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Business plan resources

Helping you launch your business

The Warrington College of Business Entrepreneurship Center can help you bring you business idea to life. The business plan resources follow the sections of the business plan format put forth in the Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans to help you gather the information you need. You will need to do research at each level of the business plan.

Plan your time accordingly, gathering the amount of information that this assignment requires can be time consuming as there is no one resource that can give you all of the pieces. Be prepared to gather information from many sources to put together your business plan.

You will need to use both the print and electronic resources highlighted in this guide. You may find some sources more useful than others based upon the subject matter of your concept and the industry that it is a part of.

A business firm can be assigned or classified to an industry based on the firm’s products or services. The focus in this section is to determine what is happening in the industry and the relative attractiveness of the industry among international, national and state economies.

Classification codes

The first industry code was based on the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, referred to as the SIC Manual. The most current manual was published in 1987. The SIC classification system is being replaced by the NAICS, North American Industrial Classification Systems, Manual. Both manuals are from the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget. Determining the classification of your product or service is important for tracking the industry in various resources.

Industry overview

  • Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys
    Currently, available only in print, Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys provide some of the best coverage available for industries.
  • IBISWorld
    Look for a report of the industry either by NAICS classification or by typing in the name of the industry. Over 700 reports for a variety of industries are available.
  • Mergent Industry Review
    Currently, available only in print, Mergent’s Industry Reviews contains comparative financial statistics on 3,000 public companies arranged in 137 industry groups.
  • Value Line Investment Survey
    Currently, available only in print, Value Line is a loose leaf publication that includes articles about 1600 publicly held companies and their corresponding industries.
  • Yahoo! Industry Center
    Provides a free directory of industries, along with a list of the companies in each industry, the latest industry-related news, and performance data on the top companies in an industry.
  • Small Business Resource Center
    A fee based site providing information on the business organization and structure of industries, current industry trends, and other information. May be free through university library subscription.

Industry financials

  • Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Troy’s)
    Features IRS data on 4.7 million U.S. corporations. Ten years worth of historical financial ratio data.
  • Dunn and Bradstreet industry norms and key business ratios
    Fourteen financial ratios plus common size/ percentage financial statements for over 800 industry classifications. Ratios are based on over one million financial statements.
  • RMA annual statement studies
    Collection of ratios detailing financial statement information from over 150,000 statements of commercial bank borrowers and prospects. Contains 5 years of historical data.
  • Financial Studies of the Small Business
    Ratios of 70 business categories for over 3,000 small private companies earning less than $1M. Useful for industries that have few or no public companies.
  • EDGAR Database of Corporate Information
    Performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its primary purpose is to increase the efficiency and fairness of the securities market.

Internet resources

  • Industry Week Magazine
    Publishes articles about various facets of industries primarily on manufacturing sector.
  • First Research
    This is a fee-based site that sells comprehensive industry profiles on more than 700 industry sectors.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
    Information provided includes a description of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, earnings and benefits, employee outlook, and lists of organizations that can provide additional information.
  • Hoovers Online
    Good resources for looking at business activity, including the number of competitors, at a city, county or state level. For example, you can find the number of dry cleaners (or any other business) in a specific zip code or city.
  • Mergent Online
    Provides near instant access to financial data, including income statements, balance sheets and cash flows, on more than 10,000 U.S. public corporations. Free for students if accessed from the University of Florida Business Library website.
  • Mintel
    Detailed reports available on hundreds of industries, including industry statistics, trends, buyer behavior and expected returns. Fee based if not available through university library.
  • U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
    A very quick way to access census bureau data, including population, median household income, census breakdowns by age and other demographic characteristics.
  • Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage
    Detailed reports available on hundreds of industries, including industry statistics, trends, buyer behavior and expected returns. Fee based if not available through university library.

Now the focus turns to your own venture. Outline the nature of the entity you plan to create and where you are in that process. Capture the essence of your business concept and explain that concept, then detail the products and services you anticipate selling. Lastly talk about your entry approach and your vision for growth over the next five years (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

There are numerous books in the University of Florida Business Library to assist you with your own venture. Listed below are a few subject search terms that link to books in entrepreneurship.

