All assignments should be completed using LivePlan, and then printed to a .PDF file.

Must Have:

Your business plan must include as a minimum the following components, identified here as either text topic or table. Most of these were separate assignments throughout the course, and should now combine into a single business plan document.

• Summary (could also be called “Executive Summary”). This is a text topic. It should include all of the information detailed in Assignment 1: The Business Opportunity. You could also use what you did for Assignment 6: Summary Memo and bundle that into the plan. Edit this portion, so it isn’t redundant; you probably used your assignment 1 as a beginning draft for assignment 4.
• Market Analysis. Text topics. Should include all of the information detailed in Assignment 2: Market Analysis. Pictures are welcome.
• Strategy. One of more text topics. Ideally you’ve got something along the lines recommended in the reading, strategy as a combination of identity, market, and strategic focus. There’s an outline example,  and you can click to jump to the Heart of the Plan material available online, which you also have in that Heart of the Plan section of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan book in the readings. In addition, the Heart of the Plan video included in class 11 videos also covers that same material.
• Competitive Edge. This is a text topic. It’s also called Secret Sauce. This would have been discussed in class 5, Marketing Strategy. And you can also, read The Secret Sauce on the Web.
• Startup Costs: This is exactly as in Assignment 3: Startup Costs. That’s at least a text topic which describes the startup numbers you entered in the Expense Budget table. The best way to handle the text topic is to make sure that it includes the most important assumptions and explains how you intend to raise the money required (loans, investors, personal savings, etc.)
• Sales Forecast. Exactly as in Assignment 4: Sales Forecast. That’s sales and cost of sales estimated for the first 12 months and then added up into year 1, and then a larger more general projection for years 2 and 3 of the plan as well. And it includes a text topic that explains your assumptions, and, ideally, a couple of business charts as well.
• Projected Profit & Loss. Exactly as in Assignment 5: Personnel & Expense Budget . At least one text topic and a table; business charts would also be nice. If it’s obvious how you make money then you don’t need to elaborate, but for some of the more innovative new technology plans, if how you make money isn’t obvious, then please make sure you talk about the business model.

Nice to have:

You’ve got a lot of resources here on this website, including two complete online books, so you can see that there’s potentially a lot to add. Use outlines recommended in the readings, or some other order. Here are some specific suggestions, in more-or-less order of desirability — but not the order they appear in the plan:

• Cash flow. That requires some interaction between the profit and loss, which you already have, and the balance sheet, which you don’t necessarily have. With LivePlan, it’s almost automatic. There’s a lot of detail available in the appropriate sections of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan book.
• Business offering (describing your product or service). This goes well after the summary and before the market analysis.
• Company description: ownership, facilities, and so on. Goes well right after the summary, before the business offering section.
• Business model (as noted in the Projected Profit & Loss point above, only if it isn’t obvious).
• Financial plan: description of funding sources, return on investment for investors, exit strategy.

Remember that business planning requires a lot of flexibility. Every business plan is unique to the business and its specific situation.

A summary memo is a 2-5 page document that you could present to a potential investor. It should summarize the business opportunity, the strategy, the market, the business model, startup costs, startup funding, and initial sales numbers.

If you have been updating your LivePlan business plan with each previous assignment, all of the information you need to create a Summary Memo is now completed. To select specific areas of your outline to include in the Summary Memo:

• Click the Print button
• Choose the Export Document option.
• Open the downloaded document file in your word processor.
• Select specific areas of your outline to include in the Summary Memo.

For more on the Summary Memo, read pages 228-233 of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan book. Or you can click here for the online version of the book.

This hands-on exercise will walk you through the steps to enter your estimated monthly expenses and create your personnel plan, using your LivePlan.com account.

• Download the Expenses & Personnel exercise (pdf)
• Log in to your LivePlan.com account
• Follow the instructions in the exercise to complete your Personnel Plan
• Follow the instructionsin the exercise to complete your Expense Budget

This hands-on exercise will walk you through the process of entering your sales estimates in to the Sales Forecast, using your LivePlan account.

