as your collateral is worth.
If you default on a loan and proceeds from the sale of the collateral are not enough to pay off the
loan, the lender can sue you for the remaining amount. The best advice is this: Be very cautious
when considering a secured loan. Make sure you know your obligations if the business fails and
the loan can’t be repaid.
Lenders like collateral, but it never substitutes for a sound business plan. They don’t want to be
selling houses or cars to recoup their money. In fact, lenders often only accept real property,
stocks and bonds and vehicles as collateral. Items of personal property, such as jewelry, furniture,
artwork or collections usually don’t qualify. All lenders really want is for you to pay back the loan,
plus interest. If they have to foreclose on your house, it makes them look, and probably feel, bad.
Here’s an example of a loan secured by real estate and used to open a business.
Example: Mary needs to borrow $50,000 to open a take-out bagel shop. She owns a house worth
$200,000 and has a first mortgage with a remaining balance of $100,000. Uncle Albert has offered
to lend Mary the amount she needs at a favorable interest rate, taking a second mortgage on
Mary’s house as collateral for the loan. Mary agrees and borrows $50,000, obligating herself to
repay in five years with interest at 10%, by making sixty payments of $1,062.50. If Mary can’t make
all the payments, the second mortgage gives Uncle Albert the right to foreclose on Mary’s home
and sell it to recover the money he loaned her. Uncle Albert feels secure, since he is confident the
house will sell for at least $150,000, and the only other lien against the house is the $100,000 first
mortgage. If a foreclosure did occur, Mary would, of course collect any difference between the
selling price and the balance of the two mortgages.
b. Unsecured Loans
Loans without collateral are called “unsecured” loans. The lender has nothing to take if you don’t
pay. However, the lender is still entitled to sue you if you fail to repay an unsecured loan. If he
wins, he can go after your bank account, property and business.
Lenders typically don’t make unsecured loans for a new business, although a sound business plan
may sway them. Remember, the lender’s maximum profit from the loan will be the interest he
charges you. Since he won’t participate in the profits, naturally he is going to be more concerned
with security.
2. Equity Investments
An equity investor buys a portion of your business and becomes part owner. The equity investor
shares in your profits when you succeed. Depending on the legal form of ownership, she only
shares in your losses up to the amount of her initial investment. Put another way, most equity
investors’ risk is limited to the money they put up, which can be lost if the business fails.
you will give it back. Your business plan should include a forecast of when and how that will
happen. Failing to discuss a repayment strategy in your plan can cause a potential investor to
wonder about your motives.
To understand a little more about your potential backers, let’s look at the dilemma they face when
they consider investing in a small business like yours. On one extreme are the very safe
investments that produce a low profit. At the other extreme lie investments that promise a very
high profit but that also carry a high risk of losing the entire investment.
Your new business proposal will be far less safe than an insured bank deposit. This means that to
attract money, you must offer investors the possibility of fairly high returns. While investors will not
classify your proposal as risky as casino gambling, the smart ones will know that, statistically,
putting money into a new small business isn’t a whole lot safer. In addition to the possibility of a big
gain, investors will want to minimize their risks by looking for any security-enhancing feature your
investment proposal offers, such as your skill at making businesses succeed or your business’
profitable track record.
You will want to offer investors the possibility of a good financial return, a sense of security and, if
possible, a little more. Often, this is a vision of engaging in a business designed to enhance some
particularly worthwhile objective such as health, education or environmental concerns. Or it can be
simply an opportunity to help someone with enthusiasm and drive. One of the best ways to
convince a potential lender or investor that his money is secure is to convince him that you are an
honest, sincere person. At least as many businesses fail to get financed because potential
investors don’t like the person making the sales pitch as fail because they don’t like the pitch itself.
a. Return on Equity Investments: What’s Fair
Every investor has her personal requirements and every deal is different. The important thing is
that both parties understand the risks and think it is a good deal. Here are some suggestions that
have worked well for others in situations where the potential investors weren’t well acquainted with
the entrepreneur. Obviously, if your investors are family members, close friends or people who
wish to support your business for political or personal reasons, they may be willing to accept a
lower rate of return.
Should You Guarantee a Return?
Very few investment proposals offer the investor any guarantees. Nevertheless, some equity
investors want a guaranteed return in addition to a share of the profits. If you guarantee a return,
you will pay back the original investment plus a profit on the investment, even if the deal goes
sour. Doing this is great if the project makes the profit you think it will. But it’s a risk for you since
you’ll have to get the money to pay off the investor from some other source if your business fails.
If you are willing to guarantee the repayment and the profits, you may be able to get an investor to
accept the return of her investment plus a reasonable profit of 20% or 30% on her investment,
within a year or two time frame.
Most entrepreneurs with the ability and assets to offer a guarantee can secure financing at a lower
cost from more conventional sources. Perhaps they can pledge their assets for a straight bank
loan or sell their assets and obtain money that way.
If you are starting a new business and do not plan to guarantee the return of the investment, you’ll
almost always need to offer investors a high possible return. If you don’t put up any money,
investors may expect as much as 75% of the profits. You, the promoter, may get as little as 25% of
the profits plus a reasonable salary for your work to make the project go. Of course, it is rare that a
person who starts a business doesn’t invest at least some of his own money, so the investors’
percentage would normally be adjusted downward.
Another alternative for a start-up business where investors bear the entire risk of loss is for the
founder to work in the business on a daily basis and receive a small wage as a project expense.
The first profits are used to pay back all the money advanced. Profits are split on an agreed
percentage. If the investor puts up all the money, this might be 50/50; if the investor puts up less,
his share should also be less. Sometimes these profit splits terminate after a specific number of
years, and sometimes they continue indefinitely. Occasionally, the parties agree on a formula to
establish a price for which one party may buy out the other party in the future.
If you’re expanding an established business, the returns can be adjusted toward normal bank loan
rates if the expansion appears conservative. Investment profits will have to be considerably higher
than bank rates if the project appears risky. The main thing that increases risk for an established
business is changing its normal course of business. For example, an established employee leasing
company that plans to expand its receivables in the face of increasing demand is more
conservative than the same company that plans to open a new office in another state. It’s a higher
risk if the same company plans to enter a completely new line of business, such as management
consulting.
b. Legal Forms of Owning Equity Investments
An equity investor chooses among three options in sharing ownership in your small business.
These are the only options available, even if the consideration for the ownership share is
something other than cash, such as labor, materials and so forth:
•General partnerships. A general partner joins you in owning the business. He shares in your
profits and losses in proportion to his partnership share. General partnerships work best when all
partners work full-time in the business. Equity investors normally prefer not to become general
partners, because they don’t want day-to-day involvement in your business. Also, by law, if the
partnership loses money, the investing general partner must pay back part or all of the losses.
Everybody has heard stories of partnerships that went sour, with dire consequences. These were
usually general partnerships. If you are interested in forming a partnership, limited or general, or
learning more about them, see The Partnership Book, by Denis Clifford and Ralph Warner (Nolo).
•Limited partnerships. This arrangement is a form of business organization under which you as
governed by state and federal regulations.
What are the advantages of a limited partnership to you as the entrepreneur? First, investors are
more likely to invest in your project when their liability is limited to their investment. Second, you’ll
be the sole boss of your business—no one else will have a say in the details of its operations. The
major disadvantage of this form of ownership is that the general partner, normally you, is
personally liable for all the partnership debts and lawsuits. That’s why most businesses form as
corporations, which limit the personal liability of all owners.
•Corporations. One of the most popular methods of selling equity investments is to form a
corporation and sell shares of stock. The shareholders’ potential losses are typically limited to the
purchase price of their shares. A corporation is a legal entity that is separate from you. You form a
corporation by paying fees and filing forms at a state office. A corporation lets you keep
management control of the business; as long as you retain 51% of the shares of stock, you can
call the shots.
How much people are willing to pay for your stock depends mostly on what they think of your
prospects. If you have a firm, exclusive contract to sell a popular, new type of computer peripheral
and only need money to build a showroom, potential buyers will probably find you. However, if
you’re trying to build a factory to mass produce a new and relatively untried type of pooper scooper,
you will almost certainly have more difficulty.
If you conduct business in a legal and ethical manner, the corporation can shield you and your
shareholders from personal liability for business losses. However, officers and directors of a
corporation can be held personally liable for any corporate acts that break the law or breach their
duty to the shareholders to act responsibly.
WarningLenders and landlords normally require that corporate officers personally guarantee any
loans or leases that the corporation enters into until it has a several-year track record and a strong
financial position. So, you can expect to be held personally responsible for company debts even
though you form a corporation and are protected from routine business losses.
Corporations and Red Tape
Corporations bring several complications—but most entrepreneurs consider the costs and
inconvenience a small price to pay for the ability to raise the capital they need. I only summarize a
few issues here:
•Recordkeeping in corporations. Keeping your shareholders informed and your corporation in
good standing means that you have to perform certain legal acts and pay various taxes and fees.
It’s more complicated and expensive than doing business as a sole proprietor.
•Taxes and corporations. You can take money out of your corporation in only two ways: salaries
rates.
•Selling shares in your corporation. Both federal and state regulatory authorities have many
rules and regulations governing sales of corporate shares or limited partnership interests. The
bottom line of all these regulations is this: You can’t take any money into your venture until you
comply with the appropriate rules. These rules try to protect investors from crooks and con artists
and also try to make it relatively easy to raise money for legitimate ventures. Before selling any
security, or soliciting for the sale of any security, make sure you have complied with the
appropriate regulations. (See Section F8, below, for a short discussion.)
3. Loans and Equity Investments Compared
To raise money for your new business, you must decide whether you prefer to borrow money or
sell part of your project to an equity investor. Often, you may not have many options. The person
with money to lend or invest will obviously have a lot to say about it. But you should know the
trade-offs you normally make by preferring one to the other:
•Loan advantages. The lender has no profit participation or management say in your business.
Your only obligation is to repay the loan on time. Interest payments (not principal payments) are a
deductible business expense. Loans from close friends or relatives can have flexible repayment
terms.
•Loan disadvantages. You may have to make loan repayments when your need for cash is
greatest, such as during your business’ start-up or expansion. Also, you may have to assign a
security interest in your property to obtain a loan, thereby placing personal assets at risk. Under
most circumstances you can be sued personally for any unpaid balance of the loan, even if it’s
unsecured.
•Equity investment advantages. You can be flexible about repayment requirements. Investors
sometimes are partners and often offer valuable advice and assistance. If your business loses
money or goes broke, you probably won’t have to repay your investors.
•Equity investment disadvantages. Equity investors require a larger share of the profits. Your
shareholders and partners have a legal right to be informed about all significant business events
and a right to ethical management; they can sue you if they feel their rights are compromised.
Loans are better for businesses if the cash flow allows for realistic repayment schedules and the
loans can be obtained without jeopardizing personal assets. Equity investments are often the best
way to finance start-up ventures because of the flexible repayment schedules.
If you don’t already know an accountant specializing in small business affairs, you will be wise to
find one. Your personal tax situation, the tax situation of the people who may invest and the tax
status of the type of business you plan to open are all likely to influence your choice.
C. Common Money Sources to Start or Expand a Business
Most small businesses are started or expanded with money from one of seven readily available
sources. They are in order of frequency:
1.The savings of the person starting the business
2.Money from close friends and relatives
3.Scaling back cash requirements and substituting creative cost-cutting for financial equity
4.Selling or borrowing against equity in other property
5.Money from supporters or others interested in what you are doing
6.Bank loans
7.Venture capital.
I recommend never financing a business with only borrowed money, even if it’s possible. If you’re
starting a new business and use your own money or sell equity, you can make your inevitable
start-up mistakes cheaply and survive to borrow money later, when you know how better to use it.
My general rule is that you should borrow less than half of the money you need, especially if you’re
starting a new business. If you’re expanding an existing business, make sure that you can handle
the cash payments necessary to repay the loan even if business isn’t as good as you hope. In
other words, it’s usually more dangerous to borrow too much than too little. If you have to raise
nearly all the money from others, I recommend selling equity instead of borrowing.
Now let’s look at each of the most likely funding sources for new and expanding businesses in
more depth.
1. Money From Your Personal Savings
Most businesses are financed, at least in part, with personal savings. Sure, it’s hard to save
money, but this form of financing has so many advantages, it’s worth some effort. Incidentally,
savings don’t necessarily come from a bank account or piggy bank. Lots of entrepreneurs sell or
refinance a house or some other valuable property to come up with cash. (This subject is covered
in more detail below in Section C4.)
Starting a business with your savings is the quintessence of the capitalist idea. As the
entrepreneur with capital, you hire people, purchase equipment and ideally create profits. It’s a
long and honored tradition. Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and, more recently, Steve Jobs of
Apple Computer all started with at least some money from their own pockets and ended up
creating industrial empires. While chances are your goals are more modest, the idea is pretty
much the same.
If you finance a business with your own money, you won’t have to worry about making loan
payments or keeping investors happy. Think of it this way. The more you borrow, the more you
increase your fixed operating costs—making it more difficult to survive the slow periods and
mistakes almost every business faces.
Another reason to start a business with savings is that you enhance your borrowing capacity for
the future. The inventory, fixtures and equipment you purchase with your cash investment are
treated as assets should you later apply for a business expansion loan.
Of course, not everybody is lucky enough to be able to start or expand a business entirely from
savings. But there are at least two ways you may be able to increase the amount of money you
can put into your business.
a. Living Expense Deferral
People who need just a little more cash than they have sometimes take a risky—but not unheard
This way of getting extra money involves risk, and it’s not for everybody.
You may have a credit card or two that has more credit available; by running your credit line to the
maximum, sometimes you can obtain some cash from an unexpected source or buy material for
the business. Of course, the interest rates are high, and you flirt with bankruptcy if you can’t make
payments. Still, several people I know have used this method to help start a business.
If you have a good payment record with the telephone company, gas and electric company,
landlord, bank and so forth, you should be able to skip several months’ payments without seriously
damaging your credit rating. Of course, you’ll have to catch up again fast. In the meantime, you
can use the money to help get your business going.
You may be able to fall behind a month or two on your mortgage payments and generate some
quick cash that way. However, the mortgage holder will take the property back from you after a few
months. Don’t use this method unless you’re very sure that you can become current again quickly.
WarningThis scheme should be tried only if you’re sure you’ll be able to come up with the money
when you need it. As with everything else, common sense should be applied to living expense
deferral plans. Otherwise, you may find yourself trying to read a foreclosure notice in a dark room.
b. Trade Credit
Arranging for trade credit involves borrowing from the companies from whom you will buy your
merchandise or raw materials. This form of borrowing rarely works for service businesses,
because salaries are the biggest expense and employees are usually not interested in lending you
their salaries. However, I do know of a number of new businesses where friends and family
members pitched in for free in the early days; it never hurts to ask.
If you’re in the retail, wholesale or manufacturing business, arranging for trade credit can help
considerably. In most businesses, you typically order supplies and pay for them 30 to 60 days after
you receive them. The problem for new businesses is that it’s also standard practice for suppliers
to demand cash up front from start-ups. This policy isn’t immutable, however. Often, if you present
your business plan to potential suppliers, you can arrange to order at least some supplies and
merchandise on credit. After all, your supplier has an interest in helping you succeed so that you
will buy his merchandise for many years to come.
The key to maintaining good relations with suppliers while borrowing from them is to keep them
informed of what you’re doing and why. This communication rule is particularly important for new
businesses. If you arrange credit and can only pay a part of your first bill in 30 days, pay that
amount and ask the supplier for a short extension.
Some suppliers may offer extended payment terms to get your business. Occasionally a supplier
will ship merchandise in a slow part of the season and let you pay for it several months later, in the
busy season. Before you try any of this, check with your suppliers’ sales reps about company
policies. Your suppliers are invaluable to your business, and you want to keep them on your side.
2. Friends, Relatives and Business Acquaintances
The type of financing provided by close friends and relatives does not normally vary much from
that provided by strangers. The help may be in the form of a gift, a loan or an equity investment.
The big differences are usually the availability of money in the first place and the interest rate or
investment return.
With friend- or relative-provided financing, however, the commercial model isn’t the only one. A
common alternative is the loan-gift hybrid. Here a relative or friend lends you money at either a low
interest rate, or with no interest at all, telling you to pay it back when you can and to treat it as a gift
if you can’t. Obviously, this type of help is invaluable if it’s available. It gives you time to get your
business established with a minimum of pressure. If you’ve any doubt about your angels’ financial
position, make sure they consult their banker, attorney or financial advisor before advancing you
the money. Also, check with a tax advisor if you receive more than $10,000 as a gift in one year
from any individual, since there may be tax implications. Finally, write down the terms of the loan
or transaction and make sure everyone thoroughly understands them. After all, you want to feel
like you can go to family reunions even if your business fails.
WarningThink twice before you accept. Think about what a business reversal could do to your
personal relationship, even if your relative or friend says they don’t need the money. I know
families that have been torn apart because a borrower didn’t meet the agreements she made with
a lender. Besides, a loan from a relative or close friend that comes with emotional strings probably
isn’t worth the cost.
Your Money Machine
Here is a task you can start right now that will save you time and frustration. Begin writing a list of
all your relatives, friends, business acquaintances, supporters, professional advisors and so on.
This list will be one of the primary sources of money for your new or growing venture, since people
who know you already are most likely to be interested in your business.
One advantage of dealing with your relatives and friends is that they already know your strengths
and weaknesses. They are likely to be more understanding than a banker if you have start-up
problems and make a few late loan payments. Nevertheless, you’ll be wise to treat people close to
you in a businesslike manner.
Don’t make the money a test of whether they love you or not. If your close relatives feel they can
decline the investment opportunity without hurting your feelings, both of you will be happier in the
long run. Pay attention to criticism and suggestions, especially if they come from people with
business experience. If they don’t wish to invest or lend you money, accept their reasons at face
value—you might not like their hidden reasons.
Some people looking for business financing will write a business plan and loan package and then
show it only to the bank, assuming relatives or friends don’t need to see it. This is a mistake. Make
sure those people close to you get the benefit of all your hard work. A good business plan may
even help them see you in a new light and encourage them to make a financial commitment.
3. Creative Cost-Cutting
Although not really a funding source, one of the most effective ways to finance a small business is
to make do with less. If your initial business proposal calls for $50,000, think about how you can
reduce spending on non-essential items. Perhaps you can begin your consulting business in your
home or share expensive equipment with an established business rather than buying it.
Of course, there will be many situations where you will need a fair amount of money to get
started—it’s hard to cook without a stove, paint without a ladder or program without a computer.
The important principle is not that you should avoid raising outside money, but that you should
borrow or raise equity capital only if you absolutely can’t do without it. For more on this concept, I
recommend Honest Business, by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry (Random House).
4. Equity in Other Assets
You may choose to raise money by selling existing assets or by pledging your equity in them as
collateral for a loan. Remember, collateral is something you own which you give your lender title to
until you pay back all the money you borrowed, plus interest. If you fail to repay the loan, the
lender keeps the collateral.Basically, equity is the difference between the market value of property
you own and what you owe against it, plus any costs necessary to turn the asset into cash.
Example: Eric owns a car worth $9,000, but owes the bank $4,000. His equity in the car is $5,000.
To convert the equity to cash, he could try to sell the car for $9,000 cash and pay off the bank
loan, leaving him $5,000. If he borrows against the car, he’d probably be lent less than $5,000,
since banks don’t like to finance 100% of an asset’s value.
5. Supporters
Many types of businesses tend to have loyal and devoted followers—in many ways their
customers care about the business as much as the owners do. Examples are as myriad and varied
as the likes, loves and desires of the human community. A health food restaurant, an exercise
club, a motorcycle shop, a family counseling facility, a solar heating business, a religious
bookstore or a kayak manufacturing shop all could work, assuming you can find your audience.
As with the discussion about family members (Section C2, above), people who care about what
you do may well be willing to support you on better terms than would a commercial investor. No
matter what your business or business idea, think about who you know or can get to know and
who really cares about what you plan to do. Share your idea with these people and be ready to
listen to them. You’ll surely get lots of good ideas, and you may be surprised at how easy it is to
raise money for what people perceive as an honest and needed endeavor.
6. Banks
When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton said, “Because that’s where the money is.” For
the same reason, banks are high on the list of potential sources people ask about for business
funding. Unfortunately, as far as a small business is concerned, banks act cautiously when lending
out money. This makes sense when you remember that it isn’t their money.
While there are other bank-like institutions in the community, this discussion applies to commercial
banks that lend to businesses and individuals. Savings and loans (thrifts) traditionally take in
money from individuals and lend only to individuals who own real property; however, the banking
and savings and loan industries are changing rapidly and that may change. Credit unions normally
lend only to individuals in small amounts; generally speaking, they don’t lend to businesses.
Banks always want to see a written business plan along with your loan application. Banks are
financial intermediaries. They pay interest to account holders to attract deposits, which they lend
out to people like you. When lending, they charge enough interest to pay for their cost of funds and
produce a profit. Any transaction you have with a bank will be a loan and will come with a
repayment schedule. Banks try to minimize risks by making sure you have enough assets to pay
them back, even if your business does badly. They don’t make equity investments in businesses.
Some commercial banks work closely with the Small Business Administration (SBA) in offering
loan guarantee programs. If you want a loan but don’t qualify under the bank’s normal guidelines,
the banker may suggest that you apply for an SBA guaranteed loan. If you’re approved, the SBA
guarantees the bank that you will repay the loan and the bank loans you the money. While this
program can work for start-ups, it is most used by business owners wanting to expand a
successful business. Ask your banker if he knows about the SBA guarantee program. (See
Section F1, below, for background on the SBA.)
Commercial banks sometimes lend to a start-up business, but they almost always ask for collateral
to secure the loan. The most banks will usually lend a start-up is half the cash needed. In addition,
they usually require that you do not borrow all or most of your cash from someone else; they want
you to have as much to lose as they do.
plan and loan application, and you have sufficient collateral, she may give you an interest-only
loan for a short time, with the option of converting it to an amortized loan later. That means you
can delay larger principal payments until your business has a chance to generate a positive cash
flow. (See the discussion of different loans in Section B1, above.)
Example 1: Katherine O’Malley Pertz-Walter has saved $20,000 to start the Rack-a-Frax Fastener
Company, but she needs an additional $10,000. After a careful study of her business plan, a
banker grants her an interest-only loan with payments to be made quarterly for one year and takes
a second mortgage on her home as collateral. At the end of the year, she must repay the entire
principal. Her interest rate will probably be something like the prime rate (interest rate charged the
bank’s favored customers) plus 3%. If the prime rate is 12%, she’ll be paying about 15% interest,
and her quarterly interest payment will be $375. At the end of the year, she will be obligated to
repay the $10,000 in one lump sum.
Example 2: To continue this story, let’s assume that at the end of the first year, Ms. Pertz-Walter
asks the bank to convert the loan to a three-year payment schedule, including principal and
interest. Based on her favorable first-year results, the bank agrees to amortize the loan rather than
demand immediate repayment. She now has to make 36 equal monthly payments of $341.75.
After she makes those 36 payments, the loan will be paid off completely.
Example 3: Now let’s forget about Rack-a-Frax and switch to the story of a friend of mine. Peter
Wong wanted to start a garage specializing in Italian cars in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He estimated
that he needed a total of $50,000 to get his business started. He had $25,000 cash saved from his
job as chief mechanic at an independent Ferrari garage and $30,000 equity in a house. He thought
he was home free and confidently walked into a local bank to ask for a $25,000 loan.
An hour later he walked back out with his head spinning. The banker asked him a number of
questions about monthly sales projections, cash flow and cash for a parts inventory. Peter
hemmed and hawed. It came down to this: The banker didn’t want to talk to Peter seriously until he
produced a written business plan demonstrating that he understood how his business would work.
After the initial shock of his bank interview wore off, Peter went to work. Putting his plan down on
paper and doing a budget encouraged him to deal with a number of details he had never thought
about before. When he did, he changed his plan considerably.
Finally, Peter presented his plan to the bank loan committee. This time they offered to lend him
$25,000, provided he put up the other $25,000 and give the bank a second trust deed on his
house and title to all equipment purchased for the shop. The bank also asked that Peter buy a life
insurance policy for $25,000, naming the bank as beneficiary. He negotiated the second trust deed
on his house out of the requirements and then agreed to take the package. The terms were 36
monthly payments at a floating interest rate that was calculated at the prime rate plus 3%.
By this time, Peter and the banker, whose name was Fred, had established a good relationship.
When the business got off to a slow start, Peter kept Fred informed of the problems and his plans
to deal with them. Fred let Peter delay three payments in a row with no penalty. Eventually, when
the business began to do well and Peter wanted to expand, Fred worked out a financing package,
this time taking as collateral Peter’s accounts receivable and inventory.
7. Venture Capitalists
banker in New York, the term often connotes a group of businesses that look for hot companies in
which they can make large profits. Typically, this group won’t consider any investment smaller than
$500,000 and prefers companies specializing in the emerging technological fields, where a lot of
money is needed to get started and where it’s possible to achieve enormous returns. Computers,
genetic engineering and medical technology are familiar examples.
Most readers of this book will be interested in starting or expanding small- or medium-sized
service, retail, wholesale or low technology manufacturing businesses. Large-scale venture
capitalists traditionally do not invest in these areas. Fortunately, relatives, friends, business
acquaintances and local businesspeople with a little money to invest can all be pint-sized venture
capitalists. Many do very well at it.
Example: Jack Boots loved to ride dirt motor bikes on the weekends. He was frustrated that no
retailer in his county carried either a good selection of off-road bikes or the right accessories. He
and his friends sometimes had to drive 200 miles to buy supplies.
Eventually, it occurred to Jack to quit his job and open a local motorcycle store. He talked to
several manufacturers and was encouraged. The only problem was, he would need $50,000 to
swing it. As he only had $20,000, he was about to give up the idea when some of his biker buddies
offered to help raise the cash. Jack found six people willing to invest $5,000 each in a limited
partnership. Each of these friends was, in reality, a small-scale venture capitalist, betting a portion
of his savings on the notion that Jack would succeed and they would participate in his financial
success.
Jack’s Cycles opened for business and is doing well. All the limited partners were paid back their
initial investments plus the agreed-upon return set out in their limited partnership agreement, and
Jack is now the sole owner. The only sad part of it is that Jack is too busy to ride much anymore.
Many cities have venture capital clubs, comprised of groups of individual investors interested in
helping businesses start and grow. These clubs often serve as an introductory service—you
receive a few minutes to discuss your business at a club meeting. If any investors want to pursue
the discussion further, they make an appointment with you privately. You can use these groups to
expand the list you are making of investment prospects. You may also be able to obtain
computerized lists of venture capitalists and investor magazines in which you can advertise your
proposition. Often, these clubs are formed and disbanded rapidly; ask the local Chamber of
Commerce or your local bankers if there is an active club in your area.
When thinking about raising money by selling a share in your business, it’s important that you have
a hard-headed picture of what you’re getting into. Amateur venture capitalists or equity investors
gamble on your idea for your expansion or new venture. They invest money hoping that you’ll
make them rich, or at least richer. If you intend to look for equity investors, your business plan
needs enough economic and marketing research to show investors that your idea has the potential
of making a substantial profit. You’ll also need to show potential investors exactly how they’ll profit
by investing in your business.
Example:Jack Boots spelled out his profit distribution plans in his limited partnership document:
Investors received 50% of the profits paid monthly according to their relative share of investment
after he paid himself a nominal, agreed-upon salary for running the store. In addition, they qualified
to buy merchandise at a substantial discount. They also owned a share of the assets of the
business. Jack estimated that a $10,000 investor would receive a monthly cash flow of $200 for an
annual return of 24%. When added to the partner’s investment share in the inventory of the shop,
this would make a $10,000 investment worth $20,000 in three years.
D. Additional Money Sources for an Existing Business
If you’ve been in business for at least three or four years and can show a history of profitable
operations, a whole new world of financing options opens up to you. The major advantage you
have over a start-up is that you can prove what you say, whereas a start-up can’t. Be careful if
you’ve been in business for less than three years or can’t show a profitable history—financing
sources may consider you a start-up and put you in a higher risk category. (Funding sources for
start-ups are covered in Section C, above.)
Take your latest two or three years’ financial statements with you as part of your business plan
when you talk to any financing source. That way, the lender or investor can see where you’ve been
and where you’re planning to go.
Here is a list of readily available financing sources for expanding your small business. Consider
each potential source of money carefully—each has unique advantages and disadvantages as
they apply to your business. Approach whatever source makes the most sense for your business
first; you can try others if the first one doesn’t work.
1. Trade Credit
After you establish a reliable record of prompt payment with your suppliers, normally they will
consider extending additional credit for your expansion plans. Let them know of your plans well in
advance; if you begin delaying your payments to finance your expansion without notifying them,
they may get annoyed. They have an interest in seeing you grow; after all, you’ll be buying more
from them in the future. Sometimes they will even introduce you to their bankers and investors if
you approach them with a well-thought-out business plan.
2. Commercial Banks
Remember those banks that were so hard to get money from when you started your business?
Well, once you can show a profitable history, they become a lot more friendly. As an established
businessperson you can often secure flexibility from banks that you might not expect. For example,
they may lend you money and take a security interest in your accounts receivable. Or they may
take a security interest in your inventory, equipment or other business assets.
3. Equipment Leasing Companies
Leasing companies own equipment that they rent to businesses and individuals. Some leasing
companies are similar to rental yards in that they have a supply of equipment on hand that they
rent out. Sometimes these companies offer repair and trade-in privileges in addition to short-term
rentals.
Other leasing companies—called full finance leasing companies—do not take physical possession
of any equipment. You find the equipment you want, and they buy it for you. Full finance leasing
companies have no equipment inventory and offer no return or repair services. They borrow
money from a bank, so you’ll have to pay back the equipment cost plus interest and a leasing
company service fee over a fixed time. Normally, you have the option of buying the equipment for
an additional price at the end of the lease term. Full finance leasing companies base their credit
decisions on your company’s financial condition. They will want to see lots of financial records from
your company and may request that you pledge some of your personal assets to guarantee the
lease. Of course, make sure you understand what you agree to before you sign anything.
4. Accounts Receivable Factoring Companies
Factoring companies—also called factors—buy your accounts receivable at a discount. Then, they
collect your accounts at full face value. This can be a very expensive way to raise cash—I only
recommend it as a last resort. Some factors require that your accounts pay them directly instead of
paying you. This can cause problems with customers, who’ll assume that you are having serious
cash flow problems. Approach factors with caution and make sure you understand the implications
of the agreement before you sign it.
Factors can buy your receivables with or without recourse—that is, your guarantee of payment to
the factor. Factoring with recourse means that the factor pays you a higher percentage of the
receivable in cash and makes raising cash less expensive. But you can be seriously damaged if a
big account fails to pay its bill and you have to make good on your guarantee.
5. Venture Capitalists
Some venture capitalists specialize in funding businesses after they have a track record and are
willing to take a smaller return as a result. The industry is changing, and more venture capitalists
are looking at a wider range of possibilities and client companies. Often a venture capitalist will
specialize in a market area and company size or stage of growth. The possibilities have increased,
and so has the work involved in finding just the right backers. (Also, see the discussion on venture
capitalists for start-ups in Section C7, above.)
6. Money Brokers and Finders
Money brokers and finders develop and maintain lists of investors and lenders interested in
businesses. For a fee, they will circulate your financing proposal to potential money sources. A
legitimate broker or finder can look at your business plan and know if he has a good chance of
finding money for you.
Finders simply introduce you to possible backers; they cannot negotiate on your behalf, and they
are not licensed. Money brokers are licensed and can negotiate on your behalf. Fees for both
finders and brokers are comparable. I recommend that you work with people who work on a
contingency fee basis only and do not require up-front fees. While some worthwhile finders and
brokers require an up-front fee, there are some non-legitimate people who take the up-front fees
and disappear. Also, I recommend that you obtain references from any broker or finder and that
you verify the references.
