Paris 8 IEE affaires internationales

Here's the business plan checklist for your second project:

BUSINESS PLAN CHECKLIST

1 The nature and objectives of the business:

· What will your main business activity be? Products or services?

· What is your own professional and/or personal background? (You can use your imagination!)

· How will your business be structured? (Who will be responsible for what?)

· Do you have an overall/long-term vision for the business?

2 Personnel/staff:

· Will you need to employ anyone?

· How many employees will you need?

· What will they do exactly?

· What will their status be? (Consultants, employees, partners, part-time/full-time, permanent/short-term contracts)

3 The product/service in relation to the market

· What is the state of the market for your product/service? (Growing, static, shrinking, seasonal, etc.)

· How will your business be positioned? (Upmarket, downmarket, élite clientele, mass market, premium price, etc.)

· Who will your customers be? (Age, socio-economic profile, region etc.)

· Who will your competitors be? (Particularly important if you are offering a product/service which already exists on the market, or if there is a risk other companies will take up your idea.)

· Who will your suppliers be?

4 Marketing

· How will you market your business?

· Will you advertise? If so, where/how? Trade press, general media, newspapers, TV, free press, internet, happenings, online “buzz”, etc.

· How will you “place” your business?

· What will your pricing strategy be?

· How else will you promote your business?

5 Premises/equipment

· Where will your company be located? Why?

· What sort of property will you need? Offices, production facilities, retail outlets, etc.

· Will you rent or buy? Why?

· What equipment will you need? Computers, vehicles, stationery, phone/internet connection, anything else to make trading possible?

· Will you need any manufacturing equipment? Machinery, tools?

6 Sales, distribution and finance

· What are your sales forecasts for Y1 to Y3?

· What sort of distribution network will you need? (Think about this even if you are offering services: how will you deliver them to your clients?)

· How much money will you need? On what terms (interest rates, repayment periods, etc.)