BUSINESS PLAN GATHERING TOOL

BUSINESS PLAN GATHERING TOOL

1. NAME AND TYPE OF BUSINESS
What is the name of the business?
Has it been incorporated/registered?
If yes, when was it incorporated?

MonthDayYear
If no, when will it be incorporated?

MonthDayYear
What kind of organization?

Sole proprietorshipPartnershipPrivate Limited LiabilityFamily Business

If it is a partnership form of business, who are the partners?

	Name of Partners	Position	% Of Shares Owned
1
2
3

State the goals/vision purpose of the business:
State the anticipated form of finance the owner wants to adopt:
Give a brief history since the establishment of the business:
Type of business:
What is the estimated total demand (in naira) per month for the product/service?

Give a sales profile of the top five customers below:

	Customer Name	Total Purchase Volume/Month	Size of total current market %	Sales in Naira
1
2
3
4
5

2. DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
Describe briefly the quality features of the products/services rendered/to be rendered by the business:

	Product types/Brands	Qty/Volume Per Annum	Price	Competitive Advantage
1
2
3

What are the distinctive features that enable the product/service to compete effectively in the market?
State briefly any negative perception about the product/service:
Given the right conditions and factors how can you better improve the products/services to beat competitors?

List four top competitive or substitute products/services in the location where this business is situated:

	Name of Product	Competitive or Substitute	Distinct Quality/Advantage	Price/Unit
1
2
3
4

What will position your product/service to gain advantage over the competition? Describe these qualities or benefits:

3. CUSTOMERS' PROFILE
Who are the customers?
Categorise the customers as:
Others:
What is the estimated total size of the current total market for the product/service in each location? (Explain specifically)
Where are the customers most located e.g. Urban, Rural, Ikeja, Ifo, Sango, Sagamu, and Ijebu-Ode?

Complete the table below:

	Name of Driver (Top 5)	Vehicle Reg. No.	Credit or Cash/Sales or Both	Anticipated Qty or Vol. purchased per month specify	Price (N)
1
2
3
4
5

4. COMPETITORS' PROFILE

Complete the competitors's table below (top five) in similar category as your organisation:

	Names	Location	Qty. Sold per Month	Price	% of Total Market Share	Strengths	Weakness	Operating Methods
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Other relevant remarks:

Describe competitors' attributes in terms of personnel, packaging, terms of credits and methods of selling, inventory level and quality of products or services:

	Competitors' Names	Location	Terms of Credit (Cash/Credit/Both)	Sales Method	Price	Quality of Product/Service	Promotion Method
1
2
3
4
5

For quality of product/service rank ratio out of: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor:
What are the key challenges likely to be posed by the competitors?

5. LOCATION
First choice (name):
Second choice (name):
What kind of location is suitable for the business?
Why do you recommend the above form of location:

Describe briefly the suitability of the chosen location using the parameters below:

	Top 2	Traffic Density	Parking Space	Rent Payable	Proximity to Customer
1
2
3

Are there opportunities for future expansion in the above location?
Explain with reasons for the choice made (1st Location):
Explain with reasons for the choice made (2nd Location):
Describe the nature, type of similar/competing businesses in the location stated above:
Where are most competitors located? (1st location)
Where are most competitors located? (2nd location)
Where are most competitors located? (3rd location)
What factors make the above location suitable for the business?

6. PRICING
What type of payment strategy will be adopted for this business and why? E.g. Down payment, Cash and Carry etc.
List the factors that inform the prices to be charged below and how these prices compare with those of major competitors?

7. PERSONNEL

Who are the key management members?

	Personnel Identity	Qualification & Experience	Key Job Description	Responsible To Who	Salary	Number Required
1
2
3
4
5

8. MATERIALS

What materials are needed to run the business?