Total fees, including both up-front and contingency, can range up to 10% or 15% of the money
raised, so be cautious and remember that everything is negotiable. You can contact finders and
brokers in the financial section of your newspaper’s classified advertising section.
E. If No One Will Finance Your Business, Try Again
Let’s say that you’ve been unsuccessful in your attempts to raise money for your business from the
primary sources listed in Sections C and D above, or you have raised some money, but still need
more. What do you do next? The first step is to go back to the people who initially seemed
interested but ultimately turned you down and find out why. This is not a waste of time. If you get
the same answer from several people, you will know what you have to work on. And then there is
the possibility that someone’s circumstances have changed and they have more funds now.
Remember, it took the man who invented dry paper copying 21 years to raise the money to get the
first photocopier made.
If a bank lending officer, or even two or three, turned you down but you still think borrowing is a
good way to fund your business, try other lending officers at other banks. A friend of mine got a
$15,000 unsecured loan to improve some agricultural property just by going to five different banks.
The first banker laughed him out of the office, the second banker listened to his story for five
minutes and the third for ten minutes. By the time he got to the fifth bank, he knew what questions
the banker was going to ask and was ready with some solid answers. The banker was impressed
and he got the loan. In fact, for this very reason, it’s not a bad idea to try a longshot bank first and
the most likely one last. (See Chapter 10 for ideas on how to present your business plan to
bankers.)
Example:Sue Lester tried all the usual sources to get the $20,000 she needed to open a piano
school. One person she talked to was her Aunt Hillary, who had loaned her money to go to school
several years before. This time Aunt Hillary said, “Sorry, but no.” One afternoon a few months later
Sue ran into Hillary at her niece’s birthday party. Hillary asked how she was doing with plans for
the school. Sue told her she was still short $10,000 and was going to try the Small Business
Administration as soon as she made one or two changes in her business plan. Aunt Hillary asked
about the changes. Sue told her that an experienced teacher had suggested she charge slightly
more per hour, start with a good second-hand piano instead of a new one and try to work out a
referral arrangement with a local piano store. This way she could pay herself more salary and
wouldn’t need to take another job to make ends meet. Hillary asked to see the changes when they
were complete.
After Sue showed the revised plan to her Aunt Hillary, she offered to lend her the money. Sue was
both delighted and curious. When she asked, Aunt Hillary said there were two reasons for her
change of heart. First, she was pleased that the more realistic sales projections left Sue enough
money to live on so she would be able to keep her enthusiasm for the hard job of creating a new
business. Second, she had sold a small piece of land for more than expected and now had the
money to lend.
F. Secondary Sources of Financing for Start-Ups or Expansions
Let’s assume you have tried all of the primary sources of financing small businesses at least twice,
and have been turned down each time. Is it time to head for the showers? Not if you really want to
start your business. If everyone turns you down, you have no choice but to get creative.
Remember Knute Rockne’s exhortation, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Here are
some suggestions.
1. Small Business Administration
Many years ago Congress recognized both that small businesses provide most of the employment
and growth in the country and that they have a great deal of trouble borrowing money because
large corporations tend to hog too much of the loan money from banks. As a result, Congress
created the Small Business Administration (SBA) and several other government organizations
specifically to help small businesses compete with larger corporations for loans.
While the SBA can make direct loans to small businesses, it usually guarantees loans from
commercial banks. The SBA will guarantee 85% of a bank loan up to $750,000 if the loan meets
SBA criteria. These criteria are not as difficult as some readers may think. Typical requirements
include that the borrower show profits for at least two years, that the borrower work in the business
full-time and that the borrower have some real or personal property available to offer as collateral.
Some bankers are strongly interested in working with loans guaranteed by the SBA since the bank
can make a fee by processing the loans and later selling them to other financial institutions. Since
the bank’s fee is based on the size of the loan, such banks are typically only interested in
processing loan requests for more than $50,000.
Many banks treat SBA loan origination as a profit center and aggressively seek out borrowers.
Some of these banks offer assistance in completing the SBA forms for a fee and offer quick turnaround
on decisions. If any banks in your area offer this service, make an appointment with a loan
officer specializing in SBA loans. Chances are, he will be able to estimate your chances of success
based on reading your business plan. Loan approvals sometimes take place as soon as a week or
so after you complete all the paperwork. The SBA’s past reputation of being hard to deal with and
not very cooperative seems to be changing! That’s true for the guarantee program, at least.
Your chances of receiving a direct loan in a reasonable time from the SBA will be greatly
enhanced if you qualify for a preference category. For example, if you are disabled or a Vietnam
veteran, requirements are slightly less restrictive. Ask your local SBA bank or SBA office about
some of the direct loan programs.
There are also small private business lending companies that perform a function similar to a
bank’s function in assisting small businesses obtain SBA financing. To get names and addresses
of organizations in your area, write the SBA, Financial Assistance Division, Office of Lender
Relations, Non-Bank Lender Section, Washington, DC 20416.
2. Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs)
A Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) is a corporation established with the assistance of
the SBA to lend money to small businesses. Some SBICs serve minority enterprises, and are
called Minority Small Business Investment Companies (MSBICs). An SBIC can borrow up to four
times its invested capital from the SBA. It then lends out these funds to other businesses, aiming
to make a profit on each loan transaction. There are some 400 of these across the country, each
with different investment goals and objectives. To obtain a list of SBIC addresses and areas of
investment specialty, contact your nearest SBA office.
3. Farmers’ Home Administration (FmHA)
This loan program is aimed at businesses that provide jobs in rural America. Business loans
through the FmHA are guaranteed in towns with a population of 50,000 or less or in suburban
areas where the population density is no more than 100 per square mile. Use of the loans varies
considerably; loans have been made to enable a grocery clerk to buy the store he worked in and
for someone to buy a McDonald’s fast food franchise. FmHA loans are normally made through a
local bank. To start the process, look under U.S. Government, Department of Agriculture, Farmers’
Home Administration, in the local phone book and make an appointment with the FmHA
supervisor. Loans under this program often take months to complete, so allow plenty of lead time.
4. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
The EDA, which is part of the Department of Commerce, makes or guarantees loans to
businesses in redevelopment areas—city areas with high unemployment. Eligible areas are listed
in a publication available quarterly from the regional EDA director. Contact your local SBA office to
locate the regional EDA director. If you’re in one of the designated redevelopment areas, this
program bears looking into.
5. Federal, State and Local Programs
Other federal programs are published in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, available
from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 for $20, or at your library. There
always seems to be a variety of programs available from the federal government, so this directory
is worth checking if you’re interested in government money.
All states and many local governments have a number of aid programs available to help
businesses create jobs. These are normally called Development Agencies or Development
Administrations. You can find out about them by contacting your local Chamber of Commerce or
by asking a banker.
6. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
OPIC is a self-funded U.S. government agency that makes direct loans and loan guarantees and
insures private businesses against political risks in developing countries. The ideal candidate for
assistance is an American company that enters into partnership with a well-established foreign
business. To learn more about this agency, call 202-336-8799.
7. Insurance Companies and Pension Funds
pension funds. Normally, neither is a viable lending source for small businesses. Some insurance
companies have a small fund they can invest in businesses, especially if you can offer a
combination of loans and investments. However, most small businesses will find money from less
restrictive sources long before they make an application to an insurance company.
8. Advertising Your Project and Selling Stock to the General Public
Advertising and selling corporate stock to the general public through a public offering is very
different from selling stock to your friends, relatives and business acquaintances. Following any of
these procedures requires a knowledgeable attorney—don’t try it without help. It can be an
expensive, time-consuming process that can easily cost $200,000 in attorney fees, accountant
fees and printing expenses just to meet government filing costs. If there is an underwriter (an
investment company that guarantees to buy the stock at a discount), the costs are even higher.
However, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has promulgated a simplified
Form S-18 to allow smaller businesses access to public capital markets. Form S-18 is generally
available to companies offering up to $7,500,000 worth of shares to the public for cash. Also, SEC
Regulation A is available to corporations making public offerings of up to $1,500,000. Note that
even these less-cumbersome public offering procedures require considerable time and money to
implement.
In addition, simpler and inexpensive “limited offering” procedures are contained in federal and
state securities laws (briefly discussed in Section B2). SEC Regulation D contains three rules
which simply require the filing of a Notice of Sales form with the SEC, instead of the more costly
registration procedure. While two of these rules include a ceiling on the total value of the securities
that may be sold ($500,000 and $5,000,000), one rule does not impose any upper limit on sales.
Sales of securities under Regulation D may be made to an unlimited number of people defined as
accredited investors (defined to include principals of the business, such as directors, executive
officers and general partners, as well as outside investors who meet certain minimum investment,
net worth or individual net income requirements) and to 35 or fewer persons who are non accredited
investors.
A number of states have adopted the Uniform Limited Offering Exemption (ULOE) in order to make
it easier for entrepreneurs to raise money under Regulation D. With this program, the states that
adopt ULOE consider that the state regulations are met when an offering meets federal Regulation
D requirements.
G. Conclusion
There you have it—the primary and some secondary sources of finding money to start your
business. If you really believe in your idea, complete the business plan outlined in the rest of this
book. Then contact all the sources listed above. If you have a good plan and refuse to take “no” for
an answer, you will find the money you need. The Chinese say the longest journey begins with a
single step. Let’s get started.
Chapter 5: Your Resume and Financial Statement
Overview
Quick Plan. If you’ve chosen the quick plan method to prepare a business plan (see Introduction),
you need to read and complete only this section of Chapter 5:
•Section B (Draft Your Business Accomplishment Resume)
A. Introduction
In this chapter you’ll draft two important documents for your business plan:
•a special business accomplishment resume that focuses on those abilities you’ll need to start
or expand your business and
•a financial statement, which details the value of your material possessions.
B. Draft Your Business Accomplishment Resume
Investors and lenders want to be certain that you have the experience, education and desire to
make your business a success. Your resume shows your backers that you can achieve your
objectives. This isn’t a traditional resume that lists past jobs and the years or months you held
each. More correctly, you’ll develop a statement of everything you have accomplished that has a
direct bearing on your business objectives.
Although you may not have owned or expanded a business before, you have accomplished some
demanding tasks that are similar to the tasks you’ll undertake when you begin your business. But
don’t fool yourself into thinking that good credentials alone will get a loan from the first person you
approach. When it comes right down to it, few people will part with their money unless they also
have a positive feeling about you as a person. Your task is to get them to trust and like you as a
businessperson.
If you’re like most people, your glowing accomplishments are sprinkled with past mistakes and
failures. Everybody makes mistakes, including your backers. Be honest in your resume but don’t
go overboard. You don’t need to give a litany of every sin you have committed, including the time
you skipped algebra class in the seventh grade. Only provide details of your errors when they’re
relevant to your business plan. For example, if you ran a business for five years and eventually
went bankrupt, you’ll need to mention that.
Be prepared to talk with prospective investors and lenders about everything you present in your
resume. The best way to build trust in a financial relationship is to communicate with full
disclosure. The worst thing you can do is to lie about or try to cover up a negative. (See Chapter
10, Section A3, for suggestions about how to discuss your past mistakes.)
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s deal with the important, positive information: How do you
demonstrate that you’re qualified to run a business? As with anything else, there are some tricks to
writing a resume that will interest a potential investor.
First, make a list of every job and experience in which you produced positive accomplishments for
any organization, even if you were a volunteer or working for yourself. Since you’re not writing a
standard resume, dates of employment are optional. You may be able to create this list by cutting
and pasting old resumes, or you might just start from scratch. If you have access to a word
processor, it’ll save you a lot of time. Also, it’s okay to include personal information about your
hobbies and family status in this resume. Your financial backers want to know you as a person.
Under each organization, list the business areas you worked in—for instance, sales, management,
delivery, credit and so on. Now, set out the specific things you accomplished for that organization
while carrying out your responsibilities. This information will become the raw material from which
you choose the accomplishments most likely to support your proposal.
Remember, this isn’t the place to be humble. Getting a new business off the ground is no project
for the meek. Maybe you reduced costs for your employer by redesigning a delivery route.
Perhaps you designed a better canoe or came up with a new marketing strategy that increased
sales of tortilla chips. Maybe you figured out how to improve the efficiency of a computer system or
revised a recipe to make brownies taste better.
Once you’ve completed your first list of accomplishments, write a statement that shows how your
ifi li h l bili b i I l d i d
specific accomplishments relate to your ability to run your business. Include experiences and
achievements that support your case and exclude those that are too general or off the point.
Emphasize your knowledge of how your potential business works and your knowledge of and
respect for financial realities.
Now that you understand the process and the objective, write a first draft of your business
accomplishment resume. You may have to rewrite it several times to get the right perspective.
Depending on your experience, your resume probably should be between one and three pages
long. Ask someone to read your drafts to make sure you’re convincing the reader that you’re the
right person for the job. You needn’t prove you can walk on water, but you should show a good
understanding of business realities.
Example 1: Here’s an example of an inadequate statement for a credit manager’s job. This
description doesn’t give a potential investor any information about the credit manager’s ability to
run a business:
Credit Manager, XYZ Company:Supervised two clerks and the accounts receivable and billing
sections.
Example 2: Here is a much better version that details the credit manager’s positive
accomplishments for the company. It shows that the credit manager understands and can improve
critical business factors:
Credit Manager, XYZ Company:Managed a credit department of 10 people, consisting of an
accounts receivable section, a billing section and a delinquent accounts section. Reorganized both
our collection department and our credit granting process to accomplish the following:
1.Collected $200,000 in delinquent accounts that had previously been consigned to the “unlikely to
ever collect” category. This was a result of my decision to keep in closer contact with customers.
2.Reduced accounts receivable from an average of 90 days to an average of 38 days,
considerably below the industry norm, again primarily by getting to know our customers better.
3.Reduced bad debt losses from 4% of sales to 0.5% of sales in two years by streamlining the
credit application process and credit checking procedures as well as requiring our sales reps to
personally vouch for customers’ creditworthiness. Maintained the 0.5% loss percentage in the
following years. As part of this, we successfully brought 15 lawsuits with no new staff.
4.Through sales conferences, newsletters and frequent phone contact, worked closely with the
sales force to ensure that new accounts were creditworthy. During this time, XYZ sales grew from
$3 million to $7 million.
The following two resumes—Jim Phillips’ and Sally Baldwin’s—share two important attributes:
•knowledge of the particular business the individual wants to start and
•specific business accomplishments.
In this respect they are somewhat different from many typical job application resumes. For
example, a potential employer might be concerned about whether your independent personality
will fit in well in a job environment, where these resumes focus on concrete accomplishments.
Jim Phillips wants to start a retail computer store. Here’s how he drafts his resume.
Resume
James ‘Jim’ T. Phillips
WORK EXPERIENCE
Manager, The Computer Store, San Jose (1990 to present)
Manager of chain retail computer and electronic store with annual sales
of three million dollars.
•Hired, managed and fired sales and support staff of 15-20 to meet
sales goals established by chain management.
•Developed promotional plans and merchandising strategy, which
resulted in the store exceeding sales and profitability goals by at least
10% each year.
•Created a computerized inventory plan used by all stores in the 62-
store chain. Received Manager of the Month award seven times. This
award is given to the store manager whose store exceeds monthly
sales projections by the largest amount.
•Conceived and implemented a quarterly newsletter (Compufacts)
that was mailed to all 62 stores’ customers. Enabled us to maintain
close contact with customers as well as directly market to them.
Self-employed Software Sales Representative (1983 to 1990)
Acted as independent sales representative for three software
developers on straight commission basis. The principal companies I
represented were Softy, Inc. (Cupertino, CA), Biosoft (Colorado
Springs, CO) and Playtime (San Jose, CA).
•Increased sales of all three software developers, enabling them to
expand into new areas and hire an increased staff of programmers.
•Developed a comprehensive knowledge of the software marketing
process. Helped organize a money-back, no-questions-asked
warranty program.
Computer Programmer, Southern Atlantic Railroad Company
(1975 to 1983)
•Worked in FORTRAN, COBOL and BASIC languages on IBM
mainframe computer doing real time applications on freight car
locations as well as miscellaneous business programming.
•Saved the company approximately $2.3 million by designing a better
program to handle both automatic banking and collection of
receivables.
•Helped design a new freight car location computer program, which
provided better information about the storage location of empty freight
cars. This resulted in an increase in car utilization from 60% to 65%.
Bookkeeping
I had several part time jobs doing bookkeeping while attending
programming school.
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Arts Degree, History, San Jose State College, 1970
Master of Arts Degree, History, University of California, Berkeley, 1973
HOBBIES
Certified Programmer, ACME Programming School, 1978
Active in Boy Scouts and United Way; handicap golfer.
The next resume typifies people who see their potential business as offering a chance for selfexpression
as well as profit. Individuals in an art or craft field often want to begin a business
primarily to work in an area they love. Normally this sort of business starts and stays small
because the business owners want to keep their hands on a cherished activity rather than achieve
big profits or learn the business skills needed to handle fast growth.
Sally Baldwin loves to work with fabric and color and has become expert at helping people create
a pleasant living and work environment. She needs money to open her own small interior
decorating business.
Resume
Sally Baldwin
Commission Sales, Martha’s Interior Design Studio (1985 to present)
Work on commission for a full line interior design studio. Prospect for people who wish to
redecorate, prepare a design plan for the project, purchase the supplies and materials necessary,
hire workers to install the design and collect payments from customers.
•Last year I sold over $500,000 worth of projects. The projects consisted of seven complete
remodeling jobs, including three offices, one house, two apartments and a small pet hospital.
•Keep up with all aspects of the business such as new trends, materials and suppliers. I take
continuing education courses at the Design Institute in New York City, and attend at least a dozen
textile, furniture and appliance trade shows per year.
•Maintain a substantial list of contacts in the design field, including potential customers,
contractors and suppliers.
Commission Sales, J. C. Dollar Interior Design Company (1978 to 1985)
Sold drapes and furniture for J.C. Dollar on commission. I was responsible for design, installation,
purchase of non-company products and account collection.
•Sold nearly one million dollars worth of company merchandise and won Salesperson of the Year
award.
•My sales normally required several visits to the customer’s home or place of work and I became
expert at dealing with all sorts of people.
EDUCATION
Graduated high school in 1978, followed by one year at Mount McKinley Junior College
HOBBIES
Decorating on a low budget; collecting Raggedy Ann Dolls
The following statement is typical of a person with good general business experience but no work
history in the particular business he wants to start. Stephen Brinkle is an attorney who wants to
start a gourmet, vegetarian and low-fat hot dog stand in downtown Chicago. He needs to convince
a lender that his general business experience substitutes, at least in part, for his lack of frankfurter
finesse. He accomplishes this by demonstrating that he knows enough to hire a manager with
enough experience to squeeze the mustard and shake the ketchup.
Resume
Stephen Brinkle
ATTORNEY IN PRIVATE PRACTICE
Specialize in business law matters, along with some general civil law practice.
BUSINESS INVESTMENTS
I have successfully invested in a variety of small businesses, including an auto tune-up shop and a
sporting goods store, which I currently own (Bill’s Track and Court, 11 Van Renseller Blvd.,
Chicago).
In some of my small business investments, I took an active role in management. For example, in
the tune-up shop, I had to fire the manager and locate more qualified mechanics. After doing that,
the business became profitable and I sold it at a profit. In Bill’s Track and Court, the manager and I
agreed to concentrate on tennis and running equipment. As a result, the store became
considerably more profitable.
EDUCATION
B.A. Northwestern University, History, 1967
J.D., Northwestern Law School, 1969
Passed Illinois bar exam, 1970
HOBBIES
Squash
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Active in various charitable organizations specializing in relieving worldwide hunger.
If you don’t possess all the skills needed to run your business, you’ll also want to hire people to fill
in the gaps. If possible, those resumes should be included in your plan. Because Stephen Brinkle
doesn’t have experience in selling food, he includes a resume for his key employee, who happens
to be his nephew.
Jonathan “Johnny” Brinkle
5678 Palatine Boulevard
West Chicago, IL
(312) 556-1314
CAREER PLANS:
Manage hot dog stand, become area manager if franchise plans
develop.
WORK HISTORY:
MANAGER, BURGER WORLD RESTAURANT (1989 to date)
Supervised three shifts (20 employees in all). Before I took over, Unit
211 had sales of less than two thirds the Burger World national
averages. In two years I brought Unit 211 up to surpass the national
averages. My main strategy was to maintain tight quality control and to
improve the cleanliness and general appearance of the unit. Within six
months after I took over, we began getting top ratings for general
appearance and cleanliness from Burger World and many compliments
from customers.
MANAGER TRAINEE, JACK IN THE BOX RESTAURANTS (1986 to
1989)
I was trained in fast food management at a number of Jack In The Box
locations. The principal training method was to rotate me through every
job in the operation. I learned to adjust cooking to demand so that
customers always received freshly cooked food. I also learned that the
cleaner the restaurant, the more food you sell.
EDUCATION:
Graduated Northside High School, 1985
PERSONAL:
Single, no dependents
HOBBIES:
Restoring a 1932 Ford; playing softball
C. Draft Your Personal Financial Statement
You can skip the rest of this chapter unless you are seeking a loan or investors for your business.
Your personal financial statement will list your personal assets, liabilities, income and expenses. It
tells your backers a lot about your ability to handle money. Don’t be discouraged if your financial
condition is weak. Your backers want to know about you, the good and the bad, and they
understand that you need money.
Preparing this statement in a form lenders are used to seeing involves several steps, which this
chapter will take you through step by step. As you’ll see, the task is not much harder than filling out
a credit application.
Drawing up a good personal financial statement isn’t difficult, but it does involve attention to detail.
I recommend that you do a rough draft before transferring all the information to the tear-out
Personal Financial Statement form in Appendix 4. If you have a computer, you may want to set up
a spreadsheet instead.
If you already own or have an interest in an existing business, you may wish to include a separate
statement of the business’ net worth or balance sheet and profit and loss statement. If you own all
or a portion of a business and don’t plan to submit a separate statement on the business, include
your share of the business on this personal financial statement.
NoteCo-owned property note: If you own an item with others and the other owners will not sign
for the loan, enter only the value of your share of the assets and corresponding liability. If all
parties will sign for the loan, enter the full amount. Describe the ownership type (joint tenancy,
community property, tenants in common, partnership or separate property). If you’re not sure how
you own property, look at the deed or other title document.
1. Determine Your Assets
Take out the Personal Financial Statement—Assets from Appendix 4. Your task is to briefly
describe and estimate the current value of everything you own, even if you owe money against it. If
you’re not sure how much a particular item is worth, make an estimate now and verify it later. Give
the market value—the price for which you could sell the particular piece of property today.
WarningKeep assets separate from income. An asset is a money item or something that you
could sell, like a car or a house. Income is money you receive periodically, such as a paycheck.
Some assets produce regular income—for example, stocks and bonds that pay dividends, patents
with royalty agreements and promissory notes you own. Only list your assets here; you’ll list your
income in Section C4, below.
Cash and Cash Equivalents: List the approximate cash balance in each of your financial
accounts. Include accounts in banks, savings and loans, thrifts, credit unions or any other
institutions. Identify each by institution name, account type and number. Also list money market
funds, certificates of deposit (including maturity date), and cash in your safe deposit box, buried in
the back yard or any other place you keep cash.
Marketable Securities: List any stocks, mutual funds and bonds you own which are publicly
traded. Show the number of shares or the amount (face value) of bonds, the exchange on which
they are listed and the current market value. The value of stocks is the number of shares owned
multiplied by the bid price per share listed in a newspaper business section.
The current cash value for savings or bank bonds is listed on the table printed on each bond
according to the number of years since it was issued.
Corporate bonds are listed in the newspaper in relation to their face or par value, with a price of
100 being equal to par. To calculate the value of your corporate bonds, multiply the price listed by
their face value and divide by 100.
If you can’t find the listing for your securities in your local paper, check the Wall Street Journal at
your library or call your broker and ask.
NoteNote about unlisted securities: Call your broker for the value of any stocks which are not
publicly traded and enter them under Other Assets, below.
Cash Value of Life Insurance: If you own whole life insurance policies, they may include a cash
surrender value, which will probably be less than the face value of the property. Obtain the value
from your insurance agent. If you own term insurance, there will be no cash value, so don’t list the
policies.
Accounts and Notes Receivable: List only those business assets and other assets that are not
shown on a separate financial statement for your business or secured by real property. List each
note (loan) people owe you and show the unpaid balance and payment schedule, as well as a
description of any property securing the note. Briefly state your relationship to the payer and
indicate if the payment of the loan is questionable.
Trust Deeds and Mortgages: Itemize any properties you have sold or lent money against for
which you are carrying back a mortgage (deed of trust). Also list notes you hold that are secured
by real property. Loans against property you own will be listed under Liabilities in Section C2,
below. Show the street address of the property, type of improvements (house, duplex, etc.), name
of payer, payment terms and the current unpaid balance. State your relationship to the payer and
the status of the note.
Real Estate: Describe each piece of real estate you own. State whether it is unimproved, a
personal residence, a rental or whatever. Include the street address or parcel number of each
property. Estimate the market value of your property by checking newspaper listings for your
neighborhood, calling a local realtor or comparing the recent sale prices of similar property. If you
own valuable property other than your house, it’s best to include a written appraisal.
If you own real estate with others and the co-owners are not going to co-sign your business loan,
describe how title is held, such as, “John Jones as separate property” or “John Jones and Mary
Smith in joint tenancy.”
Personal Property: Personal property is anything you own that is not real estate. Separately
itemize each of the more valuable items like cars, boats and collections, describing each item in as
much detail as possible. Less valuable property can be grouped together, such as “household
furniture,” “appliances” or “power tools.” You don’t need to be overly detailed. Don’t forget
household items, valuable clothing, jewelry, electronic equipment, musical instruments and sports
equipment.
Estimate the current market value. For cars, start with the high Edmund’s Used Car or Kelley Blue
Book price. Jewelry, antiques and other collectibles should be appraised if you plan to show them
as a significant part of your assets. Make a ballpark figure of less valuable groups of property;
garage sale prices should suffice.
Other Assets: List any assets that weren’t covered elsewhere. Items such as annuities, IRAs,
vested portions of pensions or profit sharing retirement plans, business interests (value of
partnerships, etc.), unlisted securities, trusts, life estates, copyrights, patents, trademarks and so
forth should be listed in this section.
Remember not to list the income generated by your assets.
Total Assets: Finally, add up the values of all your property listed on the form. The result is your
total assets.
2. Determine Your Liabilities
In your Personal Financial Statement—Liabilities and Net Worth you’ll write down everything you
owe to others. To a considerable degree, the information on this form will be the flip side of what
you just did. That is, if you showed a house as an asset, you will now list the mortgage on that
same house as a liability.
Credit Cards and Revolving Credit Account: List bank cards and revolving accounts at stores
and with gasoline companies, and fill in the outstanding balance.
Unsecured Loans: List any unsecured notes to banks, individuals, credit unions, savings and
loans or any other person or institution. These are commonly called signature loans because all
the lender gets is your signature on your promise to repay the loan—you don’t pledge any
collateral. Examples include student loans and loans from relatives. State the lender and terms of
payment, including any balloon payments and when the loan will be paid in full, as well as the
outstanding balance.
Loans Secured by Real Estate: List each note and deed of trust you owe. State the property by
which it is secured and the terms of payment, including any balloon payment and when the note
will be paid in full, as well as the unpaid balance.
Loans Secured by Personal Property: List any loans secured by equipment, vehicles, business
inventory or anything other than real estate. Show the payee, unpaid balance, security, terms of
payment, including any balloon payment, and when the note will be paid in full.
Loans Against Life Insurance Policies: If you borrowed against a whole life insurance policy, list
the insurance company, terms and outstanding balance.
Other Liabilities: List whatever else you currently owe. This may include unpaid medical bills, tax
liabilities, unpaid lawyer bills, unpaid alimony or child support and debts to bookies.
Total Liabilities: Add up all the amounts you owe others. The result is your total liabilities.
WarningCheck for consistency. Before you go on, carefully compare the information on your
assets and liabilities lists. Make sure they are consistent. For instance, make sure that you show
assets for which you show liabilities and vice versa.
3. Determine Your Net Worth
To calculate your net worth, simply subtract your total liabilities from your total assets.
In the last blank, add together your total liabilities and net worth. This figure should match your
total assets. If it doesn’t, you’ve made a mathematical error.
WarningIf your total liabilities are more than your total assets, your net worth will be a negative
figure and you’ll need to place brackets around the number. Of course, people with a negative net
worth frequently have difficulty borrowing money and may have to consider another form of
financing, such as selling equity in the business. (See Chapter 4 for information about raising
money.)
4. Determine Your Annual Income
The next part of the Personal Financial Statement shows your income from all sources. These
figures show the annual total of each income source, so don’t confuse this with the asset section
completed earlier. However, if you show any income from an asset in this section, make sure you
also list that asset in the asset section. This form should reflect your current situation and show
your present salary, even if you’ll quit your job to start the new business.
NoteNote about co-signers: If someone else will guarantee the loan with you—such as your
spouse—fill in the requested information for that person as well.
Gross Salary and Wages: List all the sources of your income, including wages, earnings from
your business and independent contractor work.
Income From Receivables and Loan Repayments: If anyone owes you money, list the annual
payments you receive. If you have substantial income from loans, you may list interest income and
principal repayments separately. Otherwise show the entire repayment amount.
Rental Property Income: If you rent out real property or valuable personal property like a truck or
piano, list the annual rental payments here. Include relevant details, such as your plans to raise
the rent in six months.
Dividends and Interest: List the source and annual amount you expect to receive. Make sure that
the information shown here corresponds to information you have shown in the Assets portion of
your Personal Financial Statement. For example, if you list dividend income from several stocks
and bank accounts here, they must be listed in the Assets portion.
Income From Business or Profession: If you already own a business, list the annual income.
Other Income: Describe any other source of income, such as payments from judgments,
payments from business investments other than your main business, trust fund payments and so
forth. It’s generally a good idea to list alimony and child support payments you receive, since it
increases your ability to repay any loan.
Total Annual Income: Add up the income you receive from all sources and fill in the total.
5. Determine Your Annual Living Expenses
The goal of this part of the form is to make an accurate estimate of how much it costs you to live.
Business expenses should be covered under a separate profit and loss statement for the business.
Real Estate Loan Payments or Rent: List your mortgage holder or landlord and your monthly
payment. Indicate whether you rent or own. Fill in the annual total of all your rental or real estate
loan payments, including principal and interest.
Property Taxes and Assessments: List your yearly liabilities if you own real property. Also list
business non-real estate property, such as inventory or equipment, if it is taxed every year and the
taxes are not shown on statements for your business.
Federal and State Income Taxes: Show your totals from last year’s income tax forms. If this
year’s taxes will be very different from last year’s, make an estimate. Especially if you’re an
independent contractor, you may want an accountant to help you prepare your estimated taxes for
the year.
Other Loan Payments: List payments for all of the non-real estate loans, notes, charge accounts
and credit cards you listed in the Liabilities part of the form. Use last year’s numbers unless they
have changed substantially; if they have, append a sheet and explain.
Insurance Premiums: List everything you expect to pay for the year that won’t be covered
through your job. Common types of insurance include life, health, disability, property and
automobile.
Living Expenses: Estimate your other regular personal living expenses that weren’t covered
earlier, such as utilities, child care, medical and dental costs, transportation, food, clothing,
earlier, such as utilities, child care, medical and dental costs, transportation, food, clothing,
entertainment and travel. Either provide an itemized list or a general category of expenses.
Other Expenses: List child and/or spousal support obligations and any other expense not listed
above, like art collection purchases or vacation trips. Include professional associations that have
continuing education expenses and club membership fees.
Total Annual Expenses: Now add up all your expenses. If your total is greater than your annual
income total above, examine the information carefully before you consider borrowing money with a
fixed repayment schedule.
6. Complete Your Personal Financial Statement
If you have not already done so, transfer the draft information to the blank Personal Financial
Statement from Appendix 4 or print out your computer spreadsheet. Make sure you sign and date
your completed form; you’ll be surprised at how fast things change.
