THE ULTIMATE

BUSINESS PLAN WORKSHEET

The true value of a business plan is the work that goes into creating it.

You’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about your company, but there are undoubtedly some
areas you haven’t even considered. There are so many elements that go into creating a successful
enterprise, and it’s nearly impossible to anticipate them all on your own. A business plan helps you find
the pieces you’re missing and put everything together to create the finished puzzle.

HOW TO USE THIS WORKSHEET

Tailor the document to reflect your art and business. This worksheet is intended to assist you. Whether
you are taking your plan for financing or not, it is still a formal business document and must be prepared
in a professional manner in terms of both style and content. Write your plan in the 3rd person, referring
to the business name or your name, where applicable.

Use the headings and sub-headings in this worksheet to divide and organize your content in an easy to
follow fashion. Write clearly and concisely, and in complete sentences. Use point form sparingly and
only where appropriate (ie. a listing of items, or items/notes in a table).

REMEMBER…
Just like art, it is the process that counts. However, once you’ve completed the process, don’t just throw
it in the cabinet and forget about it. It’s important to review it regularly and compare it to the changes
that occur along the way.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sample Cover Page………………………………….……………………………….. 4
Executive Summary………………………………….…………………………………5
Company Profile………………………………….………………………………. 6
Company Overview………………………………….…….…………………….….. 6
Mission Statement.……………………………….……………………..……...… 6
Artistic Vision………………………………………………………...…….... 6
Company History……….………………………………………………...……… 6
Business Location..…………………………………………...…………………… 6
Legal Structure….……………………………....……………………………… 6
The Proprietor………………………………..………………………………… 7
Strategic Business Alliances……………………………….………….……………………… 7
Key Employees……………………….……….………………………………… 7
Key Contractors……………………………….…………………….…………… 7
Hiring Philosophy……………………..…………………………………………… 7
Compensation, Incentives and Ownership………………………………..………………………………… 7
Organization Charts…………………………..….…………………………………. 7
Product……………………………….…………………………………. 8
Roster and Stage of Development……………………………….…….…………………..……… 8
Future Development.……………………….……..……...….……………….…… 8
Lines of Products and Revenue Streams…………………………….……...…….……………….…… 8
Contracts, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses……………………….....……………...…...……………… 8
Compensation………………..………………………...……….…………… 8
Production/Recording……………………………………….……...………………… 8
Facilities………………………………………………….……………… 8
Manufacturing…………………….....…………………………..…………… 8
Marketing Plan………………………………………………………………….. 9
Market Research………………..………………………………..……………… 9
Industry Analysis………………………..…………………..…………………… 9
Competition Analysis…………………………………………..…………………… 10
Competitive Advantage…………………………………………..…………………… 10
Market Objectives………………………..………………...…………………… 11
Marketing Strategy………………………………………………………………… 11
Sales Plan…………………………………………….…………………...12
Sales Goals and Pricing………………………………………...……………………… 12
Sales Objectives………………….….…..………………..…………………… 12
Sales Strategies…………………..……..…………………..………………… 12
Sales Activities…………………………..…………………..………………… 12
Operations Plan………….……………………………………………………...13
Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable………………………………….………………………………13
Reporting to Management………………………………………………………………… 13
Planning and Scheduling….……………………...……..……………………………… 13
Monitoring Budgets………..……………………...……………………………… 13
Risk Analysis………………..…………...………………………………… 13

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 Salvaging Assets………….....…………….…………………………………… 13
Exit Strategy………………..………….…………………………………… 13
Financial Plan………………………….……………………………………… 14
Sales Projections……………….……..………………………………………… 14
Project Summaries……………………...………………………………………… 14
Cash Flow………………….……………………………………………… 14
Income Statement……………...………………………………………………… 14
Balance Sheet………………………………………………………………… 14

SAMPLE COVER PAGE

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 123 My Street
My City, My Province/State, My Country
My Postal Code
Tel: 555.555.5555
Fax: 555.555.5555
E: [email protected]
W: www.mymanagementcompany.com

MY MANAGEMENT COMPANY
FINAL BUSINESS PLAN

J. Cool
MM/DD/YYY

Note: The Table of Contents goes immediately after the Cover Page and before the Executive Summary.
See page 2 for an example.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Executive Summary is a synopsis, 1 - 2 pages in length, of your entire business plan. As it is a
summary, it is written last, but presented first to capture the attention of the reader.

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 ● Business name and location.
● Description of the legal structure of the business (sole proprietorship, partnership or
corporation) and the owner’s name (you).
● Description of the business, outlining the industry sector and products/services offered (such as
music publishing, merchandising, touring, management, etc.). Indicate as well who will be the
typical customers/clients (target market).
● Outline of what is unique about your business and what differentiates it from the competition –
your Unique Selling Proposition.
● Brief summary of your market research, identifying industry trends and market opportunities,
and potential to fill a niche or gap.
● Brief financial summary, including forecasted sales and cash flow summary. Note when the
business will be profitable.
● Note any major milestones to be achieved in Year 1 and/or Year 2.
● Identify any needs (e.g., a loan or financing to be obtained and the amount; date by which a
store needs to be open; date by which manufacturing has to commence, etc.