E-Journals

Databases

Search the University of Florida Business Library for magazine and newspapers articles on profiles of entrepreneurs, new business ventures, or small business issues. These articles may give you some insight as you prepare this section:

Internet resources

  • Harvard Business School Entrepreneurs
    Video archive where speakers (all of whom are a part of Harvard) “speak on a common set of themes including their development as entrepreneurs, strategies for identifying opportunities and leadership.”
  • Bplans
    “Business Planning made easy.” Guide to writing business plans, including samples. Links to calculators and business plans/planning software as well.
  • Entrepreneurship Corner – Stanford University
    Archive of podcasts and videos of lectures delivered at Stanford by entrepreneurs from companies such as Google and Facebook
  • Harvard Business School Working Knowledge: Entrepreneurship
    Links to current and past feature articles about Entrepreneurship as well as links to featured web sites.
  • SBA’s Business Plan Basics
    U.S. Small Business Administration’s tips about writing business plans.
  • EntreWorld
    Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration partner to provide resources for the entrepreneur.
  • USAGov
    The official business link to the U.S. Government is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in a partnership with 21 other federal agencies. This partnership, known as Business Gateway, is a Presidential E-government initiative that provides a single access point to government services and information to help the nation’s businesses with their operations.
  • Small Business Administration
    Created as an independent agency of the federal government to counsel to assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain, and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.
  • Entrepreneurs’ Organization
    A global network of more than 7,300 business owners in 42 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.

This section should convince the reader or investor that you truly know your customers. It should convince the reader that your product or service a) will have a substantial market in a growing industry; and b) can achieve sales in the face of competition. For example, the predicted sales levels directly influence such factors as the size of the manufacturing operation, the marketing plan, and the amount of debt and equity capital you will require. Yet most entrepreneurs seem to have great difficulty preparing and presenting market research and analyses that show that their ventures’ sales estimates are sound and attainable. Consult industry publications, articles in trade magazines and trade associations to understand how the industry defines, identifies and segments its customers. Then apply yourself creatively by integrating the information in a unique way (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

  • The Lifestyle Market Analyst
    A reference guide for consumer market analysis, prepared by: National Demographics & Lifestyles.
  • Market Share Reporter
    Presents market share data on over four thousand companies and 2500 products and brands.
  • Household Spending
    The latest dollar-for-dollar answers to the questions “Who buys?”, “What do they buy?”, “How much do they spend?”

Internet resources

  • Statistical Abstract of the United States
    The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
  • American Factfinder
    An easy-to-use portal for obtaining census data. One quick way to retrieve data is to get a “Fact Sheet” on a geographic area (by city, county or zip code), which provides population, medium household income, demographic breakdown (age, gender, race) and other information.
  • Consumer Expenditure Surveys
    This Bureau of Labor Statistics site provides data about consumer spending in the United States. Demographic information such as average number in consumer unit, percent male and female, education level, age and income groups, is detailed along with average annual expenditures consisting of fourteen main categories. Data is available back to 1984 and is sorted by metropolitan statistical areas, regions and other groupings.
  • City-Data.com
    Contains detailed information on cities, including median resident age, median household income, ethnic mix of residents and aerial photos.
  • County Business Patterns
    Good resources for looking at business activity, including the number of competitors, at a city, county or state level. For example, you can find the number of dry cleaners (or any other business) in a specific zip code or city.
  • Hoovers Online
    Good resources for looking at business activity, including the number of competitors, at a city, county or state level. For example, you can find the number of dry cleaners (or any other business) in a specific zip code or city.
  • U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
    A very quick way to access census bureau data, including population, median household income, census breakdowns by age and other demographic characteristics.
  • Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage
    Detailed reports available on hundreds of industries, including industry statistics, trends, buyer behavior and expected returns. Fee based if not available through university library.
  • Survey of Consumer Finances
    This Federal Reserve Bank site offers data and reports from the triennial survey of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic characteristics of U.S. families. The survey also gathers information on the use of financial institutions.

