Training

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WELCOME!
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Background

• D. Neil Berdiev
• 10 years in the financial service industry with
  8 of them in commercial lending
• Participated in the approval and renewal of over
  500 million in loans to privately-held and
  public companies
• Lent to companies across the U.S in industries
  such as manufacturing, retailers, restaurants,
  distributors, professional service companies, and
  many others
• Consulted and advised to business owners on a
  wide range of issues related to securing
  financing and financial management
• Author of Loan Financing Guide for Small Business
  Owners, available from www.LoanFinancingGuide.com
  as well as major on-line retailers
• Wrote articles for and/or featured on Inc.com,
  L.A. Times, Boston Metro, Banker Tradesman, the
  RMA Journal, and others

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About the Salem State SBDC

• North Shore Regional
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
• Salem State College
• Bertolon School of Business

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AGENDA

• COMPETITION CRITERIA GUIDELINES
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP PLANNING
• BUSINESS PLAN CONTENT
• SUMMARY OPEN DISCUSSION

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COMPETITION CRITERIA GUIDELINES

• ELIGIBILITY
• FORMAT
• DELIVERABLES

www.enterprisectr.org
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ELIGIBILITY

• Only startups (not yet operational) and emerging
  businesses (less than two years old) may apply
• Existing early stage businesses must be located
  in the North of Boston/Merrimack Valley or must
  relocate to the area.
• If the plan is for a startup business, that
  business must commit to locating in the North of
  Boston/Merrimack Valley.
• Businesses with existing professional venture
  investment are not eligible
• Contestants shall have no more than 200,000
  investment (exclusive of real estate)  from
  sources other than  professional venture capital
• Business must have plans to grow to at least 5
  full time or FTE employees in addition to the
  founder(s) within two years
• Your business idea must be original work that
  youll be able to fully disclose 

www.enterprisectr.org
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FORMAT

• In addition to the three page overview  you may
  use your own cover page with company logo, tag
  line, etc.
• Please be sure to include entry form with your
  plan overview. If you do so, the second page of
  the document must be the entry form above.
• Font size between 10 and 12 point.
• You may use any font you like, however we
  recommend Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or
  Garamond.
• The margins should be no less than .75 inches,
  not including header and footer.
• Please number all the pages including the first
  page.
• Include your business concept name as a header or
  footer on all the pages.
• You can submit your entry as a PDF or in
  Microsoft Word (Office 97 or later). If you
  choose to use other software for diagrams,
  tables, spreadsheets, etc., they must be
  integrated within the Word document.

www.enterprisectr.org
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DELIVERABLES

• By February 22, 2008
• Attend SBDC seminar (optional)
• Review eligibility requirements
• Create 3-page plan overview
• Complete all entry forms 
• Deliver completed package to the Enterprise
  Center no later than 500pm on February 22, 2008.
• By March 28, 2008
• Complete full business plan
• Deliver 15 copies of the completed business plan
  to the Enterprise Center no later than 500pm on
  March 28, 2008.

www.enterprisectr.org
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COMPETITION CRITERIA GUIDELINES

• ELIGIBILITY
• FORMAT
• DELIVERABLES
• Questions?
• Contact the Enterprise Center
• or Salem State College SBDC

www.enterprisectr.org www.salemstate.edu/sbdc
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NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• ROLES
• ENTREPRENEUR
• MANAGER
• TECHNICIAN
• SKILLS
• OPERATIONS
• MARKETING
• FINANCE

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NATURE OF PLANNING

• If you dont know where your going
• any road will get you there
  
  
• anonymous
• You need to know where youre going
• or youll wind up somewhere else
• Yogi Berra

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THE PLANNING PROCESS
Plan (prepare for the future)
Act (implement the plan)
Evaluate (explain variances)
Results (something happens)
Analyze (compare results)
Record (measure the results)
2-2
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TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PLANNING

• BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT
• COMMIT TIME ENERGY
• HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
• BE FLEXIBLE
• WRITE IT DOWN

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REASONS FOR A WRITTEN BUSINESS PLAN

• INTERNAL
• VALIDATE BUSINESS CONCEPT
• PREPARE FINANCIAL FORECASTS
• EXTERNAL
• SUPPORT FINANCING PROPOSAL
• PROMOTE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

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BUSINESS PLAN CONTENT

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
• MARKETING SALES
• ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT
• FINANCIALS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• MISSION STATEMENT
• FORM OF ORGANIZATION
• PRINCIPALS
• LOCATION FACILITIES
• FINANCIAL MARKETING GOALS
• WHY YOU EXPECT SUCCESS
• WRITTEN LAST

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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

• INDUSTRY STATUS TRENDS
• BUSINESS HISTORY
• PRODUCTS / SERVICES DETAILS
• LOCATION FACILITIES ISSUES
• REGULATIONS LICENSING
• RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
• PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

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MARKETING SALES

• VALUE PROPOSITION
• TARGET MARKET
• MARKET RESEARCH
• MARKETING SALES STRATEGY
• REVENUE MODEL
• COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

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COMPETITION

• ENVIRONMENT TRENDS
• STRONGEST COMPETITORS
• STRENGTHS
• WEAKNESSES
• HOW YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT
• HOW YOU WILL BE BETTER

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ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT

• ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
• MANAGEMENT TEAM
• INTERNAL
• EXTERNAL
• RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
• RESPONSIBILITIES
• STAFFING

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FINANCIALS

• HISTORICAL DATA
• INVESTED CAPITAL
• TO DATE
• NEW
• CAPITAL EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
• PROJECTED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• CASH FLOW- THE KEY! CASH BUDGET
• INCOME STATEMENT
• BALANCE SHEET
• RATIO ANALYSIS

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SOME DOs

• WRITE PLAN YOURSELF
• MAKE PLAN CLEAR, CONCISE, COMPREHENSIVE
• CLEARLY DEFINE MARKET NEED
• SHOW CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE
• SHOW COMPETITION KNOWLEDGE
• HAVE PLAN REVIEWED EDITED

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SOME DONTs

• MAKE PLAN TOO LONG OR UNFOCUSED
• BE INCONSISTENT
• USE TOO MUCH TECHNICAL JARGON
• USE UNSUPPORTED NUMBERS
• MISUSE COMPUTER PROGRAMS
• MISUSE SAMPLE PLANS

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WHERE TO GET MORE HELP

• INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
• BOOKS PERIODICALS
• WEB SITES
• CONSULTANTS
• SBDC COUNSELORS
• Use common sense and sanity test!

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SUMMARY

• REMEMBER THREE LEGS OF STOOL
• THINK OF BUSINESS PLAN FOR
• CONCEPT VALIDATION
• SALES TOOL
• OPERATIONAL TOOL
• HAVE SUBMISSION REVIEWED
• REMEMBER PLANNING IS A NEVER ENDING PROCESS

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Q A

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OPEN DISCUSSION

• GOOD LUCK !!!