COMPANY PROFILE
Company Overview
Briefly introduce your company. What are the divisions that will be included (such as music publishing,
merchandising, touring, management, etc.)?

Mission Statement
What is your company’s mission? A mission statement defines your purpose and reason for being. It is
the primary thought toward which your business plan and progress should be aimed. It should be a
sentence, a short list of goals, or a brief paragraph.

Artistic Vision
What is the artist vision for your company and the music you plan to release?

Company History
When was the company formed? Briefly, what has been accomplished thus far?

Business Location
Specify the mailing address and the contact person. Indicate if it will be a home-based operation, or
located in a facility (e.g., retail store, manufacturing plant, commercial office, etc.). State where you
intend on doing business – will your customers/clients come to your location, or will you meet them at
their place of business? As well, identify how the business can be contacted – i.e., via telephone, mail,
over the Internet, and provide the contact information.

Legal Structure
Specify the legal form of the business (sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation). If the business is
a corporation, name the major shareholders and indicate the percentage of shares owned by each. For a
partnership, name the other partner(s) and note the percentage ownership on the part of each partner,

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including you. Explain your rationale for selecting a particular type of legal structure. If you plan on
changing the structure of your business in future, state when and the reasons why.

The Proprietor (or Management Team)

Summarize your education, experience and expertise relevant to running your own business. This is not
written as one does in a resume, but rather it should indicate how the aforementioned will help in the
successful start-up and operation of the business. Include both the direct skills you have, as well as the
indirect or transferable skills that are also important in running a business. If you have a management
team, name the individuals involved, and note the relevant education, experience and expertise they
bring to the business that will ensure its success. (Reminder: write in the 3 person)
rd

Strategic Business Alliances

Provide a brief description of associates, support personnel and others who will assist you in some way
in operating your business. Note their names and what their specific function will be, under categories
of Legal, Accounting, Business Advisor, Mentor, Banking, etc.

Key Employees
Who are members of the management team? What is their experience? What roles will they play in the
organization?

Key Contractors
Who are the independent consultants the company will retain? What is their experience? What roles
will they play in the organization?

Hiring Philosophy
What is the company’s philosophy on hiring new employees? How will human resource functions be
handled?

Compensation, Incentives and Ownership

What are the compensation packages for the company’s founder and management team? How is
ownership divided, including stock options?

Organization Charts
What does the organization chart look like today? What will the company’s organization chart look like
in 3 or 5 years?

PRODUCT
Roster and Stage of Development
What is the current roster of acts or products? At what stage of development are you with those acts?

Future Development
What artists or products does the label plan to develop?

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Lines of Products or Revenue Streams
What lines of products and revenue streams will the company participate in (merchandising, touring,
publishing, mobile products, etc.)?

Contracts, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licenses

What contracts does the company have in place with management? What contracts does the company
have in place with artists or content creators? What are the limitations of those rights?

Compensation
How will artists or content creators be compensated?

Production/Recording
How will the company create new content? Will the company create it internally, contract others to do
so or license existing material?

Facilities
What facilities will the company use to create new content? Will you use an internal studio or contract
out studio needs?

Manufacturing
How will the company manufacture the various configurations of product to be sold? Do you have
relationships or contracts in place with vendors?

MARKETING PLAN
The Marketing Plan is developed in three stages:
1. Market Research (Where you are now)
2. Marketing Objectives (Where you want to go)
3. Marketing Strategies (How you will get there)

1. MARKET RESEARCH
Industry Analysis
This is an overview of the industry as a whole, its size and growth potential and what developments are
taking place in terms of trends, threats and opportunities. Provide information about the market
potential of the markets you will be operating your business in. Include information such as:

A) Segment or genre – target market

What is the segment of the market the company will compete in? How big is that segment?

B) Customer profile
Who is the company’s target customer? Customer information will come from primary and secondary
sources. As you research your industry you will also be gathering important data on who will buy your
products or services, the features and benefits that customers/clients are demanding, and what trends
and attitudes are driving these demands. The most useful information will come from directly surveying

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potential customers. In this section, summarize the information you have gathered from your surveys.
You can use the appendix for a copy of your survey and the raw data.

Your business may be selling to other businesses or to individual customers or to both. Based on your
research information, develop a customer profile that describes the key characteristics of your target
customer. If you are targeting more than one distinct market segment, you will have to do a customer
profile for each segment. Note whether you intend to target a large segment or small niche in the
marketplace. Indicate both primary buyers (end users) and secondary buyers
(purchasers/gatekeepers/influencers), if applicable.

C) Growth potential
What is the growth potential for your company within that segment of the industry? Does the company
plan to expand beyond that segment?

D) Geographic locations
What locations will your company operate in? Where will you sell product?

E) Trends
What are trends in the industry? How will these trends impact the way your company will do business?

