【正文】 ality control ? Customer service ? Inventory control ? Product development Location What qualities do you need in a location? Describe the type of location you’ll have. Physical requirements: ? Amount of space ? Type of building ? Zoning ? Power and other utilities Access: Is it important that your location be convenient to transportation or to suppliers? Do you need easy walkin access? What are your requirements for parking and proximity to freeway, airports, railroads, and shipping centers? Page 17 of 31 Include a drawing or layout of your proposed facility if it is important, as it might be for a manufacturer. Construction? Most new panies should not sink capital into construction, but if you are planning to build, costs and specifications will be a big part of your plan. Cost: Estimate your occupation expenses, including rent, but also including maintenance, utilities, insurance, and initial remodeling costs to make the space suit your needs. These numbers will bee part of your financial plan. What will be your business hours? Legal Environment Describe the following: ? Licensing and bonding requirements ? Permits ? Health, workplace, or environmental regulations ? Special regulations covering your industry or profession ? Zoning or building code requirements ? Insurance coverage ? Trademarks, copyrights, or patents (pending, existing, or purchased) Personnel ? Number of employees ? Type of labor (skilled, unskilled, and professional) ? Where and how will you find the right employees? ? Quality of existing staff ? Pay structure ? Training methods and requirements Page 18 of 31 ? Who does which tasks? ? Do you have schedules and written procedures prepared? ? Have you drafted job descriptions for employees? If not, take time to write some. They really help internal munications with employees. ? For certain functions, will you use contract workers in addition to employees? Inventory ? What kind of inventory will you keep: raw materials, supplies, finished goods? ? Average value in stock (., what is your inventory investment)? ? Rate of turnover and how this pares to the industry averages? ? Seasonal buildups? ? Leadtime for ordering? Suppliers Identify key suppliers: ? Names and addresses ? Type and amount of inventory furnished ? Credit and delivery policies ? History and reliability Should you have more than one supplier for critical items (as a backup)? Do you expect shortages or shortterm delivery problems? Are supply costs steady or fluctuating? If fluctuating, how would you deal with changing costs? Credit Policies ? Do you plan to sell on credit? Page 19 of 31 ? Do you really need to sell on credit? Is it customary in your industry and expected by your clientele? ? If yes, what policies will you have about who gets credit and how much? ? How will you check the creditworthiness of new applicants? ? What terms will you offer your customers。 5 = not very important. Table 1: Competitive Analysis Factor Me Strength Weakness Competitor A Competitor B Importance to Customer Products Price Quality Selection Service Reliability Stability Expertise Company Reputation Location Appearance Page 12 of 31 Factor Me Strength Weakness Competitor A Competitor B Importance to Customer Sales Method Credit Policies Advertising Image Now, write a short paragraph stating your petitive advantages and disadvantages. Niche Now that you have systematically analyzed your industry, your product, your customers, and the petition, you should have a clear picture of where your pany fits into the world. In one short paragraph, define your niche, your unique corner of the market. Strategy Now outline a marketing strategy that is consistent with your niche. Promotion How will you get the word out to customers? Advertising: What media, why, and how often? Why this mix and not some other? Have you identified lowcost methods to get the most out of your promotional budget? Will you use methods other than paid advertising, such as trade shows, catalogs, dealer incentives, word of mouth (how will you stimulate it?), and work of friends or professionals? What image do you want to project? How do you want customers to see you? Page 13 of 31 In addition to advertising, what plans do you have for graphic image support? This includes things like logo design, cards and letterhead, brochures, signage, and interior design (if customers e to your place of business). Should you have a system to identify repeat customers and then systematically contact them? Promotional Budget How much will you spend on the items listed above? Before startup? (These numbers will go into your startup budget.) Ongoing? (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget.) Pricing Explain your method or methods of setting prices. For most small businesses, having the lowest price is not a good policy. It robs you of needed profit margin。 minds. Then check whether you think this factor will be a strength or a weakness for you. Sometimes it is hard to analyze our own weaknesses. Try to be very honest here. Better yet, get some disinterested strangers to assess you. This can be a real eyeopener. And remember that you cannot be all things to all people. In fact, trying to be causes many business failures because efforts bee scattered and diluted. You want an honest assessment of your firm39。 give statistics, numbers, and sources. The marketing plan will be the basis, later on, of the allimportant sales projection. Economics Facts about your industry: ? What is the total size of your market? Page 8 of 31 ? What percent share of the market will you have? (This is important only if you think you