Entrepreneurship: Writing Business Plans Guideline

Entrepreneurship:
Writing Business Plans

Guideline
LECTURE OUTLINE
• How FedEx begun

• The Key components of a business plan
• Executive Summary
• Business Definition and Mission statement
• Market and Environment Information
• Strategy Information
• An overview of the product/service
• Financial Information
Source: The Indus Entrepreneurs (2003)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1965 …
• A Yale undergraduate, Frederick W.

Smith wrote a term paper on the need
for overnight delivery service in the
computer age that was dawning
• His Professor found such a service
highly improbable and gave him a grade
of C in his paper
• 5 years later, Frederick Smith started
Federal Express
FEDEX TODAY
• World’s largest express transportation company
• Has 624 aircraft, 43,000 Vehicles and 100,000 Power
ships
• More than 145,000 employees
• Delivers 3.1 million packages every single day
Read more about Fred Smith and FedEx

• www.fedex.com– About FedEx
• www.achievement.com – Fred Smith
Fed·Ex
–A trademark used for an express shipping service. This trademark often occurs in print in lowercase as
a noun or verb: “For years, people in offices across the United States have talked about ‘fedexing
packages’ and receiving or sending ‘fedexes.’” (Laurel Shaper Walters).
WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN
• It is a means of communicating your vision to

the outside world to help you attract talent
and money to your enterprise
• The quality of a business plan is measured

by its ability to hire employees, gain contracts
from potential customers and negotiate
monetary investment from an investor who’s
interest is solely to make profit
QUALITIES OF A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN
• Well thought out and can be visualized

• Articulates the strengths and the vision of
your business
• Clearly outline the risks associated
• Present clear evidence of the viability of the
venture
• Should compel action and get investors
excited
BUSINESS PLAN COMPONENTS
• Business summary
• Market analysis
• Business Team
• Strategy Information
• An overview of the product/service
• Financial information
BUSINESS SUMMARY
• Describe your business and how it’s different
from the other businesses
• An overview of the team and relevant
skills/experiences they bring to the biz
• Define the customer and how you business
will reach her/him
• Who are your potential competitors?
• How much money do you need to raise and
how much profit should investors expect?
MARKET ANALYSIS
• How did your company identify the
opportunity?
• What is the market size in Shillings ?
• What resources does the company have that
allows it to fulfill the needs?
• How will you enter the market?
• How will you expand?
• Where do you see the company in the future?
• What value does your company create?
• Who is your competition and what edge do
you have?
BUSINESS TEAM
• What are the backgrounds of the
management team and directors?
• What does each team member bring to the
business?
• What are the team’s previous
successes in new ventures?
• How does the management team form a
cohesive unit which can work efficiently
together?
BUSINESS TEAM QUALITIES
• Opportunity cost: Does the team have

any highly skilled professionals?
• Can the team work together as a unit?
• What management and leadership
principles will the team employ?
• Does the team reflect that it has very
good knowledge of the market?
STRATEGY INFORMATION (BATTLE PLAN)
• Describe the customer’s demographics
• How will the customer realize value from
your product or service?
• How does the company intend to reach the
customer and keep her/him?
• How will the company safeguard the
customer from the competition?
• How does the company intend to keep
customers and enter new markets?
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
• Describe your product in as much detail as

you can.
• If possible, have a prototype of your
product or service
• Show how the product/service would be
used by the consumer
• Explain the requirements for producing your
product
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
• In this part you show a budget for your
business
• Explain how much you intend to raise to get
started
• What are your projected expenses and
revenues
• In what period do you expect to be
profitable and show a return to your
investors?
SUGGESTED BUSINESS PLAN FORMAT
1. Business summary (1 page)

2. Origin of market need/opportunity ( 2-
4pgs)
3. Business Team
4. Strategy Information
5. An overview of the product/service
6. Financial information
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
• Meet up with your teammates and come
up with a list of business ideas
• Discuss the merits of each idea and
narrow your list to 3 ideas
• Submit a written proposal(1-2) pages of
the idea chosen by the assigned date
• Note: these ideas could potentially be
the background of your business plans
which will be due in three weeks.
RESOURCES FOR BUSINESS PLAN
WRITING
• https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/sample-business-
plans/online-business-plans/home-garden-gifts-online-
sample-business-plan/– A listing of Business Plans from
different industries. This is a great resource when writing
your business plan.
• You can also type “sample business plans” in www.google.com

to have a look at the online resources.

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Entrepreneurship:

Writing Business Plans

• How FedEx begun

• A Yale undergraduate, Frederick W.

Read more about Fred Smith and FedEx

• It is a means of communicating your vision to

• The quality of a business plan is measured

• Well thought out and can be visualized

• Opportunity cost: Does the team have

• Describe your product in as much detail as

1. Business summary (1 page)

• You can also type “sample business plans” in www.google.com

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