Competition Analysis
Outline what is currently available in the marketplace that is directly or indirectly competitive to your
offering. Compare your business to five major competitors. Compare factors such as product/service
description, market share, pricing, marketing methods, customer service provided, policies, location or
other factors that are relevant to your business.

Based on your customer research, identify what needs are not being met by your competitors. Explain
how your business can fill these gaps now or in the future (GAP Analysis)

Complete the S.W.O.T. Analysis Chart (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for your five
major competitors and your own business. For each competitor, outline their strengths and weaknesses.
Indicate any specific opportunities you may have to gain market share from that competitor or perhaps
even opportunities to form an alliance with that competitor. Describe any specific threats that
competitor may pose to your business. For your own business, present your strengths and weaknesses
and outline the overall opportunities and threats you see given the market you are competing in.

Competitive Advantage
Summarize your competitive analysis by describing your competitive advantage (e.g., price, quality,
image, service, warranties, etc.). Explain how your business will compete and specify why customers will
buy your product(s) or service(s).

2. MARKET OBJECTIVES
Remember that marketing activities generate prospects and fans. List two or three S.M.A.R.T. (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, and Time bound) objectives for the first year of business
operations.

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3. MARKETING STRATEGY
How will you satisfy your customers’ and fans needs while meeting your objectives? Your Marketing
Strategies are determined in response to your Marketing Objectives. Theses strategies fall in the
categories of the 5 P’s of marketing. Product, Place, Price, Promo, People. Keep in mind both your
company and your clients/artists needs here.

Product/Service – USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

Provide a full description of your product(s) or service(s) and the features. Identify and include the
benefits to customers. Indicate what makes your offering unique.

Place
Specify the planned location for the business. Identify the geographic area of sales/services. Indicate if
you will go to your clients/ customers or if they will come to you. Note the days and hours of operation
and how people will be able to contact you. Describe how your location will give you an advantage (e.g.,
city hubs, radio stations, live venues, record labels, etc.).

Pricing Strategy
Provide an outline of your pricing strategy and note how it is related to your target market and to that of
the industry. Specify how you determined the price(s) you will charge for your product(s) and/or
service(s). Indicate how your pricing compares to the standard and identify the rationale for any
differences.

Promotion Plan
Describe in narrative format how you will advertise and promote your offering. Indicate what methods
you will use ─ direct mail, print advertisements, social media, radio, website, networking, press releases,
press kits, and other.

People
Identify any individuals who will be involved in the business in relation to marketing activities.

SALES PLAN
Sales Goals and Pricing
What is your pricing strategy for each method of distribution? Describe your business’ sales goals. The
achievement of these goals will be critical to maintaining the sustainable growth of your business.

Sales Objectives
List your top 5 sales objectives. Remember that objectives are measurable; time bound targets that
when achieved will lead to the realization of your sales goals.

Sales Strategies
Outline in detail the sales strategies you will use to achieve your sales objectives. Do not forget to
include your transaction strategies. Describe your sales terms and conditions (e.g., COD or Net 30 days),
any warranties or guarantees, return policy, and any discounts and free products offered.

Sales Activities

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Describe the specific actions will you execute to implement your sales strategies.

OPERATIONS PLAN
Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
How will billing, accounts payable and receivable be handled by the company?

Reporting to Management
What are the administrative procedures for employees and independent contractors to report to their
superiors?

Planning and Scheduling

What is the planning and work-flow process? What scheduling procedures are in place to ensure release
dates are met and that they are met with desired impact?

Monitoring Budgets
What procedures and controls are in place for management to monitor budgets?

Risk Analysis
What risk analysis will be conducted on each potential signing and release? How will it be conducted?

Salvaging Assets
What assets could be salvaged if necessary?

Exit Strategy
What is the company’s exit strategy? How will the growth enable the investors and founder to execute
this strategy successfully?

FINANCIAL PLAN
Sales Projections
Attach a chart of the company’s sales projections. Indicate the forecasted sales are for Year 1 and Year
2, and note the percentage increase in the second year. Explain the reasons for the growth anticipated
in Year 2. Make a notation to refer to the worksheets attached.

Project Summaries
Attach project summary analysis for each release and/or artist.

Cash Flow
Summarize the key points of Year 1 and Year 2 Cash Flow. Identify any financial contributions by the
owner, and/or any loan or funding requirements, and when these will be paid back. Identify the owner’s
draw for both years. If equipment or other high cost items are to be purchased in the future, indicate
when this will be possible. Discuss any major changes in Year 2 over Year 1. Make a notation to refer to
the Cash Flow Forecasts attached on the following pages.

Income Statement

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Indicate the forecasted net income is for Year 1 and Year 2, as well as the percentage increase in the
second year. Discuss all key points pertaining to these statements. As well, explain any changes
anticipated in Year 2.

Balance Sheet
Indicate the necessary number of units required to reach the Breakeven Point for your business. In this
description you will need to explain and quantify the fixed costs, the variable costs per unit, and the
selling price per unit that will yield the above stated Breakeven Point. Make a notation to refer to the
worksheet attached on the following page.

Luckily, we have all the operational and financial templates you need at smartistu.com.

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