Market research – advice and tips

  • Business Research Lab
    Provides practical tips on topics from designing a marketing research study to the implementation of a study’s findings.
  • Sales Forecast
    This thoughtful article, written by Tim Berry, the founder of Palo Alto Software, the company that produces Business Plan Pro, provides advice on forecasting a business initial sales.

This section addresses the basic logic of how profits are earned in your business as well as the sales level required to break even (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans). You will need to identify your sources of revenue and how much margin you make on each of them.

Some of this information should have been gleaned from books (Section II – Books) and internet resources (Section II – Internet Resources) covered in Section II – The company, concept and products or services. In addition look at the books in the library catalog on Finance and Business Planning Handbooks.

The Marketing Plan describes how your projected sales will actually be attained. How will you make sales actually happen? A great idea is meaningless if you cannot find customers. Thus, this section builds on The Market, where you defined your market and outlined your targeted segments and their buyer behavior. The marketing plan needs to provide detail on the overall marketing strategy that will exploit the opportunity and your competitive advantages. Include a discussion of sales and service policies, pricing, distribution, promotion and advertising strategies, and sales projections. The marketing plan needs to describe what is to be done, how it will be done, when it will be done, and who will do it (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

There are numerous books at the University of Florida Business Library to assist you with your own venture.

Databases

In addition, searching the University of Florida Business Library databases using keywords “marketing and strategy” or “advertising campaigns” may give you some insight as you prepare this section. To narrow your results add your concept or product in an empty search box:

The nature and extent of any design and development work, and the time and money required before the product or service is marketable, need to be considered in detail. (Note that design and development costs are often underestimated.) Design and development might be the engineering work necessary to convert a laboratory prototype to a finished product; the design of special tooling; the work of an industrial designer to make a product more attractive and saleable; or the identification and organization of employees, equipment, and special techniques, such as the equipment, new computer software, and skills required for computerized credit checking, to implement a service business (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Databases

Search the University of Florida Business Library databases for magazine and newspapers articles on design and development of your product or service. A basic search strategy might include: Product introduction and Product design; Product introduction and Product development; or Product development and Product design along with your particular concept term. Pay close attention to the suggested terms or subject terms as they may guide you closer to what you are looking for. These articles may give you some insight as you prepare this section:

Intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – Administers U.S. laws relating to patents and trademarks. Issues U.S. patents, registers U.S. trademarks, and disseminates both patent and trademark information. Website offers search capability for U.S. patents and trademarks. Patents must be searched by U.S. Classifications. Contact the OSU Patent and Trademark Library for assistance (405) 744-6546.
  • U.S. Copyright Office – Branch of the Library of Congress that offers protection for the works of authors when guidelines are met. Works maybe be registered online. Site includes key publications including informational circulars, application forms for copyright registration, links to the copyright law and to the homepages of other copyright-related organizations, link to online copyright records cataloged since 1978, Congressional testimony and press releases, latest regulations; etc.
  • European Patent Office – Search U.S., EP, Japanese, and Worldwide (WO) patent documents – English, French, and German language support. Coverage varies by country.
  • InventNet – Network for inventors that provide practical information regarding patenting and a question and answer forum.
  • Patent Librarian’s Notebook – Blog of Michael White, Librarian for Research Services at the Engineering and Science Library, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Posts include updates of interest in the patent community.

Journals

The following academic journals publish articles that deal specifically with product design and development:

The operations section outlines how you will run your business and deliver value to your customers. Operations is defined as the processes that deliver your products/services to a customer or user and can include the production process for delivering your service to a given customer, manufacturing process if you are a manufacturer, transportation, logistics, travel, printing, consulting, and after-sales service. It also includes such factors as plant location, the type of facilities needed, space requirements, internal processes, capital equipment requirements, and labor force (both full- and part-time) requirements (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

There are numerous books in the University of Florida Business Library to assist you with your own venture.

