1. Title Page

The title page must contain the following:

• Name of the proposed business

• Course / Date

• Your Name

2. Table of Contents 

• This is self-explanatory! 

• INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS for each section.

3. Executive Summary

You will write this part LAST.

The executive summary is a synopsis that should give the reader a preview of what’s contained in the business plan. It’s what the reader looks at first and should capture the reader’s attention. An effective approach in writing the executive summary is to paraphrase important sentences from each section of the business plan. This process will ensure that the essential information of each section is included in the executive summary. 

Think of an Executive Summary this way - it should give the key points of you business plan and stand on its own. In other words, if some just reads the executive summary, they'll understand your business, customers and growth potential. 

The executive summary should be about one page long and should be written after the entire business plan is completed. This section is very important. Spend time on it.

4. Company / Business Description   

Here, you present a brief description of your BizSim company. Because later parts of the plan will provide detailed answers to many of these questions, this section should provide only an overview The purpose of this section is to tell the reader why you’re starting your business, what benefits it provides, and why it will be successful. Some questions to answer in this section include:

• Mission Statement

  • Check out this link from Forbes Magazine. HINT: I STRONGLY encourage you to look at the link and/or real-world example of mission statements prior to drafting your own. 

  • Think of real-world businesses that are similar to yours and research their mission statement and core values. These can serve as a guide for you.
    The mission statement describes the purpose or mission of your organization—the reason for its existence. It tells the reader what the organization is committed to doing. It should be somewhat aspirational. 

• Values Statement

  • Core values are fundamental beliefs about what is and is not appropriate and what is important in conducting company activities. Core values are not about profits, but rather about ideals. Their function is to help guide the behavior of individuals in the organization.

• What is your product? What problem does this product solve for the customer? 

• Who are your customers

• How will products be sold? 

• Where will company be located? 

5. Market Analysis

• INDUSTRY

  • Current size of industry and future expansion/ contraction forecasts

  • Overall industry outlook

  • Identify major competitors

• PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION

  • How does your product differ from those of competitors?

• TARGET MARKET

  • Who are your customers? 

  • Provide a profile of your intended customers (age, gender, income, interests, etc.). THIS MUST BE SPECIFIC! Do not say things like ‘Anyone between the ages of 18-65.’  BE VERY SPECIFIC! And use your creativity since BizSim doesn't offer much in the way of details on customer segments. Refer to the 11/7 bonus class for additional details.

• SWOT Analysis

  • Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

• MARKETING STRATEGY

  • Outline a marketing/promotion strategy for your product/business.

  • How will you tell people about your product and persuade potential customers to buy it? What types of advertising will you use? How will you maintain positive relationships with your customers? What is the ballpark cost of these initiatives? 

The industry information you gather should come from a reputable source and be cited both in-text and on your references page in APA style. 

6. Management Plan 

This section describes the company's position relative to other participants in the industry. It identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as target market. 

• Legal Form of Business?

• Management Team members and their Qualifications  

• Organizational Structure (i.e., organizational chart)

7. Products and Services 

Detailed description of all goods and services to be offered.

• Describe what you sell, describe unique features

• Describe how products benefit customers

• Describe your pricing strategy

• Explain: why your product/service has advantages over competition (also known as: YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE)

8. Financials  

You are required to submit a projected or current basic Balance Sheet and an Income Statement.

• Refer to the videos on writing Income Statements and Balance Sheets on our D2L page: https://d2l.arizona.edu/d2l/le/content/1457286/viewContent/16699526/View

• Additional financial statement videos are available here: https://sites.google.com/email.arizona.edu/ldrv-404/financial-statements

9. Appendixes

You may want to provide certain information in an appendix rather than in the body of the document. For example, you might want to include the Résumés of your management team, drawings or pictures of your product, sketches or pictures of your facilities, floor plans of manufacturing facilities, results of any marketing surveys, or documents used to apply for a patent.

10. References

Your Business Plan must include in-text citations and a references page formatted in APA Style. Below are some resources to help you: 

• UA Writing Center / ThinkTank – They can help you with overall writing improvement and APA Style. (If you document that the team had their proposal reviewed by the ThinkTank tutors, you can receive OCB credit (i.e., extra credit). 

• UA Library / APA Resources 

• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) - input your source and this web site formats it in APA Style! There are also many examples of different types of citations.