As noted above, many financial institutions prefer their own form, which they will supply you.
However, chances are that you won’t have to redo your Personal Financial Statement or, if you do,
it will be easy.
7. Verifying the Accuracy of Your Financial Statement
Potential lenders probably will want to verify your financial statements. Tax returns for the last two
or three years are normally adequate to back up your income and expense statements. If your
actual income is somewhat greater than your tax returns show, be ready to verify your assets in
some other way. But don’t worry too much about this sort of disparity unless it is large. In an age of
overly high taxation, your lender will not be surprised if your actual income is a shade higher than
your reported income. His probably is, too.
In addition, lenders usually obtain a personal credit check from a credit information agency on your
track record in making payments. That shows what bills you pay and when, as well as any unpaid
bills. Credit reports also list your current employment, lawsuits in which you’re involved and
bankruptcies filed in the last ten years. It’s a good idea to request your own copy of your credit
report before you meet with any prospective lenders. That way, you’ll know what they will see and
will be prepared to discuss it. If your credit file contains some inaccurate or misleading information,
you have the right to challenge that information. (For information on how to go about this, see
Money Troubles: Legal Strategies to Cope With Your Debts, by Robin Leonard(Nolo Press).)
Most of the time, lenders will accept your estimates of your personal assets and liabilities on your
Personal Financial Statement, since it is a crime to knowingly make false financial statements.
Banks will also verify your cash deposits by contacting the relevant institutions. Also, lenders will
want evidence of your title to property they take as security for a loan.
Chapter 6: Your Profit and Loss Forecast
Overview
Quick Plan. If you’ve chosen the quick plan method to prepare a business plan (see Introduction),
you need to read and complete this section of Chapter 6:
•Section D (Complete Your Profit and Loss Forecast)
If you have any difficulties completing your Profit and Loss Forecast, go back to Chapter 3 and read
Section F before completing this step. If you’ve chosen a quick plan, you should be able to
complete this step easily.
A. Introduction
Your next job is to forecast how much money you’ll need. You can’t make realistic financial
projections in a vacuum; they must be integrated into a thought-through plan. As a result, you’ll
need to make a number of decisions about how your business will operate and forecasts of
financial results. But don’t let this intimidate you. You’ve probably been thinking about the financial
side of your business for some time. You will inevitably need to make some assumptions and even
a guess or two. Of course, you should make your projections as accurate as possible; shoot for an
accuracy rate of plus or minus 10%.
NoteProject development note: If you plan to do a project development, skip the rest of this
chapter and go on to Chapter 7. Then turn to Appendix 3, where you will find a project
development example.
As you begin dealing with all the details inherent in financial projections, it is easy to lose
perspective and forget the larger picture—that is, what all your work is supposed to prove. If this
happens, pause for a moment and remember that, for yourself and your potential backers, you’re
simply figuring out:
•how much money you need
•what you will spend it on, and
•how you will pay it back.
B. What Is a Profit and Loss Forecast?
A profit and loss forecast is a projection of how much you will sell and how much profit you will
make. This is the foundation of your business plan. It gives you and your potential backers the
basic information necessary to decide whether your business will succeed. Basically, a profit and
loss forecast forces you to estimate how many dollars you will take in and how many dollars you
will spend for some future period. While other extremely important factors affect your business,
such as your cash flow (Chapter 7), you’ll be in good shape if you can confidently predict that the
money coming in will exceed the money going out by a healthy margin.
In Chapter 3, you completed a rough break-even analysis for your business. That analysis helped
you decide whether you chose the right business. Now we are going to take a closer look at those
numbers and develop them into a comprehensive forecast of your business’ future profits. (If you
did not complete or don’t remember the work you did then, review Chapter 3, Section F, before
you read ahead.)
Your business’ profits result from three specific dollar figures:
•Sales revenue. This is all the money you take into your business each month, week or year. It is
also called “gross sales,” “sales income” or simply “sales.”
•Cost of sales. This is your direct cost of the product or service you sell. Sometimes it is called
“direct product cost,” “variable cost,” “incremental cost” or “direct cost.”
•Fixed expenses. These are sometimes called “overhead,” and you must pay them regardless of
how well you do. Fixed expenses don’t vary much from month to month. They include rent,
insurance and other set expenses. They are also called “fixed costs,” “operating expenses,”
“expenses” or “discretionary costs” (discussed in Chapter 3, Section F).
In a given period, you make profits when sales revenues exceed your total cost of sales and fixed
expenses. To put it another way, sales revenue minus both cost of sales and fixed expenses
equals profits and/or losses for a given time period.
Our job here is to examine closely all the above numbers and, once you are convinced they are
right, to present them on a month-by-month basis for two years. Two years is enough time to see if
any short-term problems or long-range trends begin developing. Of course, you can change the
timeframe if necessary. For instance, if you are starting a beer stand for the annual county fair or a
vineyard with a five-year growing cycle, a different timeframe will make sense for you.
C. Determine Your Average Cost of Sales
Your first step in your profit and loss projection is to determine your average cost of sales—that is,
your direct cost of the products or services you sell. You’ll use the Sales Revenue Forecast you
completed in Chapter 3, Section F1, to make this estimate.
One way to derive your average cost of sales is to estimate your annual sales revenue for each
product or service. Then calculate each product’s annual cost of sales. Finally, add up the
numbers to get an annual average.
More Detailed Method to Determine Average Cost of Sales
Another way to calculate your average cost of sales is to make a separate monthly sales revenue
and cost of sales forecast for each of your major product or service lines. If you complete a
separate monthly forecast for each of your product or service lines, you will have a very detailed
forecast. However, many people balk at this level of detail in forecasting and wish to proceed with
the less-detailed method demonstrated in this section. Either way is acceptable.
WarningWhether you make one annual cost of sales forecast or a number of detailed forecasts,
don’t forget about the inevitable percentage of merchandise you will have to move at markeddown
prices. Whether you’re in the book business, bake cookies or are a child psychologist,
chances are you will commonly sell some of your product or services for less than standard prices.
This may be because you need to move out last year’s styles or because you need to sell broken
cookies or because you provide counseling cheaper to low-income groups.
Example: Antoinette Gorzak plans to sell dresses for an average price of $250, and her research
shows they will cost $125 each. Her cost of each sale for dresses before she allows for labor and
other overhead will be 50% of the selling price. If she plans to give her customers anything with the
purchase, say a specially printed shopping bag and an imprinted dress box, she should include the
cost of these items as part of her cost of sales. Maybe this will make her cost of each sale 51% or
52% instead of 50%. Since Antoinette sells accessories in addition to dresses she needs to allow
for different gross profit margins for the additional merchandise. A cost of sales averaging chart for
Antoinette’s Dress Shop might look like this:
Annual Average Cost of Sales Chart: Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Item
Forecast Sales
Revenue
x
Cost per Sale*
=
Total Cost of
Sales
Dresses
$ 200,000
50.4%
$ 100,800
Accessories& Sale
Items
200,000
73.3%
146,600
TOTAL
$ 400,000
$ 247,400
Total Average Cost of Sales = 61.8%
($247,400 divided by $400,000)
*These percentages come from Chapter 3, Section F3, where she calculated gross profit. To get
cost of sales percentage, simply subtract gross profit percentage from 100%. The remainder is
cost of sales.
Here’s how Antoinette completed this chart. First, she estimated how much sales revenue for each
of the product categories the shop would receive in the first year; that enabled her to complete the
first column of the chart.
Next, she obtained her cost of sales percentage by using the figure she developed in Chapter 3,
Section F3. She then multiplied the sales revenue for each product category by the cost of sales
percentage for that category; that enabled her to complete the total cost of sales column of the
chart.
The average total cost of sales figure (61.8% in Antoinette’s example) is not an average of the cost
per sale percentages. Instead, it is weighted according to the amount of expected sales revenue
and is derived by dividing the total cost of sales by the expected sales revenue ($247,400 divided
by $400,000).
An average cost of sales of 60% is reasonable for many profitable retailers. Even though it is wise
to be a little conservative, Antoinette uses 60% as her cost of sales when forecasting profits.
You can use the procedure in the example above to estimate your average cost of sales if you’re
in the retail, manufacturing or wholesale businesses. Simply modify the item categories to fit your
beer/wine and possibly take-out orders. Another example, for a bar and restaurant, is shown
below.
Annual Average Cost of Sales Chart: Bar and Restaurant
Item
Forecast Sales
Revenue
x
Cost
per
Sale
=
Total Cost of Sales
Food
$ 300,000
38%
$ 114,000
Liquor
60,000
29%
17,400
Beer/Wine
40,000
75%
30,000
TOTAL
$ 400,000
$ 161,400
Total Average Cost of Sales = 40%
($161,400 divided by $400,000)
By definition, service businesses sell services or labor and do not sell merchandise. Occasion- ally
they may bill a client for a service they purchase outside the firm or bill for a service that has some
incidental costs. The cost of sales portion of a service business’ total costs will be low. For
example, a consulting firm may incur outside typing, photocopying and report binding expenses
that will vary somewhat with every sale. Most expenses, such as salaries and rent, will be fixed
costs and won’t appear on this chart. Service businesses should follow the example below of the
consulting business.
Annual Average Cost of Sales Chart: Consulting Firm
Billable Item
x
=
Billable Item Forecast Sales
Revenue
x Cost per
Sale
= Total Cost of
Sales
Publications, phone,
travel
$100,000
20%
$ 20,000
Contract services
(Typing, etc.)
50,000
75%
37,500
Studies, Consultations
527,000
0%
0
TOTAL
$677,000
$57,500
Total Average Cost of Sales = 8.5%
($57,500 divided by $677,000)
WarningInclude piece-rate and commission costs. Note that some businesses pay workers on
a piece-rate or commission basis. All your costs that vary with each sale should be in cost of sales
instead of fixed expenses.
When you’ve completed your cost of sales calculations, you are ready to prepare your Profit and
Loss Forecast.
D. Complete Your Profit and Loss Forecast
You will find a blank Profit and Loss Forecast form in Appendix 4. Follow the line-by-line
instructions below to complete your form.
NoteNote for computer users: If you want to use a computer spreadsheet instead of the Profit
and Lost Forecast form, set it up with all of the same categories as the blank Appendix 4 form.
1.Sales Revenue. You have completed this estimate already. Simply enter the total sales revenue
dollars for each month for two years from the Sales Revenue Forecast you completed in Chapter
3, Section F.
WarningHere’s another chance to revise the sales revenue numbers in case you think they need
work. However, be sure you really believe that you can generate all the revenues you forecast.
Make sure you don’t do it backwards by writing down enough sales revenue to show the profits
you want. Otherwise, you’ll have to explain to your backers each month why things aren’t as good
as you said they would be.
2.Cost of Sales. Enter your monthly dollar cost of sales. To get these figures, multiply your
monthly sales revenue forecast by the average cost of sales percentage you developed in Section
C, above. Returning to our dress shop example, Antoinette would multiply her monthly sales figure
estimate by 60% (or 0.6). For example, if March sales are forecast at $30,000, the cost of sales for
March would be $18,000 (0.6 x 30,000 = 18,000).
WarningIf you made separate forecasts of sales revenue, cost of sales and gross profit for each
product line, then add together all the gross profit numbers and enter them on a summary form
line 3. You will have prepared separate forms for each product line for the first three lines (sales
revenue, cost of sales and gross profit) and a summary sheet showing total gross profit, operating
expenses and profit.
3.Gross Profit. Subtract cost of sales (line 2) from sales revenue (line 1) to get gross profit. It’s
the amount of money that remains after you’ve paid your direct costs of the products sold. This
money is available to pay the business’ fixed expenses and your profits. If gross profit is larger
than fixed expenses for that month, you will have a profit. But if gross profit is smaller than fixed
expenses, you will have a loss that month.
For example, looking at the dress shop example for March, Antoinette arrives at gross profit by
subtracting the cost of sales of $18,000 from the forecast sales revenue of $30,000 and entering
the result of $12,000. She’ll do the same thing for each subsequent month.
4.Fixed Expenses. The categories listed on the form are the most common fixed expenses, but
feel free to add or modify items to suit your business. All fixed expense items reduce your profit so
that you pay less business income tax.
4a.Wages/Salaries. Most small businesses keep some employees on a fixed weekly or monthly
work schedule regardless of how business fluctuates. Many businesses call in some temporary
employees as needed. All such wages are a fixed expense. To fill out line 4a, you’ll need to know
how many people you’ll hire, how many hours per month each will work and how much you’ll pay
each person. If you plan to pay yourself a regular wage, regardless of how profitable the business
is, include your salary as well.
Fill in the gross amount, before employee withholding deductions, you will pay every month for
wages and salaries. (If you don’t know, or aren’t sure how this works, turn to Chapter 8 for a
complete discussion.)
WarningCertain wages aren’t fixed expenses. Some small manufacturing businesses pay
workers on a piece-rate basis or hire employees when orders are high and lay them off when
business is slow. Others don’t pay a salary at all, but compensate workers with a commission for
each sale. In all of these situations, the portion of the wages that changes with each additional unit
of production should be considered a variable cost of sale. Those costs belong in the cost of sales
category and not the fixed expense category.
4b.Payroll Tax. As an employer, you’ll pay the federal government taxes of approximately 14% of
your employees’ wages and salaries. It is your contribution to your employees’ Social Security
program. Multiply each month’s dollar figure for wages and salaries by 14% (0.14). For example, if
employees receive $4,560 in wages and salaries in May, the payroll tax is $638 ($4,560 x 0.14 =
$638). In other words, the employees in this example cost the employer $5,198 in May ($4,560 +
$638 = $5,198) even though the employees’ gross pay is only $4,560.
These tax rates change from time to time. You can call the IRS for current rates. Most states have
additional taxes not included here that vary from state to state. (Workers’ compensation insurance
is covered in line 4e, below.)
4c.Rent/Lease. Rent is the next major item to consider, unless you plan to operate out of your
home or some other space which will not result in additional out-of-pocket costs. If you’re not
renting commercial space, however, bear in mind that local zoning laws may affect you. You’ll
want to check out zoning ordinances before going ahead with your plans.
If you don’t already have a spot in mind, check building availability and costs by talking to a
commercial real estate broker and people who occupy space similar to the one you have in mind.
You should know what kind of location you want by now—for instance whether you need high
visibility or whether an obscure, low-cost location is just as good. You should also know how large
a space you need, what plumbing, electrical and lighting you want, and how much storage you
need. Sometimes cheap rent doesn’t turn out to be such a bargain if you have to build walls or
install a bathroom and a loading area, or if a poor location means you get few customers.
NoteLeasehold improvements note: Any time you build something like a wall or a bathroom, it is
considered a capital outlay, not a fixed expense. (Capital expenses are covered in Chapter 7,
Section B.) Do not show the expenditure as a current operating expense. Only the depreciation is
a fixed expense. You can write off or depreciate leasehold improvements over the term of the
lease in most cases. (If you don’t know what depreciation is, look at line 4h, below. For more help,
check with your CPA.)
Normally you will want to sign a lease for a business space rather than to accept a month-to-month
tenancy. Business leases generally protect the tenant more than the landlord, although it may not
seem so if you read all those fine print clauses. You’ll be sure that you can stay at the location long
enough to build your business around it, and you’ll know what your rental costs will be. But what
happens if your business fails or you discover the location is poor? You’ll be responsible for paying
the rent until the space is rented to someone else, which could take a long time in some areas.
Assuming someone else will pay at least as much as you do, you’ll have no further obligation once
the new tenant begins paying rent.
Be sure you know exactly what your rent will include. Commercial leases often require the tenant
to pay for a number of things that a landlord commonly pays for in residential rentals. For example,
some shopping center leases require you to pay a pro rata share of property taxes, building
maintenance and fire insurance on the building, as well as a pro rata share of the parking and
common area charges. A friend of mine who rented a small building for a retail nursery business
put it this way: “That blankety-blank landlord sold me the building; he just kept the title.” So, as part
of making your financial projection, be sure you know exactly what charges, if any, the realtor or
landlord expects you to pay in addition to the rent. By the way, no matter what you determine the
rent to be, expect to put up the first and last month’s rent and often a security deposit when you
sign the lease. Don’t include those deposits here. (See Chapter 7 for treatment of pre-opening
expenses.)
Many leases that last longer than a year contain a method to protect the landlord from inflation.
Some are tied to a cost-of-living index, which means your rent goes up each year at the same
amount as the inflation rate. Others contain a percentage of sales clause, where you pay a set rent
or a percentage of your gross sales, whichever is higher.
Example:Bob Smith signed a shopping center lease for his optometry office. His lease called for a
base rent of $2,400 or 6% of monthly sales, whichever is more, plus a set charge of $400 for
taxes, maintenance and insurance. If sales exceeded $40,000 per month ($2,400 divided by .06),
he would be obligated to pay the landlord more rent. Bob was pleased to sign the lease because
his sales projections ($32,000 per month) indicated he would be making a healthy profit if his sales
volume reached $40,000 a month, so he would not mind paying a higher rent. Of course, this sort
of lease is not a good idea if the amount of sales needed to trigger a substantially higher rent is too
low. In Bob’s situation, for example, if he was required to pay more rent if monthly sales reached
$28,000, he probably would have looked elsewhere.
When you have figured out your total monthly rent from a lease quotation from your expected
landlord or from a survey of market rents, fill in that amount.
4d.Marketing and Advertising. Here’s a story about advertising. Back in the early 1930s, John
Axelrod opened a hot dog stand on the main road into Pine Valley. Business was fair. When he
put up a small sign, business got a little better. Then he added several more signs and things got a
lot better. Finally, he put up a dozen big signs. Business became so good, he had to expand his
seating area and hire more cooks. He was feeling pretty happy about life when his son, whom he
thought was a positive wizard, came home from college. The son, an economics major, was
appalled at all the new signs and seating.
“Dad, what are you doing spending so much on advertising? Don’t you know there’s a depression
going on and everybody’s going broke? If you don’t pull in your horns a bit, you will never make it.”
“No kidding,” John replied, and took down the signs and stopped the construction program. Soon
business dwindled away to nothing and John went broke.
The lesson of this story is simple: When the signs went up, business improved. When they came
down, there wasn’t enough income to buy ketchup. One way or another, successful businesses
get the word out. (Incidentally, the son went on to get his degree and opened his own business
consulting firm.)
There are small libraries full of books about how to market a business or product.I recommend
especially Marketing Without Advertising, by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry (Nolo). Such
books used to focus almost exclusively on paid advertising. More recently, broader concepts of
marketing have come into prominence. Network marketing, or selling to friends and
acquaintances, has become an identified alternative to more traditional selling strategies. Focus or
target marketing involves getting the word out to the people and groups who are most apt to need
your goods or services, rather than advertising your product or service to the community as a
whole.
If you get creative, there are all sorts of ways you can reach the people most likely to want your
product or service, for little or no cost. For example, if you invent a better software program (or
develop a consulting business in your special field), you could advertise on the radio—or you could
target your market by finding a computer bulletin board of people who need your product. Your
next step might be to get someone to write about your business for a computer magazine or news
letter. Similar opportunities exist in every business. If you open an oboe repair shop, for example,
one of the first jobs is to figure out inexpensive ways to let every oboist within a hundred-mile
radius know of your existence. One way might be to contact every wind instrument instructor,
school band leader and music store in the area and supply them with free literature on oboe
cleaning.
Many successful businesses allow a set percentage of gross sales for promotion, often 3% to 5%
of sales revenue as a budget figure. They allocate half that amount for a continuing, low-level effort
to let people know about their product or service and schedule the other half to advertise sales and
special events.
Think about what you will need to do to tell people about your business. Will your business need
cards? Flyers? Newspaper ads? A good-sized ad in the yellow pages? Sample merchandise sent
to media outlets so they can review your product? Window displays? Mailings? A part-time
marketing expert to help you pull this together? Avoid expensive promotions that you haven’t tried
before. For example, if you get an idea that involves mailing out 100,000 flyers, plan for a test by
mailing only 5,000. If it works, go for the rest. If not, use the money you saved for something else.
A great deal of money spent on conventional advertising is wasted. New businesses especially are
prone to spend too much in the wrong places. So use your common sense. Talk with friends in
business. Check with trade associations to see what they suggest as a good budget number for
telling potential customers about your business. Once you’ve set a budget for special promotions
and continuing low-level advertising, write both amounts in the Profit and Loss Forecast.
TipFor more help, look ahead to Chapter 8, Section B. In that chapter, you’ll write a detailed
marketing plan for your business that includes both pre-opening promotions and continuing
marketing costs.
4e.Insurance. You must have at least some insurance in this litigation-happy society. Your lease
may require you to keep fire, flood or earthquake insurance on the building. If the public comes
into your business, public liability and property damage insurance is a necessity. This will protect
you from the person who slips and falls on your floor mat. If you employ anyone, you also need
workers’ compensation insurance, since you are absolutely liable if one of your employees injures
herself while at work. You will probably also want to carry insurance on your valuable inventory
and fixtures. And if you manufacture any product that could possibly harm anyone, such as food or
machinery, you will want to consider product liability insurance.
Talk to an independent insurance broker who specializes in business insurance to get an idea of
what coverage you’ll need and how much it will cost. Then shop around warily. Lots of overenthusiastic
insurance people will try to sell you far more insurance than you need. Although you
need some insurance to protect against obvious risks, you don’t need to starve to death trying to
raise enough to pay your premiums.
WarningSome people try to avoid the responsibility of paying workers’ compensation insurance or
payroll taxes by calling their employees “independent contractors.” This can cause serious
problems with back taxes if the IRS rules against you. Also, if the independent contractor is injured
while working for you, the workers’ compensation appeals board will almost always rule in favor of
the employee and against independent contractor status, unless your worker genuinely has her
own business. This means you may end up paying huge sums if one of your workers becomes
disabled while you don’t have insurance. In other words, trying to save a few pennies on this
insurance is just not worth the risk.
Once you arrive at a good estimate for your total insurance bill, inquire about deferred payment
programs. Most companies that offer them often require that you pay 20% of the total premium up
front each year and the balance in ten payments. For purposes of your Profit and Loss Forecast,
divide the total annual insurance payment by twelve and enter those figures.
4f.Accounting/Books. You can do your own books if you like working with numbers. Chances
are, however, you’ll be so busy with the business, you won’t have time.
One good approach is to budget for a CPA to set up your books initially and to hire a part-time
bookkeeper to do day to day upkeep. If you are starting small, your initial cost should be under
$500 and your monthly cost under $200 to keep the records up to date and to prepare routine
employee withholding tax returns, statements, etc., assuming you close the register each day.
Once a year you will pay the CPA another few hundred dollars to review this work and help you
prepare your yearly returns. If your business is going to be fairly good-sized from the start, your
figures will be larger.
programs for small businesses. The program you need depends on how big your business might
grow to be, what extra features like statements or payroll you want the computer to provide and so
forth. You can research the different programs yourself, but remember to keep in mind the features
you may need later on after your business has grown. Or you can look into an outside service,
which may recommend a program to fit your business and computer, set up the books and run
parallel for a month or two to make sure that you don’t lose any data. The systems can be very
handy and time-saving if you have no strong attachment to a paper record, or are willing to print
out the documents you may want.
When designing a bookkeeping system for your business, remember that it costs a lot of time and
money to change it—make sure it really fits you and your business. (See Chapter 12, Section F,
for a further discussion of computers in business.)
Make as good an estimate as you can and enter this figure on your Profit and Loss Forecast. You
can take the year total and divide it by twelve, or you can enter the amounts when you think they
will be paid.
4g.Interest. This line of your Profit and Loss Forecast concerns the interest portion of the
payments you make on any money you borrow. Unless you have an interest-only loan with a
balloon payment at the end, your interest payment will vary from month to month even though you
pay the same monthly amount.
Example:Joanie Ricardo borrows $50,000 from the bank to open a Gelato’s Ice Cream store in
Providence, Rhode Island. She agrees to repay it in 36 equal monthly installments of $1,660.80,
including 12% interest on the unpaid balance. While Joanie’s monthly payments remain equal, the
portion of the payment that is credited to principal increases every month, while the portion of her
payment going toward interest decreases.
But, let’s say that you don’t know how much money you’ll borrow at this time. After all, one of the
main reasons for doing a business plan is to decide how much money you’ll need to finance your
business. In that case you have three choices:
•You can complete the Profit and Loss Forecast in this chapter, and the Cash Flow Forecast in the
next chapter, making your best guess about how much you’ll borrow and what your payments will
be.
•You can complete the forecasts without showing any loans or payments. Then use the results to
decide how much money you’ll borrow and revise the forecasts to include loan payments.
•You can complete both forecasts with out showing any loans at all. Then you can include a
discussion about how much money you’ll need to borrow and the cash flow available to make
repayments. (See your Plan Summary discussion in Chapter 9, Section C1.)
There are loan progress charts and computer programs that show approximately how much of any
payment is interest and how much is principal. Or you can use the Loan Interest Calculation Chart
in Appendix 4, using the sample below as an example.
WarningYou can’t write in the entire loan payment amount on your Profit and Loss Forecast,
because the IRS does not consider principal repayments fixed expenses that can reduce your
taxable income.
NoteNote of sanity: You don’t need to be perfect in forecasting your interest costs. Just make
your best informed guess. You can also check with your banker, CPA, realtor or bookstore for loan
repayment tables. Make sure the sum of your interest payments here and the principal payments
from Chapter 7 equals the total loan payment.
4h.Depreciation. Depreciation is a gift to the businessperson from Uncle Sam. Ask not what your
country can do for you—this is it. Depreciation is an amount you can subtract from your profits
when you pay taxes. It compensates you for the fact that your business equipment and buildings
are wearing out. The government allows you to assume that your fixed assets wear out over some
period of years, meaning that for tax purposes, your assets are worth less at the end of that
period. Your depreciation allowance simply lets you show a percentage of this wear as an
expense on your tax return each year. In a sense, it is a sinking fund for equipment replacement,
or would be if you put the depreciation amount in the bank. In actuality, the stuff usually lasts
longer than your depreciation shows, which is why depreciation can be seen as a friendly federal
gesture.
Loan Interest Calculation Chart
A
Month
B
Balance
from
line F above
C
Monthly
payment
D
Interest
paid
(Bx12%
divided by
12
E
Principal
paid
(C-D)
F
New balance
(B-E)
1 June 19__
$50,000.00
$1,660.80
$500.00
$1,160.80
$48,839.20
2 July 19__
48,839.20
1,660.80
488.39
1,172.41
47,666.79
3 Aug 19__
47,666.79
1,660.80
476.67
1,184.13
46,482.66
4
Often, equipment is depreciated over three to five years and buildings over fifteen to thirty years
for tax purposes. It’s not your choice, however; the IRS publishes very explicit rules and lists of
what can be depreciated and how fast. These lists and rules change frequently, so you’ll probably
need to check with your tax advisor about depreciation and fixed assets.
You can depreciate all fixed assets that last longer than one year. Remember, you don’t show the
purchase price as an expense on the Profit and Loss Statement if you depreciate an item.
If the asset will last less than one year, you simply show the entire purchase price in the expense
column for the year you bought the equipment and do not depreciate it. Inventory of goods
available for resale and consumable supplies are examples of purchases that are expensed
immediately because they last less than one year.
Example:Chuck Leong expects to spend $20,000 for fixed assets to open his business. Items
include a new toilet, several new walls, a cash register, a small computer and store fixtures.
Assuming Chuck’s accountant agrees that five years is the proper timeframe to use for
depreciation, he can take $333 as an expense for depreciation each month ($20,000 divided by 60
months).
4i.–4n. Other Expenses. Inevitably, you will encounter a number of other expenses, depending
on your business. Spend some time thinking about these using the accompanying list as a starting
point. Then list all the other costs you expect to incur on Lines 4i to 4n. If you expect any of these
to be recurring expenses, include your monthly estimate for each. For expenses that occur once or
twice a year, divide the annual total by twelve and enter an amount each month.
Common Expenses
Here are some of the more common expenses that businesses incur on a regular basis:
•Attorneys, consultants, tax advisors
•Auto and truck expenses
•Bad debts
•Commissions (probably should be placed in cost of sales or as a deduction from sales revenue if
commissions are paid regularly; if paid only occasionally, include them in fixed expenses)
•Dues and publications
•Employee benefit programs
•Equipment rental
•Freight in on merchandise acquired (also sometimes placed in cost of sales; freight out to
customers is usually paid for by the customer)
•Janitorial
•Laundry
•Licenses and taxes including permit fees (not income taxes, which are calculated after profits are
known)
•Office supplies
•Payments to investors
•Postage, fax, telephone
•Repairs and maintenance
•Security and alarm systems
•Travel and entertainment
•Utilities
5Total Fixed Expenses. Add up lines 4a through 4n and fill in the total for each month.
6.Profit/(Loss). From the Gross Profit (line 3), subtract the Total Fixed Expenses (line 5) and fill in
the result. Make sure that you place brackets around each negative number—that will identify it as
a loss.
Year Total. Finally, add up each of the rows (lines 1 through 6). Enter the yearly totals under the
Year Total column. Check your arithmetic by seeing if the monthly profit figures add up to the
same figure you get for your yearly total. If they don’t match, double-check your addition to find the
error. If they match, congratulations!
E. Review Your Profit and Loss Forecast
You’ve now completed your first run through a Profit and Loss Forecast. Date it so you won’t get
confused if you do another draft. I hope it looks positive. However, if like many people you find you
need to increase profitability to make the business a good economic idea, go back through all your
assumptions. How can you realistically reduce costs or increase volume? Incorporate into your
forecast only those changes you’re sure are sound. Now look at the profit figures again. Do they
show enough profit to make a good living, pay back your money source and leave some margin for
error? If they do, and you’re sure the figures are right, you will want to go ahead with your business
idea. If the adjusted figures still do not show enough profit, it may be wise to look for another
business idea or change your basic business assumptions.
Notice that Antoinette’s business looks more profitable in her Profit and Loss Forecast than it did in
her preliminary analyses in Chapter 3. That’s because she increased her first year’s sales estimate
from $400,000 to $450,000 and reduced her fixed costs from $16,050 to $12,050 per month. The
net effect of these changes was a slight increase in profit. She knows these numbers will be hard
to achieve, but she is confident that she can make her goals.
How much profitability is enough to justify going ahead with your business? That’s both a good
question and a touchy one. Or, put another way, there are almost as many answers as there are
businesspeople. My personal response is, I look for a yearly profit (including my wages and return
on investment) equal to the amount of cash needed to start the business. If I need $40,000 to start
a business, a conservative profit forecast would show a yearly profit of at least $40,000.
One way to approach the issue of profitability is to look at your profit forecast from an investor’s
viewpoint. A $35,400 profit for the dress shop won’t seem like much to them. They will be
concerned that the dress shop owner will have a difficult time earning a living and making it
through the inevitable slow times. An investor or lender will probably want her to be able to
convincingly demonstrate she has a plan to increase sales enough to raise the profit forecast to a
more respectable level—say, the $46,200 she shows in the second year.
1. Your Profit and Loss Forecast and Income Tax Return
Figuring out your business’ income tax return involves more calculations than we have shown so
far. One major difference involves cost of sales, which we have viewed as a simple percentage of
sales for forecasting purposes. You’ll need to follow more complicated rules when computing your
business income tax return. Read below to learn how to spot employee theft. You can skip this
discussion if your business has no inventory.
Here’s how to do it the right way. First, take a physical count of all your merchandise for resale
every year or every few months. Even if you have a computerized inventory system that can tell
you how much inventory you have at any time, it’s a good idea to take a physical inventory every
six or twelve months to reconcile the real inventory with the computer inventory. Once you have a
complete listing of the description and count of all the goods in your store at a particular date, then
you apply the best figures you have for what the merchandise cost you when you bought.
Multiplying the unit cost of each item on your shelves by the number of items you have and adding
purchases during the period gives you the cost of the goods available for sale. While there are a
number of different theories on which cost figure to use (the latest or the earliest), the critical thing
is to make sure you do it the same way every time. Then, you can make accurate comparisons
from year to year. Of course, if you have a service business or business with no inventory, the
inventory valuation discussion is moot.
After you have developed a total dollar value of the goods you have on hand, you can calculate
your real cost of sales this way:
1. Add together the goods you purchased during the period and the inventory amount at the
beginning of the period. (This total represents the dollar value of the goods you had available to
sell during the period.)
2.From that amount, subtract the dollar value of the inventory at the end of the period.
3.The difference is the cost of sales for the period.
Here’s an example that demonstrates how you do this:
Cost of Sales
Beginning Inventory from physical count
$ 10,000
Add:Purchases during period
+ 30,000
Subtotal:Goods available for sale
40,000
Less: Ending Inventory from physical count
- 15,000
Cost of Goods Sold during period
$ 25,000
This calculation has more use than merely filling out IRS forms: It can let you know when someone
is stealing from you. Suppose you have a good estimate of what the cost of sales percentage
should be, either from past statements or from a good understanding of your business. Suppose
further that you expect a cost of sales of 61.5% and that you actually had a cost of sales of 77.3%.
What does that mean? It could mean that some of the merchandise you buy for resale is leaving the
store without any money entering your register. At any rate, it means that you need to do some
serious research to find out what is really happening.
Chapter 7: Your Cash Flow Forecast and Capital
Spending Plan
Overview
Quick Plan. If you’ve chosen the quick plan method to prepare a business plan (see Introduction),
you need to read and complete these sections of Chapter 7:
•Section B (Prepare Your Capital Spending Plan)
•Section C (Prepare Your Cash Flow Forecast)
•Section D (Required Investment for Your Business
A. Introduction
In Chapter 6, you drafted your estimated Profit and Loss Forecast. While it tells you a lot about the
big financial picture, it leaves you ignorant of many details. If you overlook one critical detail, you
may go broke, even though your business seems profitable viewed from afar.
The crucial detail a business owner must manage is called “cash flow.” Cash flow is another term
for the money coming into and going out of your business. Positive cash flow occurs when the
money coming into your business exceeds the money flowing out, and negative cash flow is the
opposite. In the day-to-day world of starting and operating your business, you will be at least as
concerned about short-term cash flow as you will be about long-term profitability. After all, you
don’t want your creditors to sue you because you can’t pay your bills even though your sales are
increasing rapidly. One new business owner I know even wears a T-shirt that says: “Happiness is
positive cash flow.”
Your Cash Flow Forecast is different from your Profit and Loss Forecast because money comes
into and flows out of your business at different times than your Profit and Loss Forecast shows. A
formal Cash Flow Forecast is required by most potential backers, who want to know that you
understand and can manage that time difference.
Example:Rita Singh plans to open a small tie-dye manufacturing business. Since several of her
likely customers are chain stores, Rita knows that she will have to sell and ship their orders before
the stores pay her. The stores often can take several months to pay their bills. Wisely, Rita
carefully prepares a Cash Flow Forecast to make sure she can afford to sell on credit.
In your Cash Flow Forecast, you’ll refine any guesses you’ve made about how much money you
need to start or expand your business. You’ll develop an amount of money you are comfortable
with—an amount you can explain to prospective investors. In other words, you need to be as
accurate as you can be in this forecast.
The money you need to start or expand your business can be separated into two categories:
•Capital investment. This is the cash you need to spend before you begin or expand your
business.
•Initial working capital. This consists of the cash reserves you need to keep your business afloat
b f b i t h fit th
before you begin to show profits every month.
Commonly, cash flow from monthly sales is not enough to cover monthly expenses for the first few
months after a new business opens. If your Cash Flow Forecast shows a negative picture for this
period, you need to have extra money set aside for initial working capital. Your initial working
capital keeps the doors open until cash flow from monthly business becomes positive. If your Cash
Flow Forecast shows you’ll run a cash deficit for several months, don’t be too concerned. Just be
sure you have enough initial working capital to cover it. But if your Cash Flow Forecast shows a
continuing cash deficit, or a deficit that rises over time, your business may have some fatal flaw
and you should re-examine the whole idea before making any commitments.
Growth, too, can create problems. Many businesses that grow quickly suffer severe cash flow
shortages because money from sales does not come in fast enough to cover the investment
needed to expand. If you find yourself in this situation, you will need to reduce your growth rate or
find extra sources of money. (See the cash flow discussion below, in Section C of this chapter, for
more on this.)
So, let’s put a close-up lens on our camera and focus on cash forecasting. Here again, it’s
necessary to get out your calculator or computer and play with some numbers.
B. Prepare Your Capital Spending Plan
Your capital spending plan includes all the things you have to buy before your business begins
bringing in sales revenue, including opening inventory, fixtures and equipment, business licenses,
deposits for the building lease and whatever else you need.
Open a computer file or take out a clean sheet of paper and write “CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN” at
the top. Now, make a list of all the things you’ll have to buy before you open. This will enable you
to make a good estimate of the cash you need to open your doors.
The accompanying list sets out many common items businesses need to purchase before they are
ready to open. Some of the items you’ll buy will be considered capital items, which depreciate over
their useful lives. All pre-opening expenses represent your capital investment in the business,
regardless of whether they are treated as capital items or expense items. If you have doubts about
whether an item can be depreciated, ask your accountant.
Common Items in a Capital Spending Plan
Here’s a list of common items businesses need to buy before opening. Note that they fall into two
categories—capital items and expense items.
Capital items generally have a useful life of more than one year and can be depreciated for tax
purposes. They include:
•permanent signs, heaters, air conditioners, cooking and refrigeration equipment
•equipment, including machinery, large tools and other expensive items
•racks and display fixtures for retail selling areas
•office furniture
•leasehold improvements or any alterations you make to the building, including walls, bathrooms
and carpeting
•computers, typewriters, fax machines, adding machines, cash registers, phone systems and other
small equipment you purchase.
Expense items generally are shown as either fixed expenses or costs of sale at the time they are
purchased because they last less than one year. They include:
•opening inventory (sometimes you can get a deferred payment schedule from suppliers, but you
will usually have to pay for many, if not most, goods before you sell them)
•lease deposits
•tax deposits
•business licenses and permits
•opening marketing and promotion
•insurance
•telephone installation
•utility deposits
•office supplies and stationery
•legal fees, costs to incorporate and CPA fees to establish your business
•contingency reserve.
Now assign specific dollar amounts to each item on this list. If you’re unsure about the cost of an
item, ask the person from whom you’ll buy the item for an estimate or a quote. Try for plus or
minus 10%. Remember that you’re trying for an accurate estimate here, so use the numbers you
think are right. Most experienced businesspeople will add another 10% to 20% of the total as a
contingency to allow for poor guesses and other foul-ups. If you think you need such a contingency
and haven’t included it already, add it in now. Add up all the items you’ve listed to get an estimate
of the cash you need to open your business.
Your capital spending plan should reflect the exact amounts you will spend as accurately as
possible. For example, it was okay for Antoinette to use estimates of costs when she thought
about her business in general terms, but now she needs to be precise. She should have shopped
around for the best deals by now and know them. If a potential lender asks her why she’s spending
$3,000 each for dress racks, she can say, “The used ones from the auctioneer are terminally rusty
and the discount ones are shoddy. I want my image to be high quality, and this is the best deal on
good racks.” As the accompanying example shows, Antoinette knows the business she is about to
open.
Although she doesn’t include an itemized list of fixtures, office equipment and leasehold
improvements in her summary, she has detailed lists available.
Capital Spending Plan: Antoinette’s Dress Shop
Item
Amount
Fixtures in selling area includes cash registers,
sewing machines, dress racks (see list)
$ 30,000
Leasehold improvements, bid from Jones
Construction includes signs, lights, decorations
80,000
Rent deposit, two months’ rent 7,500
Opening inventory 30,000
Contingency 15,000
Total capital required to open $ 162,500
For a second example, here’s a one-man consulting firm’s opening cash needs. As you can see,
he plans to start with extra cash; he has allocated $10,000 for working capital.
Capital Spending Plan: Jeffer’s Associates Consulting
Capital Spending Plan: Jeffer’s Associates Consulting
Item
Amount
Desk, conference tables, chairs
$6,000
Fax machine
1,000
Computer system: IBM clone, laser printer,
software
4,000
Copy machine
2,000
Typewriter
700
Telephone system
1,000
Misc. decorative accessories
500
Misc. deposits for utilities, business license
2,000
Opening marketing and advertising
2,000
Supplies, stationery
1,000
Working capital estimate
10,000
Total capital required to open
$30,200
C. Prepare Your Cash Flow Forecast
Once you complete your capital spending plan, you’ll know how much money you need to open
your doors. The next step is to estimate how much additional money you’ll need to survive the first
lean months.
The basic process we’ll use to make a Cash Flow Forecast is to start with the monthly profit (or
loss) figures you developed in your Profit and Loss Forecast in Chapter 6. You’ll then make
adjustments each month to the monthly profits to account for the time differences in collecting and
spending money.
Take out the two blank Cash Flow Forecast forms from Appendix 4 and follow the step-by-step
instructions that follow. You’ll be completing a forecast for the first two years of your business.
Complete every line for each of the 24 months before going on to the next line.
NoteNote for computer users: If you’re using a computer spreadsheet, use the Cash Flow
Forecast form as a guide. Make sure that the column and row headings are the same.
1.Profit/(Loss). To begin, take out the Profit and Loss Forecast you completed in Chapter 6 and
copy the monthly profit/(loss) from line 6 onto the first line of the Cash Flow Forecast form. The
profits or losses you show have already taken into account the normal expenses of running a
business like rent, wages and salaries and so forth. You won’t have to worry about those costs in
this forecast.
WarningIf any of your figures are losses, place brackets around them. Otherwise, your entire
Cash Flow Forecast will be seriously inaccurate.
2.Credit Sales. Skip ahead to line 4 if you don’t plan to sell merchandise or services on credit. If
you sell merchandise or services on credit, the customer receives the goods or services right
away. Even though you incur costs, you don’t get paid right away. Credit sales create bills people
owe you; they are called your “accounts receivable” because you will receive the money soon.
(When you buy goods on credit, you create bills you owe others. These are called your “accounts
payable” because you will pay them soon.)
Most businesses that sell to other businesses should plan for some sales on credit. Most
businesses that sell only or primarily to retail consumers can plan to sell mostly for cash, including
checks and credit cards.
NoteCredit card note: For purposes of this discussion, sales on credit cards are the same as
cash sales, except for the processing fees the bank charges you. If you use an electronic terminal,
the money is credited to your bank account right away, and if you use a paper imprinter, the
money is deposited to your account in a few days.
It takes more money to start and run your business if you offer credit to your customers than it
would if you received cash for every sale. Here’s how to figure out how much cash you’ll need.
First, estimate what portion of your total sales will be for credit. For example, if you think that about
one-third of your sales will be for credit, that means that about 33% of your monthly sales dollars
will not be collected in the month in which the sale is made. Make a note of that percentage now
on the Cash Flow Forecast form in the heading for line 2.
Look at the Profit and Loss Forecast you completed in Chapter 6. Multiply each month’s Sales
Revenue dollars (line 1 of the Profit and Loss Forecast) by the credit percentage that you forecast
for your business. Then enter each of those monthly figures on line 2 of your Cash Flow Forecast.
Example:Mickey and Michele run a photocopy and fax service. They estimate that about 40% of
their total sales revenue will be on credit and the remaining 60% will be for cash. On line 2 of the
Cash Flow Forecast, they’ll enter these credit sales: $4,400 for January; $4,400 for February; and
so forth throughout the forecast.
M & M Copy Shop Cash Flow Forecast Credit Sales Calculation, Six Months ($000’s)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Forecast sales
revenue
$11.0
$10.9
$12.6
$13.1
$15.6
$16.8
% sales on credit
40%
40%
40%
40%
40%
40%
Forecast credit
sales
$4.4
$4.4
$5.0
$5.2
$6.2
$6.7
3.Collections of Credit Sales.Skip this item if you don’t plan to sell merchandise or services on
credit. Your cash receipts are reduced when a sale is made for credit instead of cash. On the other
hand, your cash receipts increase when you collect the money from a credit sale you made earlier.
This Cash Flow Forecast shows you exactly how much your receipts will be reduced and
increased as a result of your credit policies. Even though your customers don’t pay you right away,
they eventually pay you. Your job is to figure out when they’ll do so. If you grant your customer
your normal 30-day terms, it usually takes 60 days to get paid. Here’s why. You make a sale on
day one, then write a statement at the end of the month and mail it to the customer. He pays it 30
days after he gets the statement. Of course, some people pay sooner and some people pay later.
In a well-run business with good paying customers that grants 30 days to pay bills, the average
turnaround will be 45 to 60 days.
Make an estimate of the number of months you anticipate as an average lag time between a sale
and the collection of the bill. Most businesses use two months. It’s easier to use whole months for
this purpose than to use portions of months. If you think 45 days is the likely answer, use two
months—don’t use one and one-half months. Enter the number of months in the heading for line 3.
Example: If Mickey and Michele collect bills in an average of two months, the credit sales that
were just subtracted from monthly sales will be added back two months later. In this example, the
business starts up in January and there are no outstanding accounts from the previous year. As
you can see, the delay in collections means that the M & M Copy Shop will have an $8,800 cash
flow reduction in January and February. This means they need at least nine thousand dollars in
working capital to sustain them during the first two months.
M & M Copy Shop Cash Flow Forecast Credit Sales and Collections, Six Months ($000’s)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
Credit sales
$4.4
$4.4
$5.0
$5.2
$6.2
$6.7
Collections of credit
sales
-0-
-0-
$4.4
$4.4
$5.0
$5.2
Now that you see how it works, complete your monthly Cash Flow Forecast for two years, writing
in the cash collections in the month you collect the money on line 3.
4.Credit Purchases. Make an estimate of how the timing of your purchases will affect your cash
flow. Most businesses buy merchandise from their suppliers on credit and delay paying them for a
time. Most suppliers will grant you 30 days to pay your bills on a fairly routine basis, if they
approve your credit application. That way, you get to use their money for a while, just like your
customers use your money if you sell on credit.
Here’s how to complete this section of the Cash Flow Forecast. First, make an estimate of the
percentage of your total goods and services you expect to buy on credit. (See Chapter 3, Section
F, on how to make educated guesses, or SWAGS. Write the percentage figure in the heading for
line 4.
Next you’ll calculate the dollar costs of purchases your business will buy on credit each month. To
derive that figure, multiply each month’s cost of sales by the estimated percentage of credit
purchases. And write the answer on line 4. Note that they increase cash flow.
Example:Mickey and Michele estimated that they’d buy approximately 60% of their purchases on
credit. Their January cost of sales is $3,600, so the credit purchases come to $2,160 ($3,600 x 0.6
= $2,160). They round this figure to $2,200. Here’s how it looks for a few months at the M & M
Copy Shop. On line 4 of their Cash Flow Forecast, they’ll enter their credit purchases: $2,200 for
January; $2,200 for February; $2,500 for March; and so forth.
M & M Copy Shop Cash Flow Forecast Credit Purchases, Six Months ($000’s)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
Forecast cost of
sales
$3.6
$3.6
$4.2
$4.3
$5.1
$5.5
Percent bought on
credit
60%
60%
60%
60%
60%
60%
Credit purchases
$2.2
$2.2
$2.5
$2.6
$3.1
$3.3
5.Payments For Credit Purchases. Here you show when you pay for the purchases you’ve made
on credit. These payments are subtracted from profits on the Cash Flow Forecast. Make an
estimate of how long you will take between the time you sell merchandise and the time it is
reordered and paid for. Write your estimate of how many months will elapse between selling your
merchandise and paying for the replacement in the heading for line 5.
If you’re in doubt, figure it this way: It usually takes about 60 days to make an inventory of what
you’ve sold, reorder the merchandise, receive and restock the merchandise and pay the invoice or
statement. If that’s true for you, then the merchandise you sell in January will be reordered and
paid for by March. Here’s a word of caution, though: Many suppliers have tightened their terms
considerably. It is not unusual for suppliers to expect payment within ten days of the date you
receive the merchandise.
WarningKnow suppliers’ credit policies. If you’re not sure of your suppliers’ policies, it’s a good
idea to check them out before you complete this forecast. A mistake here can result in a
dramatically incorrect cash forecast.
Example:Here’s how it works for the M & M Copy Shop, which expects a two-month delay
between ordering and paying for merchandise:
M & M Copy Shop Cash Flow ForecastCredit Sales and Collections, Six Months ($000’s)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
Line 4 Credit
purchases
$2.2
$2.2 $2.5 $2.6 $3.1
$3.3
Line 5 Paying for
credit purchases
-0-
-0- $2.2 $2.2 $2.5
$2.6
Now, enter the dollar amount of credit purchases you entered on line 4, but in a later month, in a
similar fashion to the M & M Copy Shop.
6.Withholding Taxes. Most businesses must pay their employees’ taxes every month. That
means that every month you send the IRS the amount of wages you’ve withheld from your
employees’ paychecks plus the amount you’re required to contribute to their Social Security. If you
make these tax payments every month, they don’t affect your cash flow, so they won’t show up on
your Cash Flow Forecast.
Some businesses qualify to pay withholding taxes every three months rather than every month. To
qualify for the quarterly payment program, you must owe the IRS less than $500 every month. If
you do not qualify for the quarterly option or wish to pay every month, skip ahead to line 8. If you
wish to explore the quarterly option, read the following discussion of withholding taxes.
When you completed the Profit and Loss Forecast, you added at least 14% to the total wages and
salaries you pay each month as an additional expense (Profit and Loss Forecast, line 4b,
Withholding Taxes). That’s your mandatory contribution to your employees’ Social Security fund
and federal unemployment insurance. You’ll write a check to the government to pay that amount.
In addition, the government also expects you to collect money from your employees for their
portion of income and Social Security taxes and pay the government directly. While every
employee is different because of their individual tax situations, the average employee has about
15% of their total wages or salary withheld from every paycheck for federal withholding. This is
money that belongs to the employee that you must mail to the IRS.
If you will pay a total withholding of less than $500 every month, you may choose to pay taxes
quarterly rather than monthly. Make sure you verify your employees’ actual withholding rates
before deciding on this option.
Example: Let’s say that you plan to hire one full-time sales clerk in your business for a total salary
of $1,500 per month. Multiplying 29% by the salary (0.29 X $1,500 = $435) gives an answer of
$435, which is less than $500. In that case, you qualify and may choose the quarterly option.
WarningPlease note that paying these taxes every three months instead of every month is a
dangerous option because it means that you will be using your employees’ money in your
business. By far the simplest, safest and best way to pay the government is to pay the total
withholding amount every month.
7.Withholding Tax Payments. Skip this item if you’ll be paying your employees’ taxes monthly
instead of quarterly. Otherwise, add together three months’ worth of withholding from line 6 and
enter the total amount every third month on line 7. That is the amount you must write every three
months to the IRS. If this little exercise seems confusing to you, take your confusion as a sign that
you should not attempt this option. You’ll be much better off simply paying the withholding taxes
every month.
8.Depreciation. As discussed previously, depreciation is a fictitious expense you charge the
business for using up fixed assets. Look at your Profit and Loss Forecast, which you prepared in
Chapter 6. If you included an amount for depreciation in line 4h of your Profit and Loss Forecast
and reduced your profits accordingly, you must enter the same numbers here to get your monthly
cash flow.
If you wrote nothing in line 4h of your Profit and Loss Forecast, you can leave this line blank and
skip to line 9.
9.Principal Payments. In your Profit and Loss Forecast you calculated how much interest you’d
pay every month. You’ll also make regular payments on the principal of your loan, which are
shown in your Cash Flow Forecast. To get the amount of the principal payment, just subtract the
interest payment, taken from line 4g of your Profit and Loss Forecast, from the total loan payment.
(Review the chart in Chapter 6, Section D, line 4g, if you have trouble.)
If you have a loan with interest-only payments and a large principal payment every few months or
at the end of the loan, it’s essential that you write in the scheduled principal payments. That way,
you’ll be able to plan for them and avoid the nasty surprise of having to make a large loan payment
you forgot about.
WarningBe sure that the interest expense from the Profit and Loss Forecast (Chapter 6, Section
D, line 4g) and the principal repayment line from your Cash Flow Forecast add up to your total
monthly payment.
10.Extra Purchases. Let’s say that you plan to have a big sale sometime during the year and
need to buy extra merchandise for the sale. These extra purchases are above and beyond normal
inventory replacement, so they won’t be covered by the amounts you have written for purchases
resulting from your cost of sales. Include those extra purchases here.
11.Other Cash Items. Here is where you place any cash receipt or expenditure that is not
covered in the Profit and Loss Forecast or elsewhere in your Cash Flow Forecast. For example,
perhaps you anticipate an investment in your business in a few months and you need to show the
positive cash infusion. Or you might plan to buy a new piece of equipment sometime down the
road. If your total is negative, make sure you put brackets around it. Otherwise, your Cash Flow
Forecast will be incorrect.
12.Monthly Net Cash. Take a moment to review your work to make sure you have understood the
cash flow effect of each of the entries and that they are all on the right lines. Make a final check to
be sure that any negative numbers have brackets around them.
Then add and subtract the various entries on the Cash Flow Forecast form to derive the monthly
net cash for each of the 24 months. Positive cash numbers represent additions to your bank
account, while negative cash numbers represent money you’ll have to add to the business.
Remember that numbers with brackets around them are subtracted from the total and that
numbers without brackets are added to the total.
If the monthly cash flow figure is a negative figure, make sure you place a bracket around it. Do
that as you complete each month’s calculations; otherwise, you’ll forget which numbers are
positive and which are negative and you’ll have to do all the arithmetic again.
Year Total. Add up each of the rows (lines 1 through 13). Enter the yearly totals under the Year
Total column. Check your arithmetic by seeing if the total monthly net cash figures add up to the
same figure as your yearly total. If your answer is the same whether you add vertically or
horizontally, your math is correct. If not, you’ve made a mistake somewhere.
WarningDon’t use line 13 to check your math; it won’t work in the second and later years because
those years start with a previous balance.
13.Cumulative Net Cash. This line shows how the monthly negative or positive monthly net cash
numbers add across to derive the total cash required for working capital. Most businesses will
show several months of negative cash flow followed by months of positive cash flow. By adding
the monthly figures together, you’ll see the maximum negative cash—that’s the amount you’ll need
for working capital.
For month one, simply copy the net cash amount listed in line 12 for that month. To get month
two’s cumulative net cash, add together month one’s cumulative net cash (line 13) and month
two’s net cash (line 12). For month three, add month two’s cumulative net cash (line 13) to month
three’s net cash (line 12). Continue that process for the entire 24 months. Remember that when
you add two negative numbers together, you get a larger negative number—you do not get a
positive number.
Example: The M & M Copy Shop chart shows how to accumulate these figures. Note how the
cumulative cash flow increases the negative amount when each individual month’s net cash flow is
negative. Then, when the individual monthly figures turn positive, the cumulative negative figure
becomes smaller as the positive cash flow reduces the cumulative negative figure. Finally, in the
fifth month, the cumulative figure becomes a small positive. This means that the fourth and fifth
months of positive cash flow have offset the first three months of negative cash flow.
M & M Copy Shop: Cash Flow Forecast Cumulative Net Cash ($000’s)
Month
1
2
3
4
5
Line 12 Monthly Net
Cash
(2.5)
(1.8)
(0.2)
1.9
3.9
Line 13 Cumulative
Net Cash
(2.5)
(4.3)
(4.5)
(2.6)
1.3
D. Required Investment for Your Business
This chapter’s objective is to develop the amount of money you need to start or expand your
business. That amount of money is the sum of two numbers:
•the total dollars you developed from the Capital Spending Plan in Section B of this chapter and
•the largest negative figure you developed on line 13 (Cumulative Net Cash) of the monthly Cash
Flow Forecast (Section C, above).
Make this calculation for your business. You’ll use this figure later, when you write your plan
summary and spell out your need for funds to start or expand your business.
Example 1: For the M & M Copy Shop, the maximum negative cash flow of $4,500 was reached in
the third month (assuming that future individual monthly cash flow figures continued to be positive
figures). That is the amount of working capital that M & M Copy Shop needs to begin operation.
Mickey and Michele add together the amount listed in their Capital Spending Plan to $4,500 to
derive the amount of cash they need to open their business.
Example 2: Antoinette’s Cash Flow Forecast shows a positive cash flow from the beginning
because her sales revenue starts out high. That means her total cash investment will be limited to
the amount from her Capital Spending Plan or $162,500. She chooses not to reduce that amount by
subtracting any of her first year’s cash flow from the total so she can have a salary for herself.
E. Check for Trouble
You have completed most of the foundations on which your business will be built. The Cash Flow
Forecast ties together all the previous work and allows you, or your backers, to see exactly how
your business will function. I hope that you have gained an understanding of the relationship
between sales, expenses, cost of sales, profits and cash flow by completing your Cash Flow
Forecast. If so, that understanding will help you a great deal in the future.
If you still aren’t clear about those relationships, it is worth a little time to review your forecasts. It’s
important that you understand where the money comes from and where it goes. If necessary, take
your forecasts to a business advisor or a friend who understands cash flow analysis and ask her to
explain them to you.
Don’t be surprised if the answers you develop aren’t the ones you expected. It may mean that the
business won’t work or that you need to polish your plans a little. It could just mean that you have
made a mistake in arithmetic. It’s best to let the Cash Flow Forecast rest for a day or two before
looking for the problem.
No forecasting technique can ensure that your business will succeed. In addition to the problems
outside your business that the future may bring (discussed in Chapter 3), you may have built into
your plan some money problems that are lurking there, waiting to sabotage your efforts. Your only
protection against problems like these is to know your business thoroughly. Sad to say, what you
don’t know can hurt you.
1. Antoinette’s Inventory Problem
Antoinette estimated her first year’s sales at $450,000 and her cost of sales at 60%. She also
figured her opening inventory at $30,000. Unfortunately, this means she has to turn her inventory
9.0 times per year ($450,000 x 0.60 divided by $30,000), just to meet her plan. This is not very
likely.
NoteCalculate inventory turnover by dividing annual cost of sales by inventory at cost. If annual
sales revenue is $450,000 and cost of sales is 60%, then annual cost of sales is $270,000
($450,000 x 0.60 = $270,000). Inventory of $30,000 at cost divided into 270,000 equals 9.0
inventory turns per year.
Antoinette should probably plan for a more realistic inventory turnover of 3.5 times per year, which
is typical in her business. To do this and end up with $450,000 in sales, she would need an
inventory of $77,000 ($450,000 x 0.60 divided by 3.5). This would raise her initial cash requirement
by $47,000. With that much cash investment needed, her business idea probably is not worth
pursuing unless she can generate a good deal more profit than her Profit and Loss Forecast
indicates. This would undoubtedly mean raising sales projections, and otherwise trying to force
profits into a questionable business. If your retail business has an inventory turnover of three to
four times per year, you’ll be doing pretty well. Many retailers are able to average only one or two
turns per year.
Many people who plan new retail businesses expect to start with a fairly small inventory because
they don’t have much capital to invest. This will very likely cause problems if the sales figures they
expect this inventory to produce are too high. For example, if you plan to sell widgets, but can only
buy a starting inventory of $10,000 at cost, it would seem unlikely that you could produce sales of
$200,000 per year. Even assuming you doubled the price of the widgets, this would mean turning
your inventory over ten times in the year. For most businesses, it simply isn’t realistic to expect
inventory to turn over even seven or eight times a year.
Many retailers make a similar mistake; some catch the mistake at this stage, some catch the
mistake when they have a business consultant review their plan and some never catch it. They just
sink slowly into bankruptcy, wondering why sales never met projections.
What about Antoinette and her inventory problem? I shall continue with Antoinette’s original
assumptions, including those for inventory turnover. This book is simply not set up to go back and
revise all her numbers. Second, I want Antoinette’s problem (the fatal flaw in her plan) to really
sink in. I hope Antoinette’s predicament will give you a vague feeling of unease as you continue to
read her plan. The lesson is this: Just because a business plan appears to be thorough and looks
good on paper, that’s no guarantee that it will be successful. It pays to be skeptical.
2. Typical Problems Retailers Face
You can skip the rest of this chapter if you’re not planning to run a retail business. Otherwise, you’ll
find the following discussion extremely useful.
Here’s what Antoinette should have known about inventory. Inventory management separates the
professionals from the amateurs in the retail business. Inventory is usually the biggest single
investment a retailer makes. Commonly, it happens that a retailer shows a high taxable income,
but no cash. Why? Because all her cash went into increasing the inventory.
The goals of inventory management are:
•to have a wide enough selection of new, fresh merchandise to appeal to customers
•to quickly reduce or eliminate items that move slowly, and
•to keep the overall investment in inventory in line with profit expectations.
Good retailers keep current with the merchandise customers want now. They make it a point to
always have the popular items in stock. No self-respecting popular music store would be caught
dead without the top ten CDs and tapes in stock. Good retailers quickly mark down slow moving
items for a quick sale. They then use the cash from selling these dead items to buy new and
popular ones. For example, there is nothing sadder than a small bookstore still trying to sell last
year’s hard cover best seller when the drug store down the street already has the paperback
version.
A good retailer has a wide enough selection to appeal to customers. In a bookstore’s case, this
and it became economical to serve these folks.
Good retail managers accomplish all of these ends and also keep the total dollar investment in line
with profit goals by carefully managing “inventory turnover”—how many times per year you
completely replace the stock. For example, if your average cost of sales is 50% and your sales are
$300,000 and your inventory is $40,000, you turn over your inventory 3.75 times per year ($300,000
x 0.50 divided by $40,000). As before, many retail managers strive for three to four turns per year.
Some businesses, like gasoline stations, may turn over their inventory every week. Make sure your
plans reflect your industry standard and good, common sense.
Chapter 8: Write Your Marketing and Personnel
Plans
A. Introduction
Decisions you make about marketing and personnel can spell the difference between your future
success or failure. This chapter helps you answer these important questions about your business:
•Who is your competition and how are you different?
•Who are your potential customers and how can you contact them?
•Exactly what steps will you take to reach your sales projections?
•How can you hire the right people for your business?
•How can you make sure that your employees work effectively?
B. Marketing Plan
Marketing is a broad term that covers many specific issues. Your marketing plan will cover areas
ranging all the way from determining how your business fits into the national and local economies
to deciding what color your logo should be. The market plan you’ll develop in this section will
outline the specific steps you’ll take to generate the sales dollars you forecast earlier.
1. Review Chapter 3 Work
In Chapter 3, you were deciding whether or not you chose the right business. As part of that work,
you made some important assumptions that will influence your marketing plan:
•Problem Statement. This identifies the problem you’ll solve for your customer and provides the
underlying reason people will frequent your business.
•Business Description. This states exactly what your business does for your customers. After all,
if you don’t provide a valuable product or service, you won’t have many customers.
•Taste, Trends and Technology: How Will the Future Affect Your Business? This covers the
developments you expect for the next few years and how they will affect your business. Even a
“perfect” business can become obsolete overnight due to future developments.
•Sales Revenue Forecast. This shows your estimates of future sales revenue for your business.
To finish your marketing plan, you’ll need to spell out the specific actions you will take to achieve
your forecast sales revenues.
Take a moment before proceeding any further and reread your work from Chapter 3 to decide if it
still represents an accurate statement of how you view your business. If the statements are not
accurate and complete, stop here and rewrite them. Make sure they correspond to your current
thinking.
2. Competition Analysis
When customers consider patronizing your business, they first consider whether or not you can
solve their problem. But they don’t stop there. They also compare your business with other
businesses.
It’s helpful for you to make a similar comparison so that you understand how your customers think.
This exercise, as any exercise in the marketing area, requires some mental gymnastics. Your job
is to place yourself in your customers’ frame of mind and objectively compare your business to the
competition.