• Download the Sales Forecast exercise (pdf format)
• Log in to your LivePlan account
• Locate the Sales Forecast from your business plan file
• Follow the instructions in the exercise to complete your Sales Forecast

This assignment reinforces the discussions from Session 4: Market Analysis. Unless otherwise specified by your instructor, this assignment should be completed in preparation for the next sequence, Session 5: Marketing Strategy.

In this exercise, you will build the marketing elements of your business plan, using LivePlan.

• Download the Exercise: Market Analysis
• Log in to your LivePlan.com account
• Locate the “Target Market” chapter in your business plan
• Follow the instructions in the Exercise to complete this chapter.
• Repeat this for the “Strategy and Implementation” chapter.

You may have heard about the famous “business plan on a napkin” idea? Keep that in mind. This assignment is not to write a business plan. It is to write a description of your business opportunity. Explain your business opportunity in a single letter-sized page. This one-page overview demonstrates best with illustrations as well as text. You can draw it yourself and write it yourself; you can use PowerPoint or some other drawing program. Here are a couple of examples: College Prep Information Business and Australian Firefighter Business.

Your business opportunity should cover the following three points:

1. Identify and explain a problem or need that your business idea would solve. Remember you don’t have to limit yourself to physical needs, because wants and intangibles – prestige, good looks, business success, etc. – are also valid.
2. Explain how your new business idea fills the need or satisfies the want.
3. Describe the ideal customer, or target market company. Ideally you want to invent or dream up an image of a specific person, (with age, gender, economic stratum, job, preferences) or a company (with industry type, size, location) who would buy your product or service.

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Each session contains a list of required readings from one or more of the three startup books included: The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, 3Weeks to Startup, and The Art of the Start.  Click on the session reading links below to see the reading list for that session:

Session 1: Course Introduction
Session 2: Concept Kick Start
Session 3: Business Basics
Session 4: Market Analysis
Session 5: Marketing Strategy
Session 6: Basic Financials, Part 1
Session 7: Basic Financials, Part 2
Session 8: Getting Financed
Session 9: Building a Team
Session 10: The Web
Session 11: Cash and Taxes
Session 12: Plans and Pitches

OTHER RESOURCES:

In addition to the required readings, online resources are provided for each session. If an online resource is required for a session, it will be referenced in the Required Reading section. Otherwise, online resources are provided to give additional feedback and background information about the key points of discussion for the session, and are considered “viewing optional.”

Video Overview

This video shows the resources available to students (such as classroom handouts, in-class exercises and reading assignments). If you are interested in becoming an instructor, you will need to apply for instructor access first.

Software and Books

This curriculum requires Business Plan Pro business-planning software and three startup books, The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, 3 Weeks to Startup, and The Art of the Start. Check with your instructor to see if the software and books are included as part of your course registration, or if you will be required to purchase them separately. You will need the software and books before the first class session.

Course Sessions

Your course materials are divided into 12 sessions, with objectives, required reading and online resources listed by session. Links to the course sessions are provided in the navigation sidebar.

Objectives: Review the objectives to see what will be covered in the session.

Reading: You are expected to complete reading assignments before coming to class; required reading helps prepare you for in-class discussions.

Online Resources: Links to online resources provide additional research and background information which support the content covered during a session. If a video or other online resource is required, it will be included in the required reading section. Otherwise, the online resources are provided as optional supporting content.

Student Handouts: Your instructor will be working with PowerPoint presentations during class. Student handouts of each slide presentation have been saved as .pdf files. You can download the handouts to look ahead to the next class or catch up on sessions you missed.

Student Resources

Assignments: The assignments link in the sidebar gives you the detailed page view of all assignments. Your assignments will be completed using a custom business plan outline, created in Business Plan Pro, which correlates with the plan-as-you-go approach to writing a business plan. Click here for instructions on how to download and save this custom outline file for your assignments.

Online Resources: This sidebar link gives you a detailed page view of all online resources by session.

Readings: This sidebar link gives you a detailed page view of all required reading by session.

Here are a few more links to help you get going:

• Working with the Business Plan Pro custom starting file.
• Information about PDF files.
• Tips and help about business writing by Tim Berry.