Databases

In addition, searching the University of Florida Business Library databases using keywords “marketing and strategy” or “advertising campaigns” may give you some insight as you prepare this section. To narrow your results add your concept or product in an empty search box:

Internet resources

Register of American Manufacturers

  • The Thomas Register is a robust directory of American manufacturers. It is useful for identifying contract manufacturers in a wide range of industries. The site also includes a large number of operations related guides and white papers.

This section of the business plan includes a description of the functions that will need to be filled, a description of the key management personnel and their primary duties, an outline of the organizational structure for the venture, a description of the board of directors and key advisors, a description of the ownership position of any other investors, and so forth. You need to present indications of commitment, such as the willingness of team members to initially accept modest salaries, and of the existence of the proper balance of technical, managerial, and business skills and experience in doing what is proposed (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Internet resources

Databases

In addition, searching the University of Florida Business Library databases using keywords “business plan and management team” may give you some insight as you prepare this section. To narrow your results add your concept or product in an empty search box:

A graphical schedule that shows the timing and interrelationship of the major events necessary to launch the venture and realize its objectives is an essential part of a business plan. The underlying cash conversion and operating cycle of the business will provide key inputs for the schedule. In addition to being a planning aid by showing deadlines critical to a venture’s success, a well-presented schedule can be extremely valuable in convincing potential investors that the management team is able to plan for venture growth in a way that recognizes obstacles and minimizes investor risk. Since the time necessary to do things tends to be underestimated in most business plans, it is important to demonstrate that you have correctly estimated these amounts in determining the schedule (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Internet resources

The development of a business has risks and problems, and the business plan invariably contains some implicit assumptions about these issues. You need to include a description of the risks and the consequences of adverse outcomes relating to your industry, your company and its personnel, your product’s market appeal, and the timing and financing of your startup. Be sure to discuss assumptions concerning sales projections, customer orders, and so forth. If the venture has anything that could be considered a fatal flaw, discuss why you do not see it as a problem or how you intend to overcome it. The discovery of any unstated negative factors by potential investors can undermine the credibility of the venture and endanger its financing. Be aware that most investors will read the section describing the management team first and then this section. It is therefore recommended that you not omit this section (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Internet resources

In the write up of this section, discuss the highlights of your financial statements and what you are requesting from investors. The more columns and rows they see the more difficult it will be for them to challenge the assumptions you have made to produce these numbers. The financial plan is basic to the evaluation of an investment opportunity and needs to represent your best estimates of financial requirements. The purpose of the financial plan is to indicate the venture’s potential and to present a timetable for financial viability. It also can serve as an operating plan for financial management using financial benchmarks. In preparing the financial plan, financial exhibits need to be prepared. The analysis needs to cover three years (or five depending on your type of business) (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

Many of the books about Understanding Financial Statements found in the University of Florida Business Library can help you in preparing these financial columns and rows for your investors.

Databases

Search the University of Florida Business Library for magazine and newspapers articles on Business Valuation. To narrow your results insert your product or industry for more specific articles. These articles may give you some insight as you prepare this section:

Internet resources

The purpose of this section of the plan is to indicate the amount of any money that is being sought, the nature and amount of the securities offered to the investor, a brief description of the uses that will be made of the capital, and a summary of how the investor is expected to achieve its targeted rate of return. It is important to realize the terms for financing your company that you propose here are only the first step in the negotiation process with those interested in investing, and it is very possible that your financing will involve different kinds of securities than originally proposed (Nuts & Bolts of Great Business Plans).

Books

There are several books found in the University of Florida Business Library to assist you with your own venture. Listed below are a few subject search terms that link to books in financing your own business.

Databases

Search the University of Florida Business Library for magazine and newspapers articles on Business Valuation. To narrow your results insert your product or industry for more specific articles. These articles may give you some insight as you prepare this section:

Internet resources