If you have difficulty with this task, perhaps a good friend can help you out. Sometimes business
owners let their personal prejudices taint their opinion of a competitor. If your competitor provides a
larger selection of merchandise or better service and lower prices than you, it won’t matter much to
your customers that you don’t like the other business’ television ads or think it has ugly delivery
trucks.
Think for a moment about the decisions your customers face. What specific methods can they use
or places can they go to solve their problem? Incidentally, some of these places and methods may
not involve a competing business. Customers do things for themselves or get their needs solved
from friends, community and government agencies or other sources.
First, identify the most likely three ways your customers are going to solve their needs in addition
to your business, and make a note of each. These are your principal competitors. To be thorough,
write a short statement of each competitor’s main strengths and weaknesses. Remember to place
yourself in the mind of your customers when you do this exercise.
In the accompanying example, note that Antoinette grouped her competitors instead of treating
each store separately, because some stores are very similar. You might choose to group your
competition or list more than three competitors. As always, feel free to adapt the exercise to your
needs.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Strengths and Weaknesses of Three Competitors
Department stores: Bagnin’s, Jerry’s, Glendale’s. Principal strengths: Wide selection of
merchandise. Principal weaknesses: High prices, inconvenient hours, no alterations.
Latest fashion stores: Wild Thing, Marian’s, Golden Frog. Principal strengths: Fashion
conscious, frequent new styles, low prices. Principal weaknesses: Casual wear only, don’t cater to
mature women, no alterations.
Specialty stores: Lady Esquire. Principal strengths: Sells our style merchandise to our type
customers. Principal weaknesses: High prices, employees have reputation as snobs, alterations
take a long time.
3. Differentiate Your Business From the Competition
Your next job is to describe how your business differs from the competition’s strong and weak
points. Again, remember to carefully look at your business from the customer’s perspective.
If you’re not sure how your pricing policies compare to the competition, here are some guidelines.
Most people associate high prices with high quality and extra service, while they associate low
prices with low or average quality and minimum service. Make sure you provide extra quality and
service if your prices are higher than your competition—or make sure that your prices are lower if
your quality is average and your service is minimum. Check your assumptions by making a price
survey of the competition.
Remember that customers may take for granted that you have the same strong points as the
competition; if so, you can leave those out of your description. Customers hope that you do not
share the same weak points as the competition. But if you do share some weak points, it is
probably a good idea to mention the ones you have in common.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: How My Business DiffersFrom the Competition
Antoinette’s will offer a wide selection of merchandise to our target customers, as do the
department stores and specialty shops. We will offer low prices and convenient hours for the
working woman. Antoinette’s will take particular pride in more efficient services such as special
orders and alterations as well as a stable, helpful and knowledgeable sales staff.
To summarize, Antoinette’s takes the worry out of clothes shopping by providing a good selection,
good prices, good service and helpful people who know their field.
4. Describe Your Target Customer
The next step is to describe your target customer in specific, individual terms. As you know,
business is a very personal endeavor. When you sell services or merchandise, you sell to one
person at a time. As a matter of fact, most people don’t like being treated like members of a group
instead of individuals. That’s why the most successful restaurants have owners or maitre d’s who
remember your name and ask about your family or your interests whenever you patronize their
business.
Additionally, most of us are more comfortable talking with one person than making speeches to a
large group. So it makes sense to address your advertising, promotions and other marketing
activities to a single person instead of a group.
Of course, no two customers are exactly the same. But if you can personalize your marketing
program to a typical customer, it will be more effective because it will seem more friendly to your
customers. The easiest way to do that is to create a mythical target customer and individualize that
target customer so that you consider her a friend. Be as specific and as personal as you can. If
you have friends you hope will be your customers, describe one of your friends. Include age,
education, occupation, income, hobbies, family status, reading preferences, favorite television
shows, favorite music and so forth.
In the accompanying sample, Antoinette describes her friend and target customer, Terry Chen.
With Terry in mind, it is very easy for Antoinette to write ads, letters and flyers and to decide how
and where to promote her business. For example, television ads are unlikely to reach Terry since
she has so little time to watch TV. Radio ads during commute time can be effective, but may cost
too much.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Target Customer
Terry is 32 years old and has a college education; she is married and has a son, Jimmy, in
elementary school. She works as a salesperson for a large corporation and makes about $35,000
per year. Her husband Peter makes a little more than she does, but the family needs her income to
support the lifestyle they have chosen.
Terry’s work is not a hobby for her; she is very serious about it. Her work makes her travel
frequently and she calls home at least twice a day when she’s on the road. Since the business
world is very competitive in the era of downsizing companies, she must present a good image
while maintaining a strict budget.
Terry keeps current with the latest movies and enjoys dinner out with Peter once or twice a week.
She watches mostly children’s programs on television in order to spend time with Jimmy,
whenever the TV is on. She reads business journals and economic reports and occasionally reads
some fashion magazines. Mostly, she gets her fashion sense from seeing current styles in the
workplace. Her greatest regret is that she has so little time for Jimmy and Peter.
5. Decide How to Reach Customers
Once you describe your target customer, it’s easier to create a list of possible ways to reach that
person. One of your jobs as a businessperson is to decide which of all the possible methods of
communication will give you the most exposure for the least cost in money or time. There are an
infinite number of communication methods. These methods range from personal visits to each
customer to mass media advertising, with a wide range of possibilities in between. We list some in
the accompanying sidebar as a stimulus to your thinking.
There are lots of alternative strategies you can use to reach your market. For example, businesses
with a few large dollar customers will have different choices than businesses with many smaller
dollar customers. Technical consulting businesses tend to fall in the category of having a few
customers with large contracts, whereas fast food restaurants or retail stores have many
customers who make small purchases.
Ways to Reach Your Target Customer
Here are some common methods businesspeople use to reach customers:
•Take each prospect to lunch
•Visit or telephone each prospect regularly
•Handwrite and send a personal greeting card to every prospect
•Write a technical article in a trade journal
•Attend or make presentations at trade or industry shows and conventions
•Create and distribute or mail a regular newsletter
•Appear on radio and television shows about your field
•Write a newspaper or magazine column about your field
•Write a personalized letter to each prospect
•Mail brochures or flyers to each prospect
•Advertise in print—daily newspapers, magazines or weekly papers
•Advertise on radio and television
•Place leaflets on car windshields or home doorknobs
•Put notices on supermarket bulletin boards
•Enter notices in computerized networks
•Join service clubs and take part in community affairs.
Above all, remember that the most effective way to reach and keep customers in the long run is by
word of mouth. All the marketing and advertising you do can only entice your customer to try your
business the first time. After that, she will come back to your business if she likes what she
received, and she’ll tell all her friends. But be aware that customers are even more likely to let
friends know if a business doesn’t meet their expectations.
To complete this next exercise, write down the five or so methods you think will reach most of your
customers. Remember to select methods that are appropriate for the overall number of people in
your target market. For instance, if your target market is every married woman in the U.S.A., you
will probably use mass media as an effective communication method. On the other hand, if your
target market is the presidents of the 100 largest companies in your trade area, you are more likely
to use individual contacts than mass media.
Once you’ve chosen the communication methods you like best, figure out how much it will cost to
reach your customers using each of the five methods.
Note that some of Antoinette’s more sensible ideas don’t take any money at all, just some time to
convince the magazines and papers to carry her material and the time to produce it. Perhaps you
can develop some similar ideas for your business.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop:Costs of Reaching My Target Customers
I have about 20,000 potential customers in the greater New City trading area. I don’t anticipate
reaching customers beyond this area.
1.I like direct mail, since I can develop lists of active businesswomen in the area. I’d like to bulkmail
a flyer announcing our opening for about $.30 to $.50 each, for a total cost of $6,000 to
$10,000.
2.Limited ads in the New City Monthly will run about $300 to $500 per month for a few months.
3.When anyone comes into the shop, I’ll ask for her name and address and later I’ll send notices
of fashion shows and fashion tips. The cost will depend on the size of my list and the frequency of
mailings.
4.I can place announcements of my fashion shows in the two daily papers serving the area at no
cost.
5.I’ll see if one of the local papers will carry a column I’ll write for free on fashion tips.
6.I’ll join all the professional women’s groups in the area and become a visible spokesperson for
my shop.
6. Create a Marketing Budget
Now that you have a wish list of things you’d like to do, it’s time to decide which of the promotional
ideas you can afford and which are too costly. In Chapter 7, Section B, you prepared a Capital
Spending Plan and estimated how much money you’d allow for an opening promotion to let people
know you’re in business. In Chapter 6, Section D, line 4d, you prepared a Profit and Loss Forecast
that took into account your monthly marketing costs. If you allowed enough money to provide the
sort of promotion you want, you can finish writing your marketing plan now.
However, if you didn’t allow enough money, or if you’re not sure how much money is enough, you’ll
want to stop here for a moment and think about it. Ask yourself these questions:
•How much money do I need for an opening promotion? I suggest that you allow enough
money to tell all your target customers one time that you are open for business. If you tell them all
once, they can decide when to come see you. And if you have designed your business so that it
truly addresses a customer need and is different from the competition, your target customers will
be very alert to your opening. Even if they don’t see your first message, they will hear about you
by word of mouth.
If your opening promotion plan exceeds your budget, you’ll need to go back and revise your
Capital Spending Plan to allow for the promotional expense. If that’s your situation, complete this
chapter, then go back to Chapter 7, Section B, and revise the cash totals.
•Are my methods of promotion cost-effective? Once you’ve estimated the cost of reaching all
your target customers with the first message, compare that cost with the amount of money in your
budget. Your job is to get the most exposure for the least outlay. Making that final decision may
mean that you have to refine your promotion cost estimates from rough guesses into bids and
quotes from suppliers. Normally, unless you’re really unsure of promotional costs, you shouldn’t
take the time to obtain those quotes for now. Just balance your wish list against your budget to
develop your marketing plan.
•Have I allowed enough money in my monthly expense budget for ongoing advertising and
promotion? Take a look at the advertising expenses you forecast in the Profit and Loss Forecast
in Chapter 6, Section D. If that amount needs changing, you’ll need to change both your Profit and
Loss Forecast and the Cash Flow Forecast (Chapter 7, Section C). If that’s your situation, do it
after you complete this chapter. But, if you’re not sure about how much money to allow for monthly
advertising and promotion, go back and reread the discussion about advertising in Chapter 6,
Section D, line 4d, Marketing and Advertising.
To create a marketing plan, start by listing each of the promotional items you decided on for your
pre-opening promotion together with their costs. Then add up the pre-opening promotional costs
and fill in the total.
Next, list each of the promotional items you plan to use during the first two years of your business
together with the monthly cost of each.
Those two groups of specific actions and costs, pre-opening promotion and monthly marketing,
advertising and promotional costs, will become the blueprint for your marketing plan.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop:Marketing Budget
Antoinette’s Dress Shop:Marketing Budget
Pre-opening promotion
1. Mail 10,000 pieces announcing grand opening $5,000
2. Advertisement in New City Monthly, one month (including
graphics)
500
3.Publicity from papers, New City Monthly, no cost—but much
time to write articles and contact editors
0
Total pre-opening costs $5,500
Monthly advertising
1. Newsletter every two months to mailing list—approximate cost
per month
$ 650
2. Monthly column in daily paper, no cost—but time to write
column
-0-
3. Advertising for sale every three months, estimated monthly 250
4. Join service clubs, estimated monthly lunch and membership
fees
100
Total monthly cost $1,000
Despite Antoinette’s well-thought-out marketing plan, her original budget allowed nothing for an
opening promotion and $1,000 per month for ongoing advertising. She could, however, decide to
take some of the $15,000 contingency and use it for pre-opening promotions. It looks like
Antoinette needs to make some hard choices about which marketing tools to drop and by how
much to increase the marketing budget. We’ll leave her now to solve that problem in peace and
quiet while we move along to the next step.
If you’re in the same predicament, take your time to balance costs and effectiveness the best you
can, and then move ahead to the next step.
7. Write Your Marketing Plan
By now, you have asked some tough questions and faced some critical issues. You may wish to
combine the major points of the exercises into a summary narrative, or you may wish to present
the results of each exercise independently.
If you summarize the work into a narrative, your plan will read more easily and look more
professional. However, the potential downside to combining the answers into a narrative format is
that you may inadvertently leave out a point of major interest to your backers. If you do elect to
combine the answers into a narrative, be careful to cover all the points in each exercise. Use
Antoinette’s marketing plan as a guide.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Marketing Plan
Antoinette’s Dress Shop will concentrate on developing a clientele consisting primarily of working
women. We are particularly interested in professional women who expect to advance in their
chosen career. These women require fashionable clothing at reasonable prices. According to the
Chamber of Commerce, the greater trading areas of New City include some 20,000 women who fit
this description. Forecasters expect this market to continue to grow at the same 10% growth rate it
has enjoyed for the past five years. We believe the trend towards a higher concentration of
professional women in this county may even accelerate because of the increased concentration of
professional and management industries locating here.
Personal experience and market research demonstrate that upwardly mobile working women
prefer fashionable, but slightly conservative, clothing at moderate or sale prices. These women
prefer to shop where they receive personal attention, especially prompt, free alterations that
traditionally have not been provided to women. Women in this group normally prefer to shop
between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. or on their lunch hour.
Most of our target customers shop at two types of stores for their clothing:
1.Department stores such as S. Bagnin, Jerry’s and Glendale’s.
2.Latest fashion stores such as Wild Thing, Marian’s and Golden Frog.
Some of our target consumers presently shop at the department stores for the type of business
clothes we will sell, and others shop at fashion stores for casual clothing. However, we believe we
can capture a lot of this business for a number of reasons.
Antoinette’s will appeal to customers who are either shopping at one of the local stores or going
out of the area to meet their needs. For instance, many professional women travel as much as 35
miles to South City to shop at Freida’s because their needs are simply not being met locally.
Generally speaking, the department stores offer a wide mix of merchandise. However, it isn’t easy
to find a large selection of appropriate business clothing at reasonable prices in any of them. In
addition, S. Bagnin and Glendale’s are only open one evening a week after 6 p.m., the time most
working people prefer to shop. Further, the department stores offer fairly impersonal services, with
a constant turnover of personnel. Alterations are an additional charge and usually take a week or
more to complete. Our policy of offering free alterations within 24 hours is sure to appeal to women
who put in at least a 40-hour week in addition to maintaining their homes.
We should note that the Lady Esquire Shop does offer fairly direct competition. We believe,
however, that its pricing policy indicates a decision to cater primarily to women approaching the
top of the executive ladder. This leaves us plenty of room to compete.
Our location at the Plaza in the center of town puts us within walking distance of major banks,
brokerage houses, insurance companies, real estate offices and law firms. We are only four blocks
from the new RST computer center and the related software development businesses that are
springing up around it. In addition, we will be near Jerry’s and the Golden Frog. The former is an
old-line local department store that carries a lot of clothing and supplies of interest to older women
who see themselves as traditional homemakers. The latter is a popular store where many of our
potential customers already shop for leisure wear.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop plans an extensive direct mail campaign to tell our potential customers
about our grand opening sale. We will develop our mailing list from the New City Chamber of
Commerce membership list, the mailing list of the county business magazine, membership lists of
business women’s clubs and the University Woman’s Club and from other appropriate sources.
Our direct mail campaign will be supplemented by a modest media campaign targeted to sources
that are popular with our potential clientele, such as the New City Monthly. We plan to have regular
fashion shows that will address the interests of our clientele. We will also publish and distribute
fact sheets for working women containing tips on such things as choosing clothes appropriate to
their jobs, selecting clothing for business travel and caring for clothes.
8. Discuss the Risks Facing Your Business
Every business faces risks. The people whom you will ask for money will want to see that you can
not only face reality but also deal with possible difficulties. The following discussion outlines risks
small business owners typically face. Once you’ve analyzed these factors, you’ll be ready to write
a summary of the risks that apply to your own business.
Competition. Most businesses have competition. How will your business differ in significant and
positive ways from your competition? If your competition is strong, don’t minimize that fact, but
figure out ways you will adjust to or use that strength. For example, if you plan to open a restaurant
next to an extremely popular one, part of your strategy might be to cater to the overflow. Another
might be to open on days or evenings when the other restaurant is closed.
Pioneering. If you anticipate no direct competition, your business probably involves selling a new
product or service, or one that is new to your area. How will you avoid going broke trying to
develop a market?
Cycles and Trends. Many businesses have cycles of growth and decline often based on outside
factors such as taste, trends or technology (discussed in Chapter 3, Section E). What is your
forecast of the cycles and trends in your business? For example, if your forecast tells you that the
new electronic product you plan to manufacture may decline in three years when the market is
saturated, can you earn enough money in the meantime to make the venture worthwhile?
Slow Times. Every business experiences ups and downs. Is your business small and simple
enough, or capitalized adequately enough, to ride out slow times? Or do you have some other
strategy, such as staying open long hours in the busy season and closing during times of the year
when business is dead?
Owner’s Expertise. Nobody knows everything. How do you plan to compensate for the
knowledge you’re short on? For example, if you’ve never kept a set of books, you may need to hire
a part-time bookkeeper and an accountant to make sure the bookkeeping system is adequate. Or
you may need to buy a computer and an accounting program and devote some time to mastering
your new tools.
Example: Doreen Cook wanted to establish her own restaurant. She had cooked for other
restaurant owners for years and knew the practical side of putting good food on the table.
However, she had little patience with financial matters and was honest enough to admit she didn’t
want to learn how to keep books. To solve this problem, she invited George, her CPA, to be her
junior partner, with full responsibility for financial management. She and George emphasized this
connection in her business plan and loan package, which George designed. In addition, George
was invaluable in lining up a list of potential lenders.
Cash Flow. Seeing the money come and go on a daily and weekly basis is very different from
looking at a yearly Profit and Loss Forecast (Chapter 6). You also want to be sure that your
business can survive long enough so you can enjoy your profits. If you filled out a Cash Flow
Forecast such as the one set out in Chapter 7, you should be able to demonstrate that you can
survive foreseeable cash flow problems.
Write your risk analysis by first thinking of the main dangers your business faces. This shouldn’t be
hard, as you have probably been concerned about them for some time. Some of these may be on
the list set out above; others will be unique to your business. Once you have identified the principal
risks facing your business, write out a plan to counter each. But don’t bog yourself down worrying
about all sorts of unlikely disasters.
NoteA note of philosophy: This is the stage when remorse or jitters may set in. You may be
thinking, “Am I really doing this? Think of all the things that could go wrong. I could lose
everything!” Your purpose in writing a risk discussion is to force yourself to face your fears and
concerns, not to scare yourself out of going into business. If your rational, intellectual analysis tells
you that the risk factors are manageable, proceed as hard and fast as you can. You don’t have
time for useless and unnecessary worry. On the other hand, if you really do get overwhelmed
worrying about potential disasters, pay attention to your anxieties. They may be telling you that
you don’t have either the personality or knowledge of your business to handle the risks you’ll take
in a small business.
The purpose of this book is to help you understand the dimensions of the risks your business
faces, but you as the potential business owner must put your money and belief on the line. Abe
Lincoln said it: “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Risk Analysis
Like every new business, Antoinette’s faces several risks. I believe I can overcome each risk with
the actions discussed below.
The primary risk we face is that our concept of an entire store selling business clothing to working
businesswomen is new to this area. No one else in New City is presently doing exactly what we
propose. Although we believe we have identified a market niche that the competition has failed to
adequately exploit, our assumption remains to be proven here in New City. On the positive side,
the population base of our target customers is more than adequate to support a store of our size
and we have based our volume and profit projections on average figures for the industry. In
addition, the type of store we propose has been very successful elsewhere. Nevertheless, we must
demonstrate that this type store will work here. It must take sufficient business away from stores
with a broader line of merchandise to make a profit.
A secondary risk is that we are thinly capitalized. If our sales volume fails to meet projections in the
first year, our small working capital reserve may be inadequate to meet our cash flow needs. On
the positive side, however, we believe our sales projections are conservative and that we will have
little trouble meeting our sales revenue goals. In addition, by starting with relatively modest capital,
we will have no large loan payments. Also, we have had several potential investors express an
interest in the business. If our working capital reserves are exhausted, but the business
demonstrates potential, we should be able to attract investors. (But remember we discovered that,
on the basis of the Cash Flow Forecast, Antoinette’s business has a fatal flaw (Chapter 7, Section
E1) and her entire plan will need reworking from the beginning.)
Finally, there is a slight risk that the population of younger working women in New City will decline.
However, we do not expect this to happen. White collar jobs have doubled here in the last decade
and it seems reasonable to expect that the population of working women will continue to grow and
that we will profit from that expansion. This projection is based on the fact that many wellestablished
firms have located here and more are expected to do so. Nevertheless, if for any
reason general industry declines, or a significant number of local companies fail or move overseas,
we could face some problems and might have to change our marketing strategy.
C. Personnel Plan
Chances are that you’ll need some help to run your business. It’s hard to overestimate the impact
employees have on small businesses. First, your paperwork explodes when you hire the first
employee. Many government agencies regulate your relations with your employees, and you’ll
need help if you’ve never employed anyone before. Your accountant can help with payroll forms,
and your local employment development agency can help with other regulations.
Second, how to successfully hire, manage and fire people is a fine art, which this book can’t
possibly cover. If you have any doubts about your abilities in this area, make sure you get
guidance from employment agencies, the local employment development department or a private
consultant.
Fortunately there are some basic steps you can take that will increase your chances of making
hiring decisions correctly. Many business owners fail to be clear in their own minds about basic
details affecting an employee; that’s a mistake almost guaranteed to cause trouble.
1. Analyze Your Business Personality
Every business has a personality that customers and suppliers spot right away. Your employees
help create that personality in their daily interactions with customers, suppliers and each other.
Your job as the business owner is to decide what personality you want your business to have.
Once you are clear about your business’ personality, you can easily look for employees who fit in
well. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open a computer file and write a statement of the
personality you want your business to have.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Business Personality
The impression I want my customers to receive is that our store provides the best selection of
merchandise in our clothing category. We also provide prices and service that take the worry,
regrets and hassle out of shopping. Our employees should be sincerely helpful and dedicated to
solving our customers’ problems. I want them to be very knowledgeable so that our customers
consider us as their clothing advisors, in addition to the best store.
2. Write Your Staffing Schedule
Now that you know what sort of people you want to hire, your next job is to decide how many
people you need. (You may have completed this already in Chapter 6, Section D, line 4a.)
The following example shows how Antoinette thought through her staffing schedule. You will make
your decisions a little differently, depending on the needs of your particular business.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Staffing Schedule
My dress shop will need two people on the floor at peak times (lunch and after work). I can open
the store at 11:00 a.m. and can usually be available to fill in if the store suddenly gets busy at an
unexpected time, as well as doing the books and ordering when the store is not crowded.
Therefore, I plan to hire one full-time clerk, with the title of assistant manager, to work 40 hours a
week, and two full-time clerks so that there is always one employee in the store. That’s a total of
120 hours per week of labor. The assistant manager will work from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday through Friday and from opening to closing on Saturday. The two clerks will be scheduled
so that all the open hours are covered.
3. Write Job Descriptions
Next, open a new computer file or take out several blank sheets of paper and title each one “JOB
DESCRIPTION.” Make sure you have room for a separate description for each person you plan to
hire. Each job description should include several items of information:
•Job Title
•Job Duties
•Job Duties
•Skills Required, Personality Desired
•Education Required
•Supervisor
•Pay Rate and Monthly Total Wages/Salary, including benefits, if any
As an example, here’s how Antoinette completed a job description sheet for her sales clerks.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Job Description for Sales Clerk
Job Title: Sales Clerk
Job Duties: Sell clothing, interact with customers and present good image of my shop
Skills and Personality: The clerk must have basic retail and cash handling skills and must
demonstrate good math skills before hiring. She must be friendly and well-dressed. She must
know current fashions and proper accessorizing as well as basics about alterations. She must be
adept at working with the occasional irate customer.
Education: She must be at least a high school graduate.
Supervisor: Since she will be supervised by both my assistant manager and by me, she must be
comfortable in situations with more than one person able to give orders.
Pay Rate and Monthly Wages: The clerk will work about 40 hours per week for a total of
approximately 170 hours per month. I think I can hire a suitable clerk for about $5.00 per hour plus
payroll taxes. That brings her monthly total to $860.00 ($5.00 x 40 hours x 4.3 weeks).
Once you complete a job description for each employee, add together all the monthly total
wages/salary amounts you’ll pay each employee. Verify your calculations against the numbers you
used on line 4a of the Profit and Loss Forecast (Chapter 6, Section D).
Example:Antoinette learns that sales clerks often make minimum wage, even with one or more
minimize problems with turnover.
Accordingly, Antoinette plans to pay her sales clerks $5.00 per hour. Although she could probably
hire an assistant manager for $7.00 per hour, she decides to pay $8.00 because she knows an
excellent person whom she really likes and trusts. If each of her two sales clerks and her manager
work 40 hours per week, her weekly wage cost will be $720 ($5.00 + $5.00 + $8.00 = $18.00,
which she multiplies by 40). Multiplying these weekly figures by 4.3 weeks to get an average
month results in an average monthly wage cost of $3,096. Extra costs for mandatory employers’
contributions to Social Security, unemployment insurance and so forth will average out to about
14% of each person’s salary. She uses this 14% figure since she plans no extra benefits, like
health insurance or vacations, until the business is a success and she can afford them.
When you work out these numbers for your business, check them against your entries on lines 4a
and 4b of your Profit and Loss Forecast.
4. Write Your Personnel Plan
As we discussed before under the marketing plan section, you may wish to summarize the
information in these exercises into a narrative personnel plan. Just make sure you don’t forget
some important information when you do that. Here’s Antoinette’s written summary of her
personnel plan.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Personnel Plan
Antoinette’s Dress Shop will employ a full-time assistant manager and two full-time clerks.
The assistant manger will be Sally Walters (resume attached). 3 I have known Sally for several
years and believe we will work well together. Until recently, she was the assistant manager of the
dress department of a large department store, where she helped modernize the merchandise line.
Her department increased sales by 25% in two years.
Sally will be paid $8.00 an hour to start, with a raise to $9.00 as soon as the business pays the
owner $3,000 per month and shows a profit. My goal is to fully involve Sally in the business so that
I will feel comfortable leaving her in charge when I take time off or have obligations outside the
store.
Sally will work a 40-hour week primarily assisting customers. She will also assist in ordering
decisions. Sally will sometimes open and close the shop and make bank deposits, although she
will not have to do so regularly. She will work from 12:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday through
Friday and all day Saturday.
The sales clerks will be paid slightly above prevailing wage. They must be personable, presentable
are available.
I will work six days a week at the start, but will consider closing the store on Mondays if that proves
to be a slow day. I will act as seamstress until business expands significantly. If business expands
more rapidly than forecast, additional part-time clerks and a part-time seamstress will be hired as
appropriate.
Antoinette’s will not offer health insurance or other employee benefits until the profit picture
warrants them.
Chapter 9: Editing and Finalizing Your
Business Plan
Overview
Quick Plan. If you’ve chosen the quick plan method to prepare a business plan (see Introduction),
you need to read and complete these sections of Chapter 9:
•Section B (Decide How to Organize Your Plan)
•Section C1 (Write Your Plan Summary)
•Section D (Create the Appendix)
•Section E (Create Title Page and Table of Contents)
A. Introduction
Lenders and investors see lots of business plans. You’ll want to make sure your plan gets the
attention it deserves by presenting it in the best possible manner. This chapter shows you how.
B. Decide How to Organize Your Plan
Each business plan has a unique structure that to some degree is determined by the particular
business and fundraising needs.
Although you’ll be writing a few more short sections in this chapter, you’ll probably want to take a
few minutes now to get organized. Take out all the work you’ve completed so far using this book.
Then arrange the various components in the order suggested below for a complete plan or a quick
plan, whichever you’ve chosen. (See the Introduction for an explanation of these different
methods.) Of course, you can vary the sequence if a different order makes more sense to you. If
you’re happy with the order in which the various parts appear, chances are that your readers will
be also.
1. Quick Plan (One-Day Plan)—Suggested Outline
A.Title Page: Section E of this chapter
B.Plan Summary: Section C1 of this chapter
C.Table of Contents: Section E of this chapter
D.Problem Statement: Chapter 3, Section D2
E.Business Description: Chapter 3, Section D3
F.Business Accomplishments: Chapter 5, Section B
G.Sales Revenue Forecast: Chapter 3, Section F1
H.Profit and Loss Forecast: Chapter 6, Section D
I.Capital Spending Plan: Chapter 7, Section B
J.Cash Flow Forecast: Chapter 7, Section C
K.Appendix: Table of Contents: Section D of this chapter
L.Appendix: Supporting Documents: Section D of this chapter
2. Complete Plan—Suggested Outline
A.Title Page:
Section E of this Chapter
B.Plan Summary:
Section C1 of this Chapter
C.Table of Contents:
Section E of this Chapter
D.Problem Statement:
Chapter 3, Section D2
E. Business Description:
Chapter 3, Section D3
F.Business Accomplishments:
Chapter 5, Section B
G.Marketing Plan:
Chapter 8, Section B7
H.Sales Revenue Forecast:
Chapter 3, Section F1
I.Profit and Loss Forecast:
Chapter 6, Section D
J.Capital Spending Plan:
Chapter 7, Section B
K.Cash Flow Forecast:
Chapter 7, Section C
L.Future Trends:
Chapter 3, Section E
M.Risks Facing Your Business:
Chapter 8, Section B8
N.Personnel Plan:
Chapter 8, Section C4
•Business Personality: Chapter 8, Section C1
•Staffing Schedule: Chapter 8, Section C2
•Job Descriptions: Chapter 8, Section C3
O.Specific Business Goals:
Chapter 2, Section B4
P.Personal Financial Statement:
Chapter 5, Section C
Q.Personal Background (Your Strong and
Weak Points, General and Specific Skills
Your Business Needs, Your Likes and
Dislikes):
Chapter 2, Section B
R.Appendix: Table of Contents:
Section D of this chapter
S.Appendix: Supporting Documents:
Section D of this chapter
Length of Your Plan
Some of you probably wonder how long a business plan should be. Should it be five pages or 500
pages? The best answer is that your plan should completely and concisely cover all the issues that
we raise in this book. You may be able to place all that information on 15 to 20 pages or you may
need more, especially if you provide several appendices.
The key is to include all the information you need to tell your story and exclude any information
that isn’t needed. Remember, more isn’t necessarily better. If you have any doubts about this,
have a consultant review your plan’s length.
C. Write Final Portions of Your Plan
Now that you have an overview of what your finished plan will include, it’s time to begin writing the
final sections. Every business plan needs a summary, which is covered in Section C1, below. In
addition, you may choose to write several short statements that will improve your plan and make it
more cohesive. Those optional statements are covered in Sections C2 and C3, below.
1. Write Your Plan Summary
The plan summary introduces and emphasizes the high points of your plan. It includes a statement
of the total amount of money you seek. Because the summary is based on the rest of your plan,
we’ve waited until now to cover it. Your job is to tell your readers who you are, what you want to
do, how much money you need and how much money you expect to make, all on one page.
WarningPay attention! Many people will never read your entire package. They will make their
preliminary decision about lending you money or investing in your project on the basis of their first
impression of your plan summary. Others will decide to read the rest of your materials only if your
summary engages their interest. So put all your strong points in the first few paragraphs, saving
the details for later. Absolutely follow these rules:
•Keep it short.
•Be specific.
Your plan summary needs a statement of the total cash you need to begin or expand your
business. This is the sum of the pre-opening costs and the maximum negative cash flow. (See
Chapter 7, Section D.)
Example:This summary introduces Juanita’s Waffle Warehouse.
“My Waffle Warehouse requires $45,000 in pre-opening costs, which are detailed on the following
pages. I have researched my equipment costs carefully, resulting in a potential savings of $15,000
by buying second-hand (reconditioned and guaranteed) cooking equipment. Also, my grand
opening costs are firm estimates resulting from verbal quotes from the ad agency recommended
by the Waffle Warehouse franchising company. I am confident that these are accurate estimates
and I look forward to proceeding.”
WarningBusinesses seeking investors: If you will solicit equity investors instead of applying for
a loan, you’ll need a statement delineating what investors will receive for their money rather than
information about how a loan will be repaid. As a small business, you will almost certainly not
propose selling stock to the public at large. Therefore, you will need to propose that investors will
receive a significant share of ownership of the business and perhaps some monthly or annual
cash payment as well. (For more details on equity investments, see Chapter 4, Sections B2 and
B3.)
Example:“An investment of $20,000 in John’s Roof Repair business will result in the investor
receiving a 33% interest in the business. Present plans are to distribute one-half of the annual
profit of the company to the owners each year. Based on projections contained in this proposal,
this means a person who invests $20,000 will receive $5,000 the first year, $17,500 the second
year and $25,000 each year thereafter. In addition, investors will be entitled to have any necessary
roof repairs done to their homes or business buildings and those of immediate family members at
50% off the regular rate.”
Some people worry about their ability to write in a businesslike style. If that applies to you, you’ll
probably want to follow the same three-step process as Antoinette:
•First, list the positive facts you want to cover; you’ll probably need to review the work you’ve done
to get that information.
•Second, rearrange the facts in a logical sequence that presents the most positive facts in a
coherent pattern.
•Finally, write the facts in simple prose.
Here is Antoinette’s preliminary outline of the most positive facts of her business plan. Remember,
at this stage she is only doing this exercise for herself, so she has no need to be fancy.
Antoinette’s Dress ShopBusiness Plan Summary:
Outline of Most Positive Facts
•Dress shop catering to working women
•20,000 potential customers in the city and it’s a growing market
•No competitor exploits market systematically
•Risks such as newness of my concept to our community appear moderate and I have a plan to
overcome all identified risks
•I have a good friend with solid qualifications to be assistant manager
•My background includes responsibility and knowledge in all critical areas
•My personal goals coincide with the financial success of the business
•Detailed financial projections show that I can start the business and reach my goals with
$162,500
•Creative marketing ideas include free alterations, clothing tips for working women, occasional
fashion shows.
Next, Antoinette rearranges these highlights in a logical order. Here is how her second version
looks.
Antoinette’s Dress ShopBusiness Plan Summary:
Outline of Most Positive Facts (2nd draft)
1.Open a dress shop catering to professional working women/need $162,500 to do it.
2.My market analysis demonstrates the concept is sound and that I have more than enough
potential customers (20,000) to make it work.
3.I have several unique marketing ideas which should attract customers.
4.No competitor targets our customers systematically.
5.Both my qualifications and Sally’s prove that I can do it.
6.Financial projections show the loan can be paid back with ease.
7.The money will be well-used for opening inventory, equipment, working capital and the other
things necessary for starting the business.
8.Conclusion: This business represents my long-held dream and I am eager to begin.
Finally, Antoinette writes a narrative summary, which is shown below.
2. Section Introductions
When you look over your plan, you may notice that some of the sections seem incomplete or that
one section doesn’t flow into the next. If so, you have these options:
•write short introductions to those sections that need more explanation
•rewrite the entire plan into a single comprehensive narrative, taking care to cover every important
point, or
•leave the plan as is—it’s possible that your circumstances make it appropriate to use rough drafts
and financial documents and nothing more.
Many of you will take a middle course of rewriting some of your earlier work, presenting some of it
intact and providing written introductions and summaries for others. If you write a narrative or
introduction, keep your writing as short as possible while presenting all your conclusions and
assumptions.
Sections that typically benefit by short narrative introductions include:
•Profit and Loss Forecast. You don’t need a lengthy treatise, but you should describe the
assumptions you made about the significant numbers. Explain how you derived the sales volume
forecast you used to create the Profit and Loss Forecast; your backers will be extremely interested
in those assumptions. Also list your major assumptions about cost of sales and fixed expenses
that you used in creating the Profit and Loss Forecast. You may choose to make lists instead of
writing a prose narrative. Finally, summarize the annual sales and profit figures you forecast.
•Capital Spending Plan and Cash Flow Forecast. This narrative should list the major
assumptions you made in adjusting your monthly profits to derive the monthly cash flow. Also
summarize the pre-opening costs you’ll incur. Mention whether or not you will sell on credit or seek
extended terms from your suppliers and how long it will be before your customers pay you and
before you pay your suppliers. (See Chapter 7 for more details.)
Antoinette’s Dress Shop Business Plan Summary
This plan discusses opening a dress shop catering to working and professional women. It supports
l t f $110 000
a loan request for $110,000.
Changes in the work force in New City have resulted in a large growth in the number of working
women who identify themselves as “professionals.” There is currently no store in New City that
adequately caters to this group’s needs for moderately priced, stylish work clothing. I propose to
open Antoinette’s Dress Shop to fill this gap. My goal is simple: to sell good quality, moderately
priced clothing to the upwardly mobile woman, to provide free alterations and to help my
customers dress well for a reasonable cost.
My qualifications include three years, experience as a clothing buyer and assistant merchandise
manager for the Rack-a-Frax Department store in New City. During my tenure, the Designer Dress
Department, which was my principal area of responsibility, showed a 35% sales increase. I will be
assisted by Sally Walters, who has five years experience in the field, the last three being in the
dress department at Glendale’s.
My loan request is based on detailed financial projections, which demonstrate that by combining
$50,000 of my savings with $110,000 of borrowed money, I can begin business at a favorable
location on the west side of the town mall with a solid inventory. I will consider securing the loan
with a second trust deed (mortgage) on my home, which has an equity of $200,000. My detailed
financial projections show that I can repay the loan in 60 equal monthly payments at competitive
interest rates. At the same time, there will be sufficient profit to meet my twin goals of providing
myself with both an adequate living and a return on my investment.
The funds I wish to borrow will be allocated to procure my initial inventory as well as equipment,
fixtures, leasehold improvements, advertising and working capital as indicated in this proposal. I
hope to open my new store by Labor Day of 1999. I am committed both to serving the professional
women of New City and meeting my personal financial and career goals.
Dated:__________________
Antoinette Gorzak:_______________________________________________
3. Personal Goal Statement
You may include a statement of your personal goals. It is a tricky part of your plan, even though it’s
a big help to potential backers who don’t know you personally. Your lenders and backers want you
to be happy in your new venture, since you’ll be likely to work hard at it. However, people who
back you will also want to be sure that you’re truly committed to the financial success of your
project. For instance, they won’t back a beekeeper who loves bees so much she can’t stand to
disturb them by removing honey from the hive.
Ideally, your personal goals and commitments will tie into the business goals exactly. In reality, you
probably have at least some personal goals that don’t have much to do with business profitability.
Example 1 “My reasons for starting this business are to make a good living, prove I can be
collection. In addition, I would like to create a business which I can bequeath to my children.”
Most people starting small businesses are tied to them full-time (if not more), and it’s unrealistic to
think that there will be a lot of time left to tinker with a car collection. Assuming our budding
entrepreneur is willing to postpone most of his tinkering until his business is established, here’s
how this statement could be rewritten to sound a little better to a potential backer.
Example 2:“My personal and business goals largely coincide. Successful implementation of this
business plan will enable me to meet the following personal goals: provide a good living for my
family; work in a field I know and like; achieve the personal satisfaction of seeing my plan come
true; enjoy the prestige and independence accruing to a successful business owner; provide a
legacy for my children; and provide the means to a richer and more fulfilling life for both myself and
my family.”
Notice that in Example 2, “time to work on cars” was translated to “provide the means to a richer
life.” Perhaps your statement will neither be this lyrical nor obfuscatory, but hopefully you get the
picture.
Antoinette Gorzak’s Personal Goal Statement
I want to accomplish a number of goals by starting Antoinette’s Dress Shop.
I want to prove that I can create a successful and worthwhile business by drawing on my
educational background and work experience. I feel that choosing and selling good clothes at a fair
price will be an honest service to my customers and the community generally. I want to spend my
time working with customers and people in the clothing business who share my values.
I want the chance to make a better living than I can make by working for others, along with the
responsibility and freedom to be my own boss.
D. Create the Appendix
This book covers the primary business building blocks all businesses share. Of necessity, it leaves
out any mention of items that are specific to any one business. Yet, in many cases, specific items
are critically important to the success or failure of your business. Your job is to decide which items
to include in your business plan.
For example, suppose that you are establishing a franchise business. You want to include all the
information about the franchise you can, including copies of the agreements and any information
the franchisor provides you about the operation. Or let’s say you have invented a revolutionary
new gadget. You’ll want to include a copy of the patent, patent search or patent application to
support your claims.
The key to deciding what to include is whether the information helps the reader understand your
proposal. Include proof of statements a lender or investor would be likely to question —for
instance, horse shoeing is a growth industry. Do not include support for obvious statements—for
example, people like ice cream. Don’t be afraid to edit by cutting and pasting, as long as you don’t
unfairly change the meaning.
Here are several things that you should commonly include in your appendix:
•prior years’ financial statements if you are expanding an existing business (profit and loss
statements and balance sheets from at least two prior years)
•copies of proposed lease agreements
•copies of bids for any needed construction work
•plans for construction work
•drawings of business signs or logos
•a list of what will be purchased for your opening inventory
•key employees’ resumes, if available
•copies of any newspaper stories or other publicity you have received which relates to your
business. This is particularly important for people who are entering service businesses, where they
are their own main product.
Finally, organize your material in a logical order and include a table of contents for the Appendix.
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Table of Contents for Appendix
1.Annual Survey of Business Conditions, New City Chamber of Commerce, January 19, 19__
2.Bank of New City Economic Forecast for 19__
3.Article from September 27, 19__ issue of “Woman’s Monthly” concerning the need for
specialized clothes for the working woman
4.Newspaper articles and picture of Antoinette when she put on a large and successful fashion
show for working women at the Rack-a-Frax Department Store
5.Copy of proposed store lease (critical pages only, others available on request)
6.Planned fixture layout for Antoinette’s Dress Shop
7.Antoinette’s Dress Shop sign drawing and bid, Smith Sign Co.
8.Leasehold improvements bid for shop, Jones Construction Co.
9.Quote from Meyer Supply on dress racks and cash register
E. Create Title Page and Table of Contents
Every business plan should have these two pages:
•Title page. This is a separate page with the title of your business plan, the date and your name
and address.
•Table of Contents. This appears after the Plan Summary and before the body of the plan. List
the headings for the major sections of your plan as well as important subsections. After you
assemble your plan and number the pages, come back and put the appropriate page number next
to each heading.
F. Complete Your Final Edit
By now, your material should be in a computer file or typed, double-spaced, in semi-final form.
Assemble your plan for a final edit. It’s wise to make a working copy of the entire plan that
incorporates all the changes you’ve made so far, either from a computer print-out or by
photocopying your earlier work. Read through everything you’ve written to spot any
inconsistencies or obvious goofs. Make any necessary corrections.
WarningFirst impressions count. You won’t have time to show your potential backers a rough
draft, followed by a final edit and more revisions. Somebody said that you only get one chance to
make a first impression; make your first impression your best.
1. Let Your Plan Rest
Put your completed and organized business plan aside for a day or two. You want to come back to
it as fresh as possible.
Assess the overall business message of your proposal. Does it make sense? Would you lend
money on the strength of it? Can you make it more convincing by strengthening some of its
sections? Can you document all your claims? If someone asks you to elaborate on your plan, are
you ready with facts and figures?
Check for consistency one more time. Your plan should say the same things in the financial
section that it says in the business description, and so on. For example, if Antoinette says she will
do free alterations, she must budget enough money for a sewing machine.
2. Final Details
Your plan needs a neat and businesslike appearance to give the best impression. If you are using
a word processor, make sure it has a laser or letter-quality printer. Most low-cost dot matrix
printers do not produce acceptable results. It should be placed in a three-hole binder or folio.
What about visuals, charts, colors and so forth? Simply watch the sophistication level of your
b i l If ’ i k l i l ill i l d l b i l
business plan. If you’re going to market a new laser printer, your plan will include elaborate visuals
that demonstrate your product’s abilities as well as your ability to compete in a sophisticated
market. On the other hand, if you’re planning to establish a bait and tackle shop on Pier 37, your
plan won’t need fancy graphs and charts.
As one of the last steps, number the pages of the plan and place the numbers in the Table of
Contents. If your report is thick, use divider pages with colored tabs to mark each major section, so
readers can find what they want quickly.
It may seem obvious, but good writing, good organization and good spelling can make all the
difference. If you’re uncertain about your plan, have it reviewed by a professional writer. If you
don’t know a reasonably priced experienced writer, check the local newspaper, an ad agency or
the English department at the local high school or college. For a modest fee, you may well be able
to improve your work substantially. But don’t go overboard—just make sure that your writing is
clear and to the point.
You may want to check out a word processing service in your area if you haven’t already done so.
Some of these services can offer effective and inexpensive ways to improve the visual appeal of
your plan at a reasonable price. Also, they may be able to offer suggestions about binding your
final plan. But above all, remember that your plan’s content will speak the loudest. Don’t make your
document so fancy that it detracts from the message or suggests that you like to spend too much
in inappropriate places.
When your plan is complete, make a point to hang onto the original; don’t give it away. Also, make
sure you keep a list of the people who get copies and the dates they received them.
Finally, take yourself out for a terrific dinner with someone whose company you enjoy. You deserve
it.
G. Consider Using a Business Consultant
It is often wise to have your plan reviewed after you think it is in good shape. For a modest fee, a
good small business consultant or CPA who specializes in businesses similar to yours may be
able to save you from a costly mistake or point out additional profit opportunities. At the very least,
he should be able to suggest how to improve the way your information is presented. If he gives
you minor suggestions for improvement, you can incorporate them easily. If the suggestions are
more major, give some thought before making changes. Remember, this is your business and your
proposal and it’s up to you to make the final decisions. (See Chapter 12, Section B, for a
discussion of consultants.)
Antoinette’s Discouraging Moment
Antoinette was pleased with her plan after putting it together, reviewing it and polishing it. She was
convinced she had a winner. Almost as an afterthought, she decided to have a business
consultant review her business plan before taking it to the bank. She was glad she did. In brief,
here is what the consultant told her.
“Antoinette, you have written a fine business plan and have a good idea for a business, but your
financial projections contain one serious error. I believe that you have underestimated the amount
of inventory you will have to carry by $45,000 to $50,000. Unfortunately, changing this number will
influence all your other financial projections and will mean you have to rethink your entire plan.”
The consultant then discussed the same inventory turnover problem we discovered in Chapter 7,
Section E1. The consultant suggested that Antoinette take a few days to decide if she wished to try
and raise more money and rework her entire plan or drop the idea.
Antoinette was stunned. She expected to discover some minor flaws, not a possibly fatal one.
Nevertheless, after much soul-searching, she was relieved to have uncovered the problem before,
not after, she began her business. She decided that raising the extra money for inventory wasn’t
an insurmountable problem. The question was whether she could reasonably increase her sales
projections enough to justify the increased inventory. To make this decision, she decided to again
talk to a number of women in the target audience to get a better idea of how often they might
patronize her store.
I shall leave the decision to you as to whether Antoinette decides to proceed with her plans or
decides to go back to work for a salary. After all, it’s much the same sort of difficult choice you may
have to make about your own business.
Chapter 10: Selling Your Business Plan
A. How to Ask for the Money You Need
Once your business plan has been polished to perfection, you’re ready to use it as part of your
campaign to get financing. If you haven’t done so already, you must decide where you’d ideally like
to get the money you need. You should know whether you prefer to get financing from a lender or
an investor. (This is discussed in Chapter 4.)
Before you call people and make appointments, give some thought to a few preliminaries. Like it or
not, you’re now a salesperson. Your task is to sell your plan. Don’t let this discourage you, even if
your experience with selling has been negative. There are all sorts of good ways to sell things,
most of which depend on a good product and an honest, straightforward presentation. I can’t tell
you exactly how to sell yourself and your plan, but I can make a number of suggestions.
1. Write a Telephone Pitch
Since some of your preliminary selling will be done over the telephone, you’ll want to be prepared.
Write a short statement of what you’re doing and why. Simply list your two or three major reasons
for entering or expanding this particular business. Then write down how much money you need
and how much you’ll pay the lenders or investors for using their money.
2. Telephone for Appointments
Avoid lengthy telephone discussions when making the call; you simply want to set up a personal
appointment to discuss all the details and ask for the money. If you’re not sure what to say, read
the sample telephone script below. You can adapt it to suit your style and needs.
“Hello, Jack? This is Antoinette. How are you today? How’s the family? Say, Jack, the reason I’m
calling is that I have a great idea for a new business and I’d like to meet with you and show you my
business plan to see what you think of it.
“Can we get together next Thursday morning in your office? Oh, you’d like to hear a little more
about my ideas before we meet.” (Antoinette briefly explains why she wants to open her
business—she can read her list of reasons if she’s nervous.) “Well Jack, I’m glad to hear that you
like my ideas. “
(Before she discusses the loan she wants, she asks Jack for an appointment. If she can personally
meet with him, she will wait until then to discuss money.)
“What about next Thursday? Oh, how much money do I need? I need a good-sized loan that I can
pay back in three years. So we can get together next Thursday morning in your office? Good. I’ll
see you at 10:00 in the morning. Bye, Jack.”
3. Meet Your Backers
Show up on time, well-prepared to answer any questions that may arise. Then let your natural
enthusiasm help you explain your business idea fully. Your basic objective in the meeting is
toanswer all the questions you are asked. If you can’t handle a question on the spot, do not make
up an answer—promise to find the information. Then promptly write, phone or visit with the
information later.
Talk about what the investment will do for your prospect. For example, bankers want to hear that
their loan will be soundly secured and paid back with no problem. Your relatives, on the other
hand, may be interested in family solidarity and the prestige of a family-owned business as well as
making a good investment.
Offer investors/lenders a fair return, as much security as you’re comfortable with and a little
romance. By romance, I mean to emphasize the fact that investing and lending money are very
personal activities. Your backer wants to feel good about you and your project. Your backer also
wants to share in your enthusiasm. So, in addition to presenting a potential lender or investor with
a sound financial plan, make sure he knows what makes the project exciting for you.
How to Handle Past Financial Problems
What if you’ve previously declared bankruptcy or have had other credit problems, such as a
lawsuit for a delinquent student loan? Don’t try to camouflage it. The banker or investor will
probably find out this sort of information from a credit reporting agency anyway, so it will help you
to be up front. However, you need to come up with a plausible—and true—explanation for your
past credit problems. It should also reflect your determination to meet your obligations in the
future.
Here’s the wrong sort of explanation for a student loan lawsuit:
“Yes, I acknowledge that I took a student loan and didn’t pay it back. I didn’t pay it back because
the militaristic system we live under is shameful. It’s my firmly held conviction that students have
an obligation to take what they can to partially balance the scales.”
Here’s a better way to handle the same situation:
“Yes, I did have a student loan and wasn’t able to pay it back. I had a rough time adjusting to the
working world for several years after I graduated and couldn’t come up with the money in time.
Since then, I have discovered work I like to do and am good at, as evidenced by my recent work
history. I have arranged a sensible monthly payment schedule, which I have been honoring.”
The second explanation shows that you will play by conventional credit rules. It also tugs at the
heartstrings a little, something that never hurts a good cause.
4. Ask for the Money
Here’s one bit of essential advice about meeting with your backers: You must ask for the money.
Don’t make the common mistake of discussing your plan in generalities and then saying “thank
you” as you walk out the door.
As part of every presentation, you must ask the potential source of funds if he will invest in your
venture or lend you the money. Repeat this phrase:
“Thank you for listening to my business plan. Will you invest/lend me the money I need to get
started?”
If you are turned down, don’t hang your tail between your legs and slink away in a puddle of
embarrassed perspiration. Ask why. Sometimes the reasons why a person won’t help finance your
business will be more valuable to you than the money.
5. Leave Your Plan With Your Backer
Give your potential backer a copy of the business plan after you’ve met with her. If at all possible,
don’t mail copies of your business plan, or summaries of your plan, to people before you meet.
Your presentation loses a great deal without your personality and enthusiasm. 1
1.It’s a good idea to number each copy of your plan and keep track of who gets which plan. That
way you can remember to follow up with everybody. Also, if you’re selling stock in a private
offering (see Section D2, below), you need to keep track of who gets the plans.
6. Follow Up
After a week or ten days, telephone all of your potential backers and ask if they have any questions.
If they do, you can answer them on the telephone or make an appointment to meet. Remember to
ask for the money you need.
B. How to Approach Different Backers
Chances are you have long since decided whom to approach first for a loan or investment. For
example, you might decide to first approach your father, then the Bank of Newcastle, then the
Small Business Administration. If you haven’t decided yet, review Chapter 4 and develop a list of
priorities now. Here are some ways you might approach specific types of backers.
1. Friends and Relatives
The first rule of borrowing money from people close to you is that you want to be very sure they
can afford to lend it to you and that you will be able to pay it back. Everyone who works with small
business financing can tell horror stories about business owners who had to deal with both the
failure of their enterprise and a bunch of angry relatives. Put simply, it’s no fun.
If you want to ask a relative or friend for a loan, much of your approach depends on the people
involved and your relationship to them. We can’t tell you much about either of these areas, but
here are some general suggestions:
•Approach your friends in a respectful and organized way. Don’t spring your request on anyone in
a social context.
•Don’t assume your relatives and friends know all your plans and accomplishments, even though
they know you well. Make your presentation just as professional as for your banker, even if it’s
less formal.
•Tailor your presentation to your audience. For example, if you stop by your brother’s place early
Saturday morning wearing your banker meeting best, he will probably laugh you out of the kitchen.
But bear in mind that your brother will be as interested as a banker in seeing your well-thought-out
business plan.
•Above all, give the person you’re talking to a graceful way not to lend or invest. Remember, this is
a business proposition, not proof of someone’s feelings for you. Once everyone is assured an
easy exit if they don’t have the money or desire to invest, you may find they will be relaxed enough
to give you a fair hearing.
2. Business Acquaintances
One good way to approach business acquaintances is by networking. For example, you might call
your attorney or accountant or someone you know who owns a small business and say, “I’ve got a
great business proposal in the retail clothing business. I need about $40,000 and the investor will
get a 25% annual return on the money they invest, paid monthly. Do you know anybody who might
be interested?”
She might reply, “Well, I’m not interested myself, but why don’t you try Joe Spats? He just retired
from the men’s wear business and has been a little restless lately.” Obviously, the next step is to
call Joe, mention your mutual friend’s name and set up a meeting. If he’s not interested, ask if he
knows anyone who might be. If you strike out with your accountant, attorney or business friend, try
your uncle, the owner of the local hardware store with whom you trade jokes or the investor who
put money into the bakery where you buy coffee.
3. Supporters
Supporters are people who care—often deeply—about the subject area of your business. Your
best approach is to try to enlist this enthusiasm and to honestly involve these people in your
dream. Often it’s best to involve supporters at an early stage so that you get the full benefit of their
good ideas.
If your business will have enthusiastic supporters, whether it’s a music store or a dentist’s office in
a rural area where there is no dentist now, these people may offer financial help. Figure out ways
to get the word out in the correct circles. If people care, they may respond favorably.
4. Banks
The main point to remember about banks is that they lend money, they don’t invest it. A banker will
want to know all about you and your business, but when it comes to saying “yes” or “no,” the
security of the loan will be paramount.
When approaching a bank for the first time, it is important to understand that within all banks,
responsibility for different tasks is divided. You want to talk to the loan officer in charge of small
business loans, not the trust officer or the person in charge of getting the automatic teller machine
to work right.
Bankers, like almost everyone else, prefer dealing with people they know. The ideal way to meet a
bank lending officer is to know a bank vice president socially and have her refer you to the loan
officer. However, if you are like most mere mortals and don’t have any old school ties or country
club connections, you will have to be creative. Almost anyone who owns a successful small
business will have friendly contacts at a local bank, as will accountants or business consultants.
See if you can arrange an introduction or at least get permission to use your contact’s name. If all
else fails, call the receptionist and ask the name of the small business loan officer.
Once you have a name, telephone for an appointment and briefly describe the subject matter you’ll
want to discuss. Show up on time with your business plan and loan package. Open the discussion
by talking about your personal business and/or employment history. Highlight your community
involvement while trying to discover common interests and acquaintances. Maybe you both have
children in Little League, maybe you both belong to the Rotary Club or the Symphony Association
or the Volunteer Fire Department. Who you are in the community and what you have
accomplished in other jobs or businesses is an important part of the loan application process.
While it’s important to be businesslike, it’s also important to take your time. After all, you want to
avoid giving the banker the impression that you’re in a hurry or are desperate—he is not going to
approve your plan immediately under any circumstances. Expect lots of checking and probably a
series of meetings. But never forget that to get a loan, you have to ask for it. As part of each
meeting with the bank, ask politely but specifically about the status of your loan.
Here are a few things to emphasize when talking to bankers:
•Your other bank business. If you don’t already patronize the bank in question, make sure the
lending officer knows you plan to do so if you get the loan.
•Security. Remember that the banker wants to lend money, not invest it. Tell the banker how sure
he is to get his money back with interest. If you can offer collateral for the loan, emphasize it. (See
the discussion of bank loans in Chapter 4, Sections C6 and D2.)
•Be realistic. Your banker wants to beassured about your knowledge and enthusiasm about your
business. But he also needs to know that you have your feet on the ground. If you puff too hard,
the banker is almost sure to be turned off.
•Be persistent. There are lots of banks. People who work with small businesses in your area can
probably suggest the banks that are most likely to lend to your type of business. If you are turned
down by one bank, make sure you understand why you were rejected. If it’s realistic, change the
items in your proposal that caused this rejection. Pay extra attention to aspects of your plan that
continue to receive negative comments.
5. Equity Investors(Venture Capitalists)
I use the term “venture capitalist” a bit loosely to include people who invest relatively small
amounts of equity financing. These may be relatives, acquaintances or anyone else with money to
invest in what looks to be a profitable business.
As you should know from reading the discussion in Chapter 4, Sections C7 and D5, the primary
distinction between a venture capitalist and a lender involves risk, security and amount of return.
The venture capitalist is traditionally willing to take more risk in exchange for a chance to make a
large profit. Here are some suggestions:
•Prepare a summary of what you are offering. In addition to the business plan you have already
designed, you need to tell the equity investor both what you are offering (partnership, limited
partnership, shares in a corporation, etc.) and what the projected return is.
•Do not promise a certain return. Especially if your potential investor is unsophisticated,
emphasize in writing that there is always some risk associated with a high potential return. Make
certain the investor knows your projections are just that—projections. In short, never guarantee a
return that you may not be able to deliver. The person putting up the money should even
understand there is a possibility she may lose the entire investment if things go very badly.
•Ask for names of others who might invest. If a potential investor turns you down for any
reason, ask if he knows anyone else who might be interested in investing. Don’t be surprised if
someone suggests putting a deal together for you for a fee. This means he acts as a finder or
broker as discussed in Chapter 4, Section D6.
6. Government Agencies
The hardest thing about getting money from the government is finding out which program can help
you. The second-hardest thing is finding out who in that agency can make a decision for or against
your proposal. Compared to these two, filling out the forms is easy.
Ask your bankers if they know any of the programs. Most will have some experience with at least
one of the agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, and can steer you in the right
direction. If you run into a wall, try your local elected representatives. They have aides whose job it
is to help people like you. If you find a program that looks good, be sure your elected representative
knows about your application. (See the discussion of the SBA in Chapter 4, Section F.)
C. What to Do When Someone Says “Yes”
Your first job when someone indicates his interest in loaning you money or investing in your plan is
simple—don’t faint. It’s fine to prepare for a negative result so you are not too disappointed if you
are rejected, but remember also to be prepared for a positive reception. If your proposal is good, it
will be funded sooner or later.
One good approach is to have a number of answers ready, depending on what the lender or
investor offers. It’s a little like being a major league baseball outfielder in a close game, with
several men on base. Depending on where the ball is hit, you need several alternative plans. You
can see some pretty funny plays when a fielder fails to think ahead and throws to the wrong base.
If you’re asking for a loan or a set amount of money at a certain interest rate and the lender says
“yes,” presumably you will, too. But, what if the lender offers you less than you want, asks for a
higher interest rate, wants collateral or proposes a different financial formula entirely? Make sure
you understand exactly what the proposal is. Think through your risks, especially if the lender
wants collateral. Compare the terms—for instance, a small increase in interest rate could mean
that you will end up paying more money for a longer period of time.
Don’t answer on the spot. Take the proposal home and see if you can live with it. If you can’t, meet
with the person again and explain exactly what you can’t accept and why. Then propose changes.
If this doesn’t result in agreement, start looking for other funding sources. It’s far better to say “no”
than to accept a bad deal. Anyone who has been in business for a while will tell you the times he
turned down poor business proposals were at least as important to his ultimate success as the
ones to which he said “yes.”
Example:Charlie wanted a loan of $20,000 to start a limousine service. The bank offered him
$20,000, but wanted equal monthly payments of $1,018 over two years. Charlie had expected to
make payments of $530 per month over five years. After he ran the different loan payments through
his cash flow schedule, he discovered that he couldn’t pay his own rent and grocery bill if he had to
pay $1,018 per month on the loan in the first two years. After he explained his problem to the loan
officer, the bank offered Charlie interest-only payments for the first two years. That was a much
better deal and Charlie took it.
D. Plan in Advance for Legal Details
Taking money into your business requires lots of legal documentation. You will present a more
professional image if you understand some of the basics.
1. Loans
Whatever loan you arrange will have to be reduced to writing. If you deal with a bank or other
institutional lender, it will have the necessary forms. However, if your arrangement is with a friend,
family member or private investor, these details will probably be up to you.
If your loan is simple—a specific amount of money, at so much interest, to be paid at regular
intervals—you can safely design it yourself. While a course in contract law is beyond the scope of
this book, the sample notes provided may help you focus on this task.
However, if the loan involves complicated default provisions, security and balloon payments, you
and the person you are dealing with would be wise to have it checked by an attorney. If you have
done most of the work, this shouldn’t be expensive; negotiate the fee in advance.
Example 1:
Promissory Note
Robert Lee of 1411 South St., Homer, Alaska and Gertrude Fox of 123 Main St., Fairfax, Alaska,
agree that Gertrude Fox hereby loans Robert Lee the sum of Fifty-Six Thousand ($56,000) Dollars
to be repaid on the following terms:
1.Principal and interest of 10% per year will be paid in equal monthly installments on the first day
of each month beginning the first day of September 2000 and continuing through the first day of
August, 2001.
2.On September 1,2001, the entire unpaid balance of principal and interest shall be due and
payable in full.
3.Should Robert Lee fail to pay an installment on the date due, as set out in Paragraph 1 of this
agreement, the whole sum of the principal and interest then outstanding shall, at the option of
Gertrude Fox or any subsequent holder of this note, immediately become due and payable.
4.Should Robert Lee fail to meet any condition of this agreement, and should Gertrude Fox or any
subsequent holder of this note take legal action to collect it, Robert Lee shall be responsible for all
attorney’s fees and costs.
Date: ________________
Robert Lee: ___________________________________
Date: ________________
Gertrude Fox: _________________________________
Example 2:
Promissory Note
$8,639.00 July 30, 1999
For value received, the undersigned promises to repay to Sebastian Grazowtski, of New City,
Oregon, the sum of EIGHT-THOUSAND SIX-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE DOLLARS
($8,639.00) including interest at 12% per year. This money is to be paid in equal monthly
payments of $315.00 (principal only) commencing on September 1, 1999 and continuing until
November 1, 1999, at which time the monthly payments will increase to $440.61 per month until
the entire balance of principal and interest is paid.
Should default be made in the payment of any installment when due, then, at the option of the
holder of the note, the entire amount of the principal and interest shall become immediately due
and payable. In the event of any default on this note, the holder shall be entitled to recover all
costs of collection of same, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
Date: ________________
Sebastian Grazowtski: ___________________________________
Date: ________________
Virginia Woo: _________________________________
2. Equity Investments
If you plan to arrange for an equity investment, you have considerable work to do beyond the
scope of this book. In short, you need to have a detailed plan for the legal form of organization you
prefer—a general partnership, limited partnership or small corporation.
Most entrepreneurs form corporations and sell shares to raise money. They are regulated by both
the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission and by their state’s corporation department. All
require conformity to numerous regulations designed to protect investors from dishonest
promoters.
While the regulations are extensive, they are designed to help the process. For example, some
stock offerings can be exempt from expensive filings if they involve a small number of
shareholders and a small amount of money. (Chapter 4, Section B2, discusses corporations and
partnerships in more detail.)
Example:Wilhelmina Whalen needed $35,000 to start a coffee shop. She decided to form a small
corporation and sell an investor 25% of the company for $35,000. If the coffee shop succeeded, as
she expected, the 25% investment would be worth $100,000 in three years. Harrison Flyright liked
Wilhelmina and her business idea. He offered $25,000 but wanted 50% of the company. Wilhelmina
thought that was too high a price and said “no.” Sometime later, Harrison increased the amount to
$32,000, and Wilhelmina agreed to give him 49% of the stock, thereby retaining control of her
business. As a California resident, Wilhelmina incorporated her business using How to Form Your
Own California Corporation, by Anthony Mancuso (Nolo). She issued 49% of the stock to Harrison
in exchange for his cash, and was off and running.
Chapter 11: After You Open—Keeping on the
Path To Success
A. Introduction
If you have followed all the steps in this book, you have completed a thorough plan for your
business. You should feel good about completing a hard, demanding task. It’s also important to
remember that completing your plan, finding the money you need and opening or expanding your
business are just the first three steps in your journey.
Many small business books take fairly extreme approaches. Two common ones can be
summarized as follows:
1.Here comes another lamb to the slaughter —hopefully this book can frighten him out of his dumb
idea.
2.Anybody can find fame and fortune in a small business; just read this book and get a big
strongbox in which to store your surplus gold.
I hope to steer a middle course by offering you both encouragement and caution. In my view, small
business is one of the last great frontiers of both individualism and opportunity, but like the prairies
of yesteryear, there are more than a few rattlesnakes among the poppies. This chapter contains
some highly personal recollections and observations on pitfalls and diversions you may encounter
on your way to business success.
B. Watch Out for Problem Areas
As a small business owner, you’ll have to work hard to meet your goals. It takes a lot of
determination and drive to make things happen. As a result, you may focus so completely on the
immediate goals at hand that you lose sight of the larger picture.
Recognizing that you don’t know everything is a good first step toward business success. If you’re
unsure of yourself in any particular area, please take advantage of the advice and help that is
there for the asking. That way, you’re less likely to be sabotaged by something you didn’t know—
and didn’t know you didn’t know.
1. It’s Lonely at the Top
As a business owner, you often make decisions in a vacuum. Most of the time you won’t have
immediate peers who understand your business and can also offer you good, dispassionate
advice. Probably you have to go it alone, and that can be pretty tough.
You and your business become targets for an army of job-seekers, government regulators,
charities, competitors, consultants, salespeople, insurance brokers and so forth. All these people
have their own goals and objectives, which may or may not coincide with yours. As a matter of
survival, you must become skeptical about what people claim they can do for you or your
business. This isn’t necessarily either bad or good, it’s just the way things are. You are the only
one who can decide what is good for your business.
You also have to manage relations with your three primary sources of business success:
customers, suppliers and employees. Again, each person in these groups has her own set of goals
and objectives. Your job is to reconcile all those competing interests so that your business
prospers.
Incidentally, I hope this doesn’t read like a nightmare to you, because it isn’t a nightmare. In fact, I
think it’s one of the best parts about being in business for yourself. As a business owner, you
decide the goals and the steps to reach them. The comparison is similar to the difference between
riding in the back seat of a car and driving the car. If you’re like me, you’re a lot more comfortable
when you’re driving the car.
Axiom: If you need approval from others to function at your best, you will be uncomfortable as a
business owner.
Advice: Get tough. Learn how to set goals and reach them. Learn when to take others’ views into
consideration and when to ignore them.
2. Anticipate Problems Before They Arise
Your business plan describes the risks your business faces. Periodically reread that risk
discussion to see if you’d like to add anything to the list. If you’re like most people, you’ll admit that
there may be something you missed and that you don’t know what it is.
Things always go wrong in business. Your job is to notice troubles and problems before they
become major hurdles. If you don’t notice the mistake until others tell you about the unfortunate
results, it may be too late for an easy, inexpensive cure.
If your business is like most, you’ll spend some time every day creating solutions to problems. But,
if you don’t like playing detective and prefer sailing along on smooth waters so much that you don’t
see the first signs of storms, you may have a problem surviving for long.
Here’s one way to keep a handle on problems. Every month, make a line-by-line comparison of
your monthly actual profit and loss statement to the monthly Profit and Loss Forecast you made for
your business plan. That way, you’ll see problems as they develop and before they become
serious. For example, if your profits are down by $1,400 and your advertising expenses are up by
$2,000, you’ll want to spend some time analyzing why that happened and what you should do
about it.
Another way to spot problems before they become too large is to listen to what your customers,
suppliers and employees say about your business. While some of their comments may be selfserving,
you can’t afford to ignore all their complaints and suggestions. Experience shows that
most customers will tell their friends about a problem they had with your business long before they
tell you. So, you may have to develop creative ways to encourage your customers to communicate
with you.
Axiom:The business owner constantly makes small corrections to keep the business on course.
The business may fail if the owner falls asleep at the wheel. Complacency kills.
Advice:Establish an information system that lets you know when the business goes off course.
You may also choose to have an experienced business consultant review your business
periodically.
3. You May Be the Problem and Not the Solution
“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” John Henry Newman, as quoted
in First Data Resources ad in “Credit Card Management,” January 1992, Volume 4, Number 10.
objectively and then changing their behavior to compensate. They just go ahead doing what
they’ve always done, regardless of the outcome.
Many businesses are started by people who are very good at a skill that people demand. But many
of these people know little about the complexities of starting and growing a business and can be
hurt badly by their lack of knowledge about basic management skills.
Axiom:Everybody has blind spots. Your blind spots can determine whether your business will
succeed or fail.
Advice:Ask a friend who knows you well where your blind spots are. You can’t afford not to get
help if they are critical.
4. Plan Beyond Opening Day
To illustrate the importance of planning for the operation of your business after it opens, I’d like to
share the experiences of Molly, a friend and former student, who wanted to open a bath supply
shop. Molly encountered a long series of depressing obstacles on the way to getting the money to
open her business. But since she was both stubborn and a fighter, each setback made her even
more determined. In truth, before long, getting the necessary money had become an obsession.
Finally Molly succeeded. Unfortunately, at this point she became strangely lethargic. Molly had put
an enormous push into opening her business, but she hadn’t prepared herself for the gritty day-today
realities of owning a business. Now Molly lacked energy, innovative ideas and the knowledge
of how to compete in a changing marketplace. Her business closed in twelve months, which was
just about how long it took to start it. She lost a lot of money and a lot of pride.
Axiom:You need a flexible continuing operating plan for your business.
Advice: Make sure you can adapt your business plan to changing circumstances.
5. Know When You’ve Succeeded—Or Failed
Success in a small business involves meeting your objectives, especially the one that says you
have a positive cash flow by a specific date. Normally it shouldn’t take long to know whether your
business will meet your objectives.
Many people wait a year or two to see whether the business will succeed. I think that’s a mistake.
Instead, figure out how long it should take for your potential customers to hear about your opening
and then add a month or two. In a retail business, that’s usually no more than three to six months,
depending on the type of business and how good a promoter you are. Put another way, your sales
will probably level out three or four months after you open. People in service, wholesale and small
manufacturing businesses may expect a longer start-up cycle. For example, a real estate agency
normally allows six to 12 months for money to begin coming in. That’s how long it takes to find
clients, negotiate deals and generally get known in the community.
What if your sales are less than you expected after you have been operating four months? Do you
triple the advertising budget and hope that sales will pick up? I hope not. A more sensible
psychologically difficult for many people to do. It’s all too easy to get hung up on proving that your
original plans were right, rather than accepting what the numbers tell you.
Example:Pierre, who had never run a business, bought a failed cafe. He was confident in his
abilities to turn the cafe around, since he had a degree in hotel management and was an
accomplished chef. Pierre projected $30,000 a month in sales and budgeted accordingly. Actual
sales in that first three months were $12,000, $18,000 and $16,000. Sales leveled off at the
$14,000 per month level for the next several months, resulting in a first quarter loss of $60,000.
Pierre cut back to where he was only losing $2,000 or $3,000 per month for the next three months,
but stuck to the idea that he could generate monthly sales of $30,000. In the meantime, he sold his
house and his wife’s jewelry to keep up with the bills. Many people suggested that he make
cutbacks so that he could make a profit on $14,000 per month or, as an alternative, sell the
restaurant. So far, he has refused. If he doesn’t take in $30,000 a month soon, he’ll go broke.
Pierre’s approach is not one I would recommend. Here is how I would tackle this sort of problem. I
would take the first four months’ total sales and divide by four to get a monthly average. Then I
would design a Profit and Loss Forecast to make a profit at that level of sales. To do this, I would
have to cut back. I would also pay a lot of attention to both the quality of my food and techniques to
get the word out in the community. For example, if Monday and Tuesday evenings were slow, I
might close the restaurant and start a cooking class those nights. If my efforts to generate more
business failed, I would think about closing.
Axiom: You can fool yourself into waiting too long for success.
Advice:Before you open your doors, establish a time when you will review your business
performance to see if you are meeting your goals. This forces you to compare your results to your
plan. If your business is not doing as well as it should be early, you still have a chance to make
changes before your money and energy run out. If you must close, it’s far better to close with a
small loss than to hang on and end up in bankruptcy.
6. Prepare for Success
Now let’s assume your business succeeds. Why shouldn’t it? After all, you’ve planned carefully
and worked hard. When it happens, be sure you relax and enjoy your success for a while before
you think about your next step. Everyone needs to know how to take a vacation, especially small
business owners.
If you’re considering expanding, first take a long look at your business and your personal goals.
Many wise people would rather make a decent profit with a small business than deal with the
headaches of a much bigger business.
Let me illustrate this point with the story of Fred and Fritz, who opened a breakfast restaurant
several years ago. After they learned the ropes, they made a good profit. Best of all, they went
home every day at 3:00 p.m. Then they opened a second breakfast restaurant and things were
was less than half of what was expected at the two new ones. Within two years, they both lost their
homes as well as their businesses and were back to working for someone else. Not surprisingly,
their new bosses thought it unreasonable for employees to go home at 3:00 p.m.
Axiom: Bigger is not necessarily better.
Advice: To make your business bigger, plan as carefully as you did when you began. Resist the
urge to over-expand. You will very likely continue to do well if you expand slowly and sensibly.
C. Getting Out of Business
What if your business is losing money and you’ve already scaled down your expenses, tried
innovative marketing techniques and made sure you have a high-quality product or service? You’ll
need to either fundamentally change your business or get out of it. You’ll be wise to make these
tough decisions promptly if you keep losing money. If you decide to get out of business, you have
these basic options.
1. Lock the Doors and Leave
Disappearing is almost always a bad idea unless you plan never to come back. Walking out
creates more problems than it solves, not to mention the hassles you will cause your landlord, your
lender, your other creditors and your friends.
2. Sell the Business
This may be a realistic option if your business makes a small profit, or sometimes even if it doesn’t.
Someone else may be satisfied with less than you are or may have visions of how to make a better
profit.
If you can’t raise enough cash to pay your creditors and they aren’t willing to take less than the
face amount of what you owe them, you may have to declare bankruptcy just to get rid of the
business. (See Section C5, below.) Or, if you’re lucky, you may find someone willing to buy your
business and try to turn it around.
Make a balance sheet for your business similar to the Personal Financial Statement you created in
Chapter 5, Section C. A simplified version might look like the following example, although you will
want much more detail.
Example:Sally’s bookstore has been limping along, almost breaking even for nearly two years,
and Sally can’t afford to keep the store open any longer. After preparing a balance sheet, Sally
sees that if she can sell her business for at least $16,000 cash, she can pay her creditors and
come out clean.
Sally’s Book Shop: Balance Sheet
Assets
Cash
$ 200
Inventory at cost
32,000
Fixtures and equipment at estimated sales price
5,000
Total Assets
$37,200
Liabilities
Accounts payable
$15,000
Income taxes and withholding payable
1,000
Total Liabilities
$16,000
3. Close the Business and Negotiate With Your Creditors
If you’re losing money every month and don’t think your cash flow will improve soon, you can close
your doors and make deals with your suppliers and other creditors. You can often negotiate to pay
much less than what you owe. You can offer them a small lump sum payment or you can offer to
make monthly payments. Either choice can be a good option if you have the money or income to
make payments.
4. Hold a Going Out of Business Sale
This usually involves selling all your merchandise at or below cost. It frequently makes sense for
retailers, because inventory of goods for resale is usually the retailer’s largest asset. There are
firms that make a business of liquidating businesses, or you can do it yourself. A liquidation sale
can sometimes be a better idea than selling a business. Take Sally’s bookshop, for example. If she
could sell her assets at cost, she could pay all her creditors and end up with $21,000 in cash. Even
if she only got 45¢ on the dollar, she would come out clean. Auctioneers and liquidators have lots
of tricks to get the best prices for everything. It’s worth investigating if you’re thinking about a sale,
especially if you have a lot of inventory.
5. Declare Bankruptcy
Federal bankruptcy laws are designed to help debt-burdened individuals and businesses get a
fresh start. You declare bankruptcy by filing papers in a bankruptcy court. Your creditors are
immediately barred from trying to collect what you owe them. So, at least temporarily, creditors,
even the IRS, cannot legally empty your bank account, repossess your property or cut off your
utility services. However, with court approval, certain creditors may be entitled to repossess your
property or resume their collection efforts.
If you own your business as a sole proprietor, you’ll need to declare personal bankruptcy. Your
personal debts as well as your business debts can be discharged—that is, wiped out—through the
bankruptcy process.
If your business is a partnership or corporation, the business itself can go bankrupt. You won’t
need to declare personal bankruptcy, however, unless you have business-related debts for which
you’re personally responsible.
Depending on your particular circumstances, you may have a number of different bankruptcy
options available. Most small business owners opt to either:
•lose some of their personal or business assets and cancel their debts or
•arrange to make payments on past bills from future income while keeping current on new bills and
retaining their property. In many cases, past bills may be paid off at a fraction of their face value.
If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy, you’ll need to research your options. Your options
will be affected by issues such as:
•the dollar amount of your debt
•whether you want to keep operating the business
•your personal liability—for example, you may have pledged your home or cash for a loan
•the type of property you own; some of your personal property is yours to keep, regardless of your
bankruptcy.For more about bankruptcy options for individuals, see Money Troubles: Legal
Strategies to Cope With Your Debts, by Robin Leonard (Nolo).
Chapter 12: Good Resources for Small Businesses
A. Introduction
The key to getting the help you need is knowing in which knowledge or business practice areas
you are weak. Once you’ve pinpointed areas where you need help, think about how you like to
learn. Some people prefer classes and study groups, while others do better reading a book or a
magazine. Some people benefit most by seeking out a trusted advisor who’ll take the time to
analyze their situation and make specific suggestions.
As much as possible, the resources below are presented in time-sensitive order. You will receive
faster help from the first source listed, business consultants, than you will from the last source,
formal education.
Regardless of how you choose to receive information and help, there are many excellent resources
available. As a wise consumer, take care to get your money’s and time’s worth. Just because some
person or publication promises to help you doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get good results.
B. Business Consultants
Business consultants are people who offer advice about how to run other people’s businesses.
Most have extensive business experience and want to help people like you succeed. Be careful
though—there are some inexperienced and unscrupulous people who call themselves business
consultants.
You’ll want to select a business consultant based on your needs. The two basic categories consist
of:
•General business consultants. They look at a business from the owner’s perspective and try to
solve any and all problems the business has. One of the best ways to use a general business
consultant is to meet for an hour or two each month and talk about your plans and upcoming
projects. Most good consultants can suggest different ways to reach your goals that will save you
time and money.
•Specialists. These people are experts in specific fields like advertising, marketing, sales or
employee benefits. Specialists try to solve limited problems as directed by the owner. For
example, you may hire an advertising agency to help you introduce a new product.
Use a consultant if you’re convinced that the advice will bring in more money than it will cost or you
require expertise you don’t possess. Bear in mind that a consultant can only give you advice. If you
don’t follow that advice, then you’ve wasted your money and everyone’s time.
Make sure that you like the consultant as a person; you probably won’t listen to advice from
someone with whom you’re uncomfortable. Ask the consultant to outline how he proposes to
approach your problem and about how much his approach will cost you. Your consultant should be
open to your feedback on his proposals. If you dislike most of what he proposes, you’ll be better off
finding another consultant more in line with your thinking.
WarningConsultant or future employee? Sometimes people use consulting as a way to find
permanent employment. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just make sure that you and your
consultant communicate completely if you think that’s an issue. You may or may not have any
openings or interest in hiring the consultant. You’ll want to be clear about the situation before you
begin your work together.
1. SBA/SCORE
This agency of the federal government is organized specifically to help people like you. The
primary purpose of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is to help small entrepreneurs find
financial assistance. (This is covered in Chapter 4, Section F.) The SBA also runs a consulting
service called the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE. This is an organized group of
retired business executives who offer free consulting to any business owner.
Most SCORE consultants are genuinely interested in helping you prosper, and they have some
valuable experience to share. The only cautionary note I offer is to make sure that you like the
consultant and that he has some experience that will be helpful to you. For instance, some
SCORE consultants with long, illustrious careers in big business may have little understanding of,
or patience with, the problems of small business. If you don’t feel the consultant assigned to your
case is a good match, don’t hesitate to ask for another.
For business owners on a tight budget, the help from SCORE can be invaluable. Make the nearest
SCORE office your first stop in looking for help.
2. State and Local Agencies
Many state and local agencies offer advice and assistance in addition to their help with securing
financing. In fact, counseling and consulting may be part of the package. Refer to Chapter 4,
Section F5, for resources on how to locate them.
3. Private Consultants
To begin looking for a private general business consultant or a specialist, start with the local
Chamber of Commerce, bankers and the service clubs like Rotary or Kiwanis to find people with
long community ties and stability. Many class instructors and college professors supplement their
income by doing private consulting; if you take a class from a person you like and want some
personal help, ask.
C. Books
The books covered in this section offer good information, take a helpful stance and are easily read
by most people. This is my list, not a comprehensive study of the subject. If your local library and
bookstores don’t have a particular book listed here, try checking with your favorite bookstore’s
copy of Books in Print to see if the book is still available. If so, you can have your bookstore order
it for you, or write directly to the publisher. Or, if you’re online, check with Amazon
(www.amazon.com) or Barnes and Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com).
Oh, and one more thing. Several of the books I list are also published by Nolo. That’s because
Nolo concentrates on how-to-do-it books and avoids the double talk that makes many business
books virtually unreadable. I recommend their approach highly, especially if you don’t have a
graduate degree in business administration. After all, a wise man once said that if you can’t explain
something to a twelve-year-old child, you probably don’t know your subject thoroughly.
1. Background Books
Here are some general business books that are particularly helpful for small business owners:
•Honest Business, by Michael Phillips, Salli Rasberry and Peter Turner (Shambhala Pocket
Editions). This book might as well be entitled “Zen and the Art of Small Business Success.” It is a
remarkable book focusing on the personal and psychological qualities it takes to succeed in a
small business. Much of this book’s advice stands conventional small business wisdom on its
head. A must-read.
•Small Time Operator, by Bernard Kamoroff (24th edition, Bell Springs Publishing, 1999). Gives
you the basics of keeping books, paying taxes, renting a building, becoming an employer, and
other important business details more thoroughly and better than anyone else. If you never buy
another business book, buy this one.
•The E Myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber (Harper Business, 1995). Contains practical advice
about small business management. Also, the author manages a telephone consulting business
that specializes in small businesses and employs 30 people; call 800-221-0266 for information
about management consulting by telephone.
•The Small Business Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Starting andRunning Your
OwnBusiness, by Irving Burstiner (3rd edition, Prentice Hall, 1997). This book is just what the title
says. I used it as a textbook in a small business management class with good results. Its only fault
is that it tries to cover all aspects of running a business, which sometimes results in hitting the high
spots, rather than the in-depth coverage many of these areas deserve. But each chapter has an
extensive bibliography of more detailed sources, which readers will find valuable.
•The Do It Yourself Business Book, by Gustav Berle (Wiley, 1990). A former SCORE executive,
Berle offers lots of basic business management ideas in a capsule format.
•The Entrepreneur’s Road Map to Business Success, by Lyle Maul and Diane Mayfield (Saxton
River Publications, 1992). The authors offer their first-hand experience in successfully turning an
idea into a business.
•Free Help From Uncle Sam to Start Your Own Business (Or Expand the One You Have), by
William Alarid and Gustav Berle (4th edition, Puma Publications, 1997). Guide to getting help from
many government agencies. Includes listing of programs and which agency to contact.
2. Choosing a Business
If you’re having trouble selecting a business idea, you’ll be interested in these books:
•101 Best Businesses to Start, by Sharon Kahnn and Philip Lief Group (Doubleday, 1992). A
comprehensive guide that includes cost and competitive factors on 101 businesses.
•Entrepreneur Magazine’s 184 Businesses Anyone Can Start and Make a Lot of Money, by Chase
Revel (Bantam, Doubleday, 1990). A good source book, although it tends to understate the
difficulties of starting any particular business and may be dated in some subjects.
•Franchise Opportunities Handbook: A Complete Guide for People Who Want to Start Their Own
Franchise, by Laverne Ludden (Park Avenue Productions Publications, 1998). A comprehensive
guide to franchises.
•Rating Guide to Franchises, by Dennis L. Foster (Olympic Marketing Corporation, 1988).
Essential facts about 300 franchises plus the author’s evaluations of each.
•Businesses You Can Start Almanac, by Katina Jones (Adams Media Corporation, 1996).
Business ideas from $1,000 to more than $40,000.
•Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow, by Marsha Sinetar (Dell, 1987). I recommend this
book, which has become a cult classic on the relationship between motivation and reward.
3. Finding Money
If you need more help getting your business idea funded, these books may provide some good
ideas:
•1997 Edition; The State and Small Business, A Directory of Programs and Activities (United
States SBA, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997). State-by-state listings of agencies and
programs designed to help you.
•How to Write a Winning Business Plan, by Joseph R. Mancuso (Prentice Hall Trade, 1992). Your
chances of obtaining money increase when your plan is presented properly. This book has some
valuable ideas on how to prepare your already completed business plan for presentation to
potential backers. This book is a beyond-the-basics approach to business planning.
•Going Public: Everything You Need to Know to Take Your Company Public, Including Internet
Offerings, by James Arkebauer, et al. (3rd edition, Dearborn Trade, 1998). A complete, up-to-date
guide.
•Pratt’s Guide to Venture Capital Sources (Venture Economics, annual). The definitive list of
venture capital sources.
•Entrepreneur Magazine’s Guide to Raising Money, by Entrepreneur Magazine (J. Wiley and
Sons, 1997). Good overview. Combine with Going Public, by Arkebauer (above) for a solid
foundation.
•Business Angels: Securing Start-Up Money, by Patrick Coveny (J. Wiley and Sons, 1998). Angels
can be the best money source—read this book if you’re looking for an angel.
•Directory of Venture Capital, by Kate Lister, et al. (J. Wiley and Sons, 1996). Venture capitalists
aren’t angels, but here’s a guide to them.
4. Marketing/Advertising
Here are some excellent books on marketing your business:
•Marketing Without Advertising, by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry (Nolo). An essential book
about advertising and marketing. An indispensable source to help you understand your business
from the customer’s perspective.
•Marketing High Technology, by William H. Davidow (The Free Press, New York, 1986). Although
the book discusses a few specific high-tech products, it is about the principles that define a
product, as opposed to a device, from the customer’s perspective rather than from an inventor’s
point of view. Absolutely necessary for anyone considering a new product.
•Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, by Al Ries and Jack Trout (Mass Market Paperbacks,
1993). This book invents the concept of distinguishing you from your competition in the customer’s
mind. It explains how that process works and how positioning has become one of the most
important factors in business success.
•Total Customer Service: The Ultimate Weapon, by William H. Davidow and Bro Uttal (Harper,
1989). A discussion of how customer service can provide a competitive advantage.
•Write Great Ads, by Erica Levy Klein (Wiley, 1990). If you must advertise, read this book before
you write the copy.
5. Personnel
If you need to hire anyone, you may want to glance through:
•Smart Staffing, by Wayne Outlaw (Upstart Publications, 1998). Essential read for business
owners who can’t afford an HR department.
6. Home-Based Businesses
Running a business out of a home has its own special issues. You’ll be interested in:
•Home Business Made Easy, by David Hanania (Oasis Press, 1998). Step-by-step guide to setting
up a business at home.
7. Corporations, Partnerships and Legal Matters
As I discussed in Chapter 4, you may want to organize your business as a partnership, limited
partnership or closely held corporation. The following materials will prove helpful.
Corporations
•How to Form Your Own California [Texas, Florida or New York] Corporation, by Anthony
Mancuso (Nolo). Includes step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate a new or already
existing business. The book comes complete with all tear-out forms necessary, including articles,
bylaws and stock certificates. Only applies to corporations in the four states listed.
•Inc. Yourself, by Judith H. McQuown (9th edition, Broadway Books, 1999). A popular guide to the
“maze of legal and financial vagaries” of incorporating.
•How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation, by Anthony Mancuso (Nolo). Applies to all states. Explains
all the legal formalities involved in forming and operating a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation.
•How to Form a California Professional Corporation, by Anthony Mancuso (Nolo). Contains all the
forms and instructions necessary to form a California professional corporation. An appendix
explains the special rules that apply to each profession.
Partnerships
•The Partnership Book: How to Write a Partnership Agreement,by Denis Clifford and Ralph
Warner (Nolo). The book includes just about everything a small businessperson needs to know to
establish his or her own partnership. The book also discusses limited partnerships, but in less
detail.
•Partners in Business: How to Choose and Build the Relationship Most Vital to Your Success, by
Melvin Wallace (Enterprise Publishing, 1982). This book focuses on the interpersonal side of
partnerships. It is really a psychology book, but a good one. It’s out of print, but worth looking for
online or asking your librarian to find.
•The Limited Partnership Book, by Arnold Goldstein (Garrett, 1998). Offers details on a particular
form of partnership.
Legal Matters
•The Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business, by Fred S. Steingold(Nolo). A
comprehensive guide to making decisions about legal matters in business. Includes tax-saving
methods, buying a franchise or existing business, hiring and firing employees and resolving
business disputes.
•J.K. Lasser’s Legal and Corporation Forms for the Smaller Business, by Arnold Goldstein (Editor),
(MacMillan, 1994). This book comes with a disk that includes many forms.
•Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law, by Attorneys Stephen Elias and Susan
Levinkind (Nolo). A good book on doing your own legal research.
•Legal Research Made Easy: A Roadmap Through the Law Library Maze, by Nolo and Legal Star
Communications. This one and a half-hour video gives you a guided tour through the basics of
legal research. Includes an instruction manual.
•Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court, by Ralph Warner (Nolo). Can help you if you ever find
how to sue.
•Basic Book of Business Agreements, by Arnold Goldstein (Enterprise Publications, 1983). Ready to-
use forms and samples.
•McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters, by Roy W. Poe (3rd edition, McGraw-Hill, 1993). One
hundred sample letters cover dozens of situations facing business owners.
•The Complete Book of Business Forms and Agreements, by Cliff Robertson (McGraw-Hill, 1994).
The title says it.
8. Women in Business
These books are specifically geared to women who are starting or running their own businesses:
•Invest in Yourself, by Peg Moran (Doubleday, 1992). An attractive workbook that helps you take
stock of your interests, talents and resources. It gives practical information about starting a
business and provides dozens of exercises to help you plan the entire scope of the project. I
recommend it highly.
•The Business of Bliss, by Janet Allon (Hearst Books, 1999). Tells women how to make a profit by
finding what they love.
•Dollar Bill Knows No Sex, by Wendy Rue, et al. (McGraw-Hill, 1997). Gives a fascinating personal
history of how a woman succeded in creating a prosperous business.
The next two books are recommended by the author of the above book, Peg Moran:
•A Woman’s Guide to Starting a Business, by Claudia Jessup and Jeanie Chips (H. Holt & Co.,
1991). A thorough discussion of how to start a business from a woman’s perspective.
•Prospering Woman: A Complete Guide to Achieving the Full Abundant Life, by Ruth Ross (New
World Library, 1995). Also helps women overcome negative feelings about money and material
success.
9. General Business
Here are some good general business books:
•The Entrepreneur and Small Business Problem Solver, by William A. Cohen (Wiley, 1990). You
need this book unless you never have any business problems. It tells you how to do almost
anything you want, from hiring a sales rep to negotiating a lease. Expensive, but highly
recommended.
•Corporate Life Cycles, by Ichak Adizes (Prentice Hall, 1990). Businesses have stages of growth
and decline, which are described here. By reading this book, you can recognize which stage your
and decline, which are described here. By reading this book, you can recognize which stage your
business is in and perhaps avoid making some mistakes.
•Successful Small Business Management: It’s Your Business, Mind It!, by David Seigel and Harold
Goldman (Fairchild Publications, 1980, 7 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003). It is a fact that
certain personality types are more likely to succeed in a business than others. This excellent 340-
page book identifies and discusses these human traits in a logical and well-organized manner.
The authors emphasize that you need to offer a quality product or service to treat your customers
honestly and with respect.
•Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (Dun and Bradstreet Credit Service, annual). Annual
listing of financial results of 800 business lines; helps plan your projections. Expensive, but worth it
if you’re unsure about financial norms for your business. Try your library first.
•RMA Annual Statement Studies (Robert Morris Associates, 1 Liberty Place, Suite 2300, 1650
Market Street, Philadelphia, PA). Used by banks for analyzing business loan requests. Compiles
current and historical financial data for nearly 350 industries by company asset and sales size.
Expensive, so try your library first.
D. Pamphlets
Well-written pamphlets may give you the information or background you need on a specific topic:
•Small Business Administration Pamphlets.The SBA publishes a good many useful books and
pamphlets covering everything from finance to insurance to exporting and franchising. One of the
best is “Starting and Managing a Small Business of Your Own.” Most pamphlets are available in
the reference section of your library. Or you can get a list from Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402. Or try P.O. Box 1000, Fort Worth, TX 76119.
•IRS Publications.Especially helpful publications include “Tax Guide for Small Business” and
“Employer’s Tax Guide.” People planning partnerships will also want to read an IRS pamphlet “Tax
Information on Partnerships,” IRS publication 541. Call a local IRS number or try 800-829-1040.
E. Magazines—Continuing Small Business Help
Most big business publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Forbes, are
not directly helpful to the little guy. Several publications I find of more value to start-ups are:
•Inc. (38 Commercial Wharf, Boston, MA 02110; 800-234-0999, 303-604-1465). This is primarily
oriented towards big small businesses (or small big ones), but nevertheless is well put together
and helpful.
•Home Business (9582 Hamilton Square, Suite 368, Huntington Beach, CA 92646; 760-738-1178).
Each issue is packed with how-to tips.
•Entrepreneur (P.O. Box 19787, Irvine, CA 92713-9440; 800-274-6229). This magazine is
normally available from your local newsstand. It covers a great many business opportunities in
depth and purports to give all the secrets needed to be successful in the hottest new fields.
•Success Magazine (800-234-7324). Entrepreneurial focus on many issues, including international
ones.
F. Computers and Business
A computer can be a wonderful time-saver that enables you to accomplish more than you could
imagine. Or a computer can be a frustrating time-sink that interferes with your ability to make your
business work. It takes time to learn how to use a computer and to correct the inevitable mistakes
you’ll make along the way.
The rest of this section should help you assess your particular situation and figure out what kind of
computer system best fits the needs of your business.
1. How Will You Use a Computer?
Any of the following business activities will undoubtedly be easier when done by computer:
•maintaining a large customer base
•carrying accounts receivable or accounts payable
•stocking many inventory items
•ordering products frequently
•advertising through the mail
•tracking customers’ buying habits
•frequently writing letters, reports, articles or other literature
•making catalogs, brochures or other marketing materials
•writing a large number of payroll checks (unless you plan to use an outside payroll service)
•engaging in extensive financial analyses that would require the use of spreadsheets.
It’s important to keep in mind that using a computer won’t improve your efficiency one bit if what
you really need is a change of management philosophy. For example, if you’re having problems
keeping financial records, a new or upgraded computer or cutting-edge software won’t
automatically solve your problem. You’ll still need to get organized and make sure the data is
entered correctly.
2. What Software Do You Need?
Since the main reason to have a computer is to use various software programs, a good way to
start figuring out which computer to buy is by defining which programs you’ll use.
Computer stores and software distributors can boggle you with the vast array of available software
programs. Do yourself a favor and start by answering this simple question: What tasks do you
want a computer to handle? Once you’ve made a list of tasks you want your computer to perform,
you can go to a computer store to see which programs have the features you want. Bear in mind
that your first visit to a computer store should be to obtain information, not to make a purchase.
Find out everything you can about the different programs and what computer systems they run on.
Perhaps the most useful source of information about software is a business that’s already doing
the same computerized tasks that you want to do. They’ll probably be happy to show you how well
—or poorly—their system works. Your computer store may be able to refer you to someone who’s
already using the program you’re interested in.
Another excellent way to research your options is to look at computer magazines, which generally
devote a large portion of every issue to a side-by-side comparison of specific programs, such as
accounting or payroll software. (See Section F6, below, for some specific resource suggestions.)
3. How Much Computer Do You Need—And How Much Can
You Afford?
Once you’ve identified the software you want to use, see how much memory it requires. You’ll
probably want to upgrade your software eventually, which will generally require more memory from
your computer. A good general rule is to buy a computer system that has at least twice the
memory capacity of what you currently need.
Another good rule is to purchase a computer with the fastest processor and the most memory that
fits into your budget. It’s an unfortunate reality that computers are increasing their speed and
storage capabilities at almost alarming rates, with software manufacturers creating software that
utilizes most of what the newest systems offer. You’ll want to get the most powerful system you
can afford in order to prolong its usable life.
Finally, make sure the computer system can be expanded at a reasonable cost. Potential
upgrades may include a new video card, additional RAM, extra hard drives and a CD-ROM drive. If
you don’t understand the upgradability capabilities or limitations of a computer system, you’re wise
to educate yourself before plunking down thousands of your hard-earned dollars.
4. PC or Mac?
When purchasing one or more computers for your small business, a basic choice you’ll have to
make is between IBM PC compatibles (PCs) and Apple Macintoshes (Macs). Historically, it’s been
less expensive to buy, repair and upgrade PCs than Macs. If you plan to buy a few or several
computers, this price difference is multiplied. For this reason, many businesses that need a
number of computers go with PCs rather than Macs, often saving many thousands of dollars. In
addition, some people choose PCs because they provide a much wider selection of software—
especially true for general small business software, such as accounting and bookkeeping
programs.
On the other hand, the main selling point of the Macintosh has always been the ease of setting up
and using Macintosh hardware and software. However, largely due to Microsoft and its Windows
operating system, this advantage has been waning in recent years. With the advent of the latest
version of Windows, some people believe that PCs rival Macs in being user friendly.
Another reason some businesses stick with Macs is that Macs traditionally have been used in
graphics and other design-oriented businesses. While several graphic design programs do exist
for PCs, the Mac platform has become somewhat of an industry standard in the graphics world.
When choosing between PCs and Macs for your business, base your decision on your business’
specific needs (which may include compatibility issues) and cost. Be sure that the software you
plan to use is made for the type of machine you buy. If you plan only to generate simple text
memos and use a standard spreadsheet program every week or so, then you’d probably be fine
with a basic PC system. If, on the other hand, you were starting a graphic design business, you
might want to stick with the Mac platform—which dominates the industry, as mentioned above—in
order to be able to use Mac graphics software, and to be compatible with the systems of other
businesses you might often deal with, such as a printer or specialty service bureau. (Also, keep in
mind that Apple’s PowerMac machines can handle both Macintosh and PC-compatible
documents.)
In general, if there’s no specific reason to purchase a more expensive system, don’t let computer
industry hype push you into throwing your money away.
5. Where Should You Buy a Computer and Software?
If you’re a novice, you need to know about your three main sources for buying a computer system:
•Local computer store. One option is to buy your computer at a nearby store, which can help you
through your learning curve. You’ll want a store that is known for its service department and
customer satisfaction—not a sure thing at a large chain, where good customer service can be hit
and miss. Unfortunately, some customer-oriented computer stores are small companies that can
go out of business.
•Mail order from a reseller.The second option is to buy your computer from a mail order house that
resells computers manufactured by companies such as Apple, Compaq or Packard Bell, to name
just a few. You’ll probably get the best price this way, but there’s another middle person to deal
with should problems arise.
•Order from manufacturer.Another option is to buy your computer hardware directly from the
manufacturer, such as Apple, IBM, Compaq, Dell or Gateway (there are a few others that are
equally good). Most manufacturers have very good support and repair policies, but you may have
to ship your system back if you have a problem.
Some computer stores, and most system manufacturers (especially through mail order), will throw
in software or give you a discount when you buy your computer system. This can easily add up to
many hundreds of dollars worth of software.
When you’re ready to purchase software, look into discount mail order software, which is usually a
great deal. Some of the large mail order houses include MacWarehouse, Micro Warehouse and
PC/Mac Connection. If you later run into problems with a software program, almost all software
PC/Mac Connection. If you later run into problems with a software program, almost all software
publishers have technical support people who are only a phone call (sometimes long distance)
away.
6. Resources for Purchasers and Owners of Computers
If you want to know more about making an informed purchasing decision or want to learn a variety
of things about computers, try This Is the Best Computer Book: The Secret Guide toComputers, by
Russell Walter (24th edition, Russell Walter Publishing, 617-666-2666 to order). This book
manages to convey an amazing array of information about PC compatibles and Macs while being
very fun to read.
A number of other excellent books can also broaden your horizons, including:
•The Macintosh Bible, edited by Sharon Zardetto Aker (7th edition, Bible Series)
•PCs for Dummies, by Dan Gookin and Anthony Rathbone (6th edition, IDG Books), and
•Windows 98 for Dummies, by Anthony Rathbone (IDG Books).
Useful magazines for selecting computer systems and software include PC magazine, MacWorld
MacUser, and Home Office Computing. You may also want to go to your local bookstore or library
to browse through books written for people who are buying or using computers.
Finally, whatever system you purchase, realize that no computer is so friendly that you won’t benefit
from reading at least parts of your computer manuals.
G. Online Information
There is a wealth of information and opportunity for small businesses online. All you need is a
computer, a modem, an Internet service provider (ISP) and your telephone line. Once you have
access to the Web, you’ll be able to find information on virtually any aspect of running a small
business—from raising start-up money to minimizing the tax bill for a profitable business, and
everything in between. There are many sites dedicated to small business issues, often with a
particular focus such as marketing or management. It’s safe to say that no matter what your area
of interest, you’ll be able to find information to suit your needs.
1. Getting Online
Setting up an account with an ISP is a lot like getting telephone or cable TV service. You typically
pay a monthly fee (and sometimes a one-time set-up fee) for access to the Internet. You’ll usually
get an email address with your account, and information on how to send and receive email. Most
ISPs provide you with the software necessary to browse the Web—usually Netscape Navigator or
Internet Explorer—as well as other programs that are used for different Internet applications. You’ll
set up your software for your computer to dial in to the number provided by the ISP, and once the
call goes through, you’ll be connected. The monthly cost for unlimited hours of access generally
runs about $30 or so. Most ISPs also offer cheaper limited access accounts, such as 10 or 20
hours per month, but you will be charged if you exceed those limits of usage.
Most ISPs offer services in a local region, such as in a particular area code. Some ISPs, such as
Prodigy, Mindspring or Earthlink, are available nationwide. If you plan to travel a lot, you might
consider using a national service that offers an 800 dial-in number or different local numbers for
each area code in the country. Look in the yellow pages under headings such as “Internet Service
Providers” or “Computer Online Services” for a listing of ISPs available in your area. Or, if you can
access the Web at a public library or through a friend, you should be able to find lots of information
on ISPs online. A search of Yahoo! (a top search engine) of the term “Internet service provider” will
provide links to many sources of information. You’ll find Yahoo! online at www.yahoo.com.
2. Where to Find Small Business Information
Navigating the Web for specific information is best learned by experience, but I can provide a few
pointers on places to start. Detailed information on browsing the Web can (and does) take up one
or more volumes of its own. For more information, see “Resources for Web Research,” below.
Resources for Web Research
Books describing the Web and techniques for navigating it can be very helpful, but have the
tendency to become outdated alarmingly fast. Below is a list of a few valuable guidebooks, but be
sure to check your local bookstore or Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) for updated titles.
•The Internet for Dummies, by John R. Levine, Carol Baroudi and Margaret Levine Young (5th ed.,
IDG Books Worldwide). Gives a good overview of connecting to and using the Internet, including
information on picking an ISP, configuring your software for optimum performance and building a
basic Web page.
•Net Research: Finding Information Online,by Daniel J. Barrett (O’Reilly & Associates). Offers
strategies for efficiently finding the information you need.
•Webonomics: Nine Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web, by
Evan I. Schwartz (Bantam Doubleday Dell). Written by a contributing editor to Wired magazine,
this book offers insights into how businesses can use the Web to achieve success.
a. Business-Oriented Websites
As mentioned above, there is a huge number of business websites. Particularly with the explosion
of e-commerce, business has become one of the most popular online subjects. To find these sites,
a good bet is to use a search engine such as Yahoo!, HotBot, Lycos or Excite (see “Search
Engines,” below, for addresses). When you enter the terms you’re interested in, such as “business
plan,” “contracts” or “incorporating,” the search engine will retrieve the websites that contain those
keywords, and hopefully the information you want.
Another way to find business sites is to keep your eyes open when reading business publications
or watching business TV shows. Magazines and TV programs often provide Web addresses of
sites that contain information relevant to the article or show.
Finally, once you’ve found a site, be sure to check whether it has any link pages. Websites often
provide a list of links to sites that they assume readers may want to visit. In effect, your homework
has already been done for you—the creators of the site have found other worthwhile sites and are
sharing their knowledge with you. This is one of the best ways to find other related sites.
Search Engines
Much of the navigating process online consists of searching the Web for certain words or phrases.
Below is a list of the most popular search engines online:
•Yahoo! www.yahoo.com
•HotBot www.hotbot.com
•Lycos www.lycos.com
•Excite www.excite.com
•Infoseek www.infoseek.com
b. Conferences and Newsgroups
In addition to the information presented in various websites, there are lots of opportunities for
businesspeople to interact on the Web, and many won’t cost you a cent. Some websites offer chat
rooms where you can communicate “real time” with others who are present, basically by typing in a
question or comment which will appear to everyone else in the chat room instantaneously. Any
replies will also appear to all participants as soon as they are submitted. Other sites maintain
bulletin boards, sometimes called conferences, where users submit questions or comments which
appear on the board for others to see. If another user wants to reply to a given post, she submits a
response, which also gets posted. In this way, some topics generate long “conversations” among
users, which are often called “threads.” By reading and joining in these threads, you can learn from
other people who have similar interests and perhaps more experience than you in a particular
area. Of course, it’s up to you to decide if other posters really know what they’re talking about.
To find sites that offer chat rooms or conferences, you’ll simply have to look around. Visit
business-related sites and look for these interactive options. Or try using a search engine to find
an interactive site that is focused on business issues. A particularly informational conference site is
The Well (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), which has ongoing conferences on hundreds of topics,
including small business. While many conferences are free, there is a small monthly fee to join The
Well. Its address is www.well.com.
Another interactive area of the Internet is called the Usenet. The Usenet offers thousands of topicrelated
conferences called newsgroups. The scope of the Usenet’s subject areas is truly
staggering. Like conferences described above, newsgroups consist of an ongoing discussion
among users who post messages to the group. Unlike conferences, however, the Usenet isn’t
accessed from a website; it occupies its own realm of the Internet. Most Web browsers allow users
to access the Usenet, and other software is available specifically for Usenet access. There are no
fees to use the Usenet.
Nolo.com: Self-Help Law Online
Nolo.com, the website maintained by Nolo, provides free self-help business, legal and consumer
information, including such features as:
•a comprehensive Legal Encyclopedia, including a Small Business category
•sample chapters from Nolo self-help business and legal books
•demonstration versions of Nolo business and legal software
•frequently asked questions (FAQs) on a wide range of business, consumer and legal topics
•an update service that summarizes important court decisions and legislation affecting Nolo books
and software
•user feedback and user polls
•links to other online legal resources
•an online catalog containing over 100 self-help business and legal products and online ordering,
and
•an archive of ever-popular lawyer jokes.
You’ll find Nolo.com at www.nolo.com.
H. Formal Education
If you’re a little weak in some important business areas, such as basic marketing, you may want to
investigate some classes. But that doesn’t mean that you have to enroll in a two-year MBA
program with a major in Marketing just to learn a little about how to sell your products.
The best way to spend your time and money wisely is to know specifically what you want to learn.
If you have a certain direction in mind, you will be less likely to take a class that doesn’t help you or
be taken in by a slick promoter. Study the class outline carefully to make sure you need the
material covered in the class. Also make sure that the instructor is well-qualified. Avoid classes
that offer to solve all your problems or make you rich in one day; they are probably trying to sell
you something. Here are your basic choices:
•High School Business Classes. Many high schools offer continuing education programs in
evening classes. These classes provide basic, fundamental information and skills and generally
don’t offer the sophistication or broad coverage that you’ll require. They can be an excellent choice
if you lack a basic skill you’ll need in your business. For example, high school bookkeeping
classes and accounting classes can give you a basic foundation of knowledge and practical skills.
•Junior or Community College Business Programs. Business education is a vital part of many
two-year colleges. Classes often are taught by professionals from the community and offer
specific, real world information. The more popular classes are commonly taught in both day and
evening sessions. You usually can take just the classes that interest you, unless you wish to enroll
in a structured degree or certificate program.
•Short Classes and Extension Programs. Some colleges and universities offer a variety of
classes that are not part of a degree program. Some of these classes take place in one or two
days, while others take longer.
•Universities and Colleges. Most universities and colleges offer classes only to students enrolled
in a four-year program. Courses tend to be academically rigorous, but provide limited practical
business information.
•Graduate Business Schools. Many universities have specialized business schools and offer
graduate degrees called a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) for students who
have completed a four-year college degree. I don’t think an MBA degree is necessary to succeed
in small business. I’m aware of no relationship between academic achievement and small
business success. In fact, an MBA hinders some people.
•Entrepreneurial, Profit Making Programs. Private promoters organize many classes and private
seminars. Some classes can be very valuable, but many are a complete waste of time and money.
Fees can range anywhere from free to hundreds of dollars. And supposedly free or inexpensive
seminars can be a ploy to induce you to buy something later.
Appendix 1: Business Plan for a Small Service
Business
Overview
Service businesses have simple financial projections. Usually, fixed expenses are equal to total
costs and the owner’s objective is to make sure that sales revenue exceeds fixed expenses.
Investors and lenders look for proof of the plan’s revenue forecasts, since the plan succeeds or
fails on that forecast. The following plan contains a thorough projection of sales revenue and a
discussion of why the owner thinks the revenue forecasts are achievable.
This plan contains a different way of looking at a Cash Flow Forecast. I think this different
presentation is easy to follow. You can use this new format or the format in Chapter 7.
I lost track of the owner and don’t know whether she was successful. The plan is for a small
personnel agency located in a city of about 70,000, which specializes in placing people in
secretarial, clerical and word processing positions. Basically, all you need to get started in this
business is a state license (in many states), a desk and a telephone. However, as in most other
businesses, to do well you also need to know the business intimately, be able to manage your time
effectively, have good sales ability and be convinced that you will succeed.
This plan would benefit from a more thorough presentation of its components and I recommend
that your plan take the more thorough route.
Business Plan
CENTRAL PERSONNEL AGENCY
By: Eleanor Buss
November 3, 19__
A. Introduction and Request for Funds
This is a request for a loan of $6,000 to establish the Central Personnel Agency as my sole
proprietorship. Central Personnel will specialize in providing South City employers with secretarial,
clerical and computer (word processing) skilled personnel. I am presently a junior partner in Mid-
Mountain Personnel Services, a similar type of personnel agency with headquarters in North City. I
manage the branch office in South City. Mid-Mountain provides me with an office in a good,
downtown location and a moderate salary. I like what I do and feel that helping people find work is
a creative and satisfying activity.
The $6,000 loan, which I am hereby requesting, will enable me to open my own employment
agency, make my own business decisions and substantially increase my income. To do this, I will
be competing with my former employer, Ms. Jackie McCabe (dba Mid-Mountain Personnel
Agency), to some extent, even though her headquarters is, and will remain, in North City. To
minimize any hostility that could hurt business, I have kept Ms. McCabe informed of my plans. She
supports them, has agreed to allow me to take over the lease on the South City Office and is
enthusiastic about working out a referral plan under which we will work cooperatively when we are
dealing with employers located in each other’s prime geographical area.
My best estimate of sales revenue and cash flow (both of which are spelled out in detail in this plan)
shows that even using conservative estimates, I will earn a significant profit once my new business
has been underway six months. My background experience in the personnel agency field, and past
record of success, support my view that I will succeed. I am eager to begin.
B. My Experience and Background
As my resume sets out in detail, since 19__ I have worked for three different employment agencies
in this area, successfully finding jobs for many people. This has given me the opportunity to learn
the personnel agency business thoroughly, including how to find employers needing workers, and
how to locate and screen desirable employees.
During the years I was acquiring this valuable experience, I always planned to open my own
business. Last year, in the hope of achieving this goal, I formed a partnership with Ms. Jackie
McCabe, who has operated Mid-Mountain Personnel Service in North City for several years. As a
junior partner, my responsibility was to open a South City branch office, which I did. My goals were
to increase my income and to have more control over business decisions than I had as an
employee. While the personal relationship between Ms. McCabe and myself is cordial, the
partnership has not worked to our mutual satisfaction. This has been largely because Jackie’s
main office in North City has grown so fast it has consumed all of her energy. This has left me
operating the South City branch largely by myself, at the same time that a substantial portion of the
profits I have generated go to Jackie under the terms of our partnership agreement.
As part of terminating our partnership agreement, Jackie and I have agreed that I will retain the
lease on the present Mid-Mountain office in South City. In addition, we have signed a written
agreement (available upon request) which provides that we will share all fees and commissions
when one of us places an employee with an employer in the other’s primary market area. Having
made this agreement, I need accomplish only two more tasks before I can open my business. The
first is to take and pass the state personnel agency license examination. I expect to do this in
January with little difficulty, as I have received top grades in the preparatory course given by North
State Community College. My other task involves the purpose of this proposal. I need to borrow
enough money to begin business.
C. Resume: Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Buss
RESUME OF ELEANOR ‘ELLIE’ BUSS
Address:
564 Sampson Avenue, South City, OR 96785; Telephone 567-8976
Business Address:
c/o Mid -Mountain Personnel Services, 453 Second Street, Suite 300,
South City, OR; Telephone 765-8970
Marital Status:
Single
Professional Experience:
May 1983 to Date
Junior Partner; Mid-Mountain Personnel Services. As account
executive, I locate employers needing assistance, meet with
employers to ascertain their personnel requirements, screen, counsel
and evaluate applicants and refer qualified applicants to employers.
Also, I assist applicants in preparing resumes and in preparing for
interviews. I average ten placements per month, of which one-half are
positions where the applicant pays the fees; my gross average billings
are $3,500 per month.
1982 to 1983
Account Executive; Woodshaft Personnel Agency. Responsible for
all the same functions as listed above. Average gross billing was
$3,500 per month, which represented an average of ten placements
per month.
1982
Trainee Account Executive; Yolo Personnel Agency. Screened
and evaluated applicants; solicited job openings with appropriate
clients; completed placements; average billings $2,500 per month.
1981
Purchasing Agent; Parsifone Electric. Ordered material and
inventory to coincide with contract process; estimated commercial and
residential jobs; negotiated all materials purchased to assure cost
control and maintain profit margin on bids.
1980 to 1981
Scheduler; Graphicscan. Production scheduling for printing and
graphic studio; estimated jobs for clients.
1975 to 1980
Production Scheduler; Acme Pre-Built Components Co.
Scheduler/coordinator for large manufacturer of structural components;
coordinated finish room schedule with customer priority and
transportation availability; interfaced with other departments and sales
staff to ensure customer satisfaction.
D. Business Description of Central Personnel Agency
Central Personnel will specialize in secretarial, clerical, word processing and computer operator
jobs, a field in which there is constant turnover. I will also provide services for technical and midmanagement
jobs, but expect it to take several years before these latter areas provide a
substantial portion of my income.
My particular specialty will be women reentering the workforce after completing family-raising
responsibilities. In this connection, I have developed a successful liaison with the South City
Women’s Resource Center. This group, which is partially funded by grants from local businesses,
provides training, seminars and counseling for reentry women and will provide me with a source of
many highly motivated potential employees.
Because of my two-year history in the personnel business in South City, I have placed many
employees and expect that the already developing trend toward much of my business coming from
repeats and referrals will continue. Also, in cooperation with the Women’s Resource Center, I shall
continue to provide detailed counseling to applicants (especially those who have been out of the
labor market for several years or more) on how to compose resumes and take interviews, as well as
on which jobs to seek. In addition, I plan to work closely with employers to assist them in
determining what type of employee they need, how much they should pay, etc. I want employers to
feel that my pre-screening is honest and thorough and that by dealing with me they can save time
by not having to interview clearly unsuitable candidates.
E. Central Personnel Agency Marketing Plan
1. How I Will Find Qualified Employees
The secret to success in the personnel business in South City is finding high quality employee
applicants. Because of the relatively rapid turnover among clerical employees, and because the
South City economy is expanding, it is relatively easy to place highly motivated employees with
good skills once they have been identified. Because of my prior two years in this business and this
area, many of my initial candidates will come from repeats and referrals from people I have placed.
Others will be referred as part of my work with the Women’s Resource Center.
In my experience, there are several other effective marketing techniques to develop a wider
community base. Classified advertising of job openings develops many prospective employees.
Also, maintaining an active presence in the Chamber of Commerce and other traditional business
and civic organizations enables prospective employers to recognize me as a person of integrity
and stability. In addition, as discussed above, I shall continue to expand by association with the
South City Women’s Resource Center, a group that counsels women reentering the labor force. I
also intend to provide free seminars of my own on “How to Find a Satisfying Job.” Finally, I will
regularly mail a brief newsletter to all major area employers listing all the job areas for which I have
qualified applicants.
2. Competition
South City has three active personnel agencies in addition to the branch of Mid-Mountain, which I
now run and which will close as part of the opening of my new business.
a. Bill’s Personnel Services:This is the oldest and largest in the city. Recently, Bill’s has suffered
from their own high employee turnover, largely because it is run by an absentee owner. Bill’s
traditionally advertises heavily and depends on aggressive pricing policies to compete. They
provide little employee counseling and, in my opinion, do not screen potential employees with
sufficient thoroughness. At Mid-Mountain, I have already demonstrated that my personal approach
to the needs of both employers and employees as opposed to Bill’s high volume approach is
welcomed by the South City marketplace.
b.Strictly Business: This firm was recently acquired by an experienced professional counselor
who heads a staff of three good counselors. Its primary emphasis is on technical management
people and it handles clerical and computer operator jobs only as a sideline. Eventually, Strictly
Business will be a competitor as I develop more mid-level management clients, but initially, they
will not be a problem as our markets are so different.
c. The Woodshaft Organization: This agency has a staff of three and is directly competitive.
Woodshaft spends about $1,000 per month on advertising, but does little work with community
organizations such as the South City Women’s Resource Center. The owner’s husband died
recently and as an understandable result, the business seems to lack energy. I believe that the
Woodshaft Organization will offer the most competition over the next several years. However,
because of the expanded South City job market, my own proven track record at Mid-Mountain and
my commitment to hard, creative work, I feel there is plenty of room for my new enterprise to
prosper.
3. Market Growth
South City has a large number of the type of jobs I specialize in, with plenty of growth potential.
Most of the other agencies are more interested in technical job categories. South City’s growth as
a regional financial and market center will ensure commensurate growth in job openings and
should encourage the trend for women to reenter the job market. My approach to counseling both
employers and employees is unique locally and I expect a continuing growth from my commitment
to individual service, because this approach saves everyone time and expense in the long run.
My new downtown location (the office I will take over from Mid-Mountain) is already established,
convenient and close to the Women’s Resource Center, with whom I work closely.
NoteIf you plan a large service business and need to borrow more money, it would be wise to back
up this section with growth projection statistics. These are probably available from local banks, the
Chamber of Commerce, etc.
F. Financial Projections
1. Introduction
The key to the prosperity of Central Personnel Agency lies in quickly getting the business into the
black and then building on that initial success.
The Profit and Loss and Cash Flow Forecasts in this section show a significant profit and positive
cash flow from the beginning of operations. These results depend on my ability to generate
revenue at the rate of $4,000 per month for the first two months and $5,000 for each month
thereafter. I have no doubt about my ability to do this based on the job orders already on the
books. This is because I have most of the employee applications necessary to fill these jobs on file
and know how to locate the rest. And even if my revenue forecasts for the first two months are off
by as much as $1,500 per month (37.5%), I will still be able to pay business expenses, service the
loan and cover my basic living expenses.
2. Loan Security
My personal financial statement is included in Section G, below. I believe my personal signature is
more than enough security for a loan of $6,000, since I have substantial assets. Nevertheless, I
will consider the possibility of pledging some assets as additional security if appropriate.
Incidentally, my past personal credit reports will show that several years ago I got behind on my
payments on several accounts (I have never defaulted or declared bankruptcy). During the period
in question, I was helping several family members who were experiencing emergencies (e.g.,
illness, sudden loss of work, etc.). These necessitated the diversion of the maximum amount of my
financial resources to members of my family who were in greater need. All these problems have
since been resolved, the money repaid me and I am happy to say that all my accounts are current.
3. Profit and Loss and Cash Flow Forecasts
Financial forecasts for Central Personnel follow.
G. Personal Financial Statement: Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Buss
Balance Sheet
ASSETS (at market value):
Cash in banks
$400
Stocks
United Inc.
450
Universal Corp.
300
Household furnishings
6,000
China collection
2,000
2 Horses
4,000
Horse trailer
1,500
Surrey and buggy
3,000
Tack
1,000
Car, Mazda RX
7,000
Residence
95,000
Total Assets
$120,650
LIABILITIES:
First on property, $771 per month
$76,000
Auto loan, $166 per month
6,000
Credit Cards: Visa $80 per month
1,500
Macy’s $40 per month
700
Business Loan, $50 per month
3,000
Total Liabilities
$87,200
NET WORTH (Total Assets – Total Liabilities)
33,450
TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET WORTH
$120,650
Income & Expenses
ANNUAL INCOME:
Professional fees
$28,000
Dividends
600
Total Income
$28,600
ANNUAL EXPENSES:
Loan Payments
1st
$9,252
Car
2,000
Visa
960
Macy’s
500
House-related expenses
4,000
Property taxes
950
Insurance
300
Living expenses
10,000
Total Expenses
$27,962
H. Business Risk Analysis
Every business faces risks. Central Personnel Agency is not an exception. However, I believe that
the risks facing my business are manageable. I see nothing that will seriously threaten the
business.
Here are the major risks I anticipate and how I plan to deal with them.
1. Partner Problems
When faced with the prospect of my leaving and taking an income source away from her, my
current partner, Jackie McCabe, the owner of Mid-Mountain Personnel Services, was initially
somewhat angry. However, when we discussed the fact that she had more work on her hands in
North City than she could cope with and that we could cooperate on future job placements, she
became supportive of my starting my own business. Nevertheless, Jackie could still open a
competitive agency at any time—which might threaten my new accounts. Therefore, I am
volunteering to pay her a one-third share of all future job orders developed from connections I
made while the partnership was active. My budget will support this concept as long as my
payments to Jackie do not exceed one-third of revenues. I do not expect this to happen, but should
it, Jackie had indicated she will accept a deferred payment plan. Within six months to a year, I
expect the great majority of my business will stem from new contacts and I will no longer need to
pay Jackie.
2. Competition
There are several competing employment agencies in South City, as discussed in Section E,
above. As I am aiming for a slightly different market from the other agencies and have a track
record of success in my target area, I do not feel that the competition will hurt me. Even if the other
agencies expanded their clerical placements, I think my personal rapport with my clients and the
Women’s Resource Center should prevent me from suffering any real problem.
3. Slow Times
People are hiring now and times are good. When the economy slows down, as it inevitably will, so
too will new hires, although because of the high turnover, there is always some demand for clerical
help. However, I plan to put aside money when times are good to cushion against future bad
times. Also, I plan to reduce the effect of slow times by keeping my overhead low.
4. Owner’s Ability
I have never operated an independent business before. However, I have been paid on a straight
commission basis for some time and am used to the need to perform in order to be paid. I can see
no insurmountable problems resulting from being on my own and have already determined the
licenses, tax permits, etc. I will need to begin. I plan to use the same bookkeeper and accountant
who do the books for Mid-Mountain Personnel to help with paperwork. In addition, I have a friend
who is a small business consultant, and I can rely on her advice should I need it.
In short, I believe that I have addressed the major risks facing my business and have demonstrated
that those risks are manageable.
I. Capital Spending Plan
Most items of equipment will be leased or rented, so there will be little need for capital beyond
working capital and some fees and printing costs:
Printing/stationery
$500
Initial advertising
1,000
License application fee
250
Employment agency license fees
250
Business license
50
Insurance deposit
50
First & last month’s rent & deposit
1,030
Phone installation
200
New furniture
500
Working capital
2,000
Total Capital
$5,830
Other capital items and most of the furniture have already been paid for. The office building
provides a receptionist and copy service as part of the rent.
Appendix 2: Business Plan for a Manufacturing
Business
Overview
The business plan for DAY INTERNATIONAL, INC. that follows is roughly based on a real plan,
although I have changed some details, including the financial projections. And because of space
limitations, I have omitted a number of charts and exhibits contained in the appendix to the original
plan.
Founders of the company asked for $75,000 to bring their product to market. They expected sales
of nearly a million dollars by the end of the second year of operations. Here are some of the
strengths and weaknesses of their business plan.
Sales Projections
The best part of the plan is the discussion of sales projections because it gives you a sense of the
support you’ll have to provide if you plan to introduce a new product. Note the effort they put into
developing a logical sales revenue forecast. Since most new products introduced into the
marketplace do not sell well enough to produce a profit, investors and lenders want to see solid
data to support a claim that your product will be different.
Also, they plan for two different products using the same technology. The first is aimed at the
commercial market and is reasonably costly; the second targets the consumer market and carries
a somewhat lower price.
The founders of DAY INTERNATIONAL, INC. believe that a successful business needs more than
one product to survive. While there are some exceptions to that rule, diversification can achieve
powerful benefits if one product meets resistance in the marketplace.
Items Excluded
This plan does not cover several important items I think should be included:
•Marketing and advertising. DAY INTERNATIONAL, INC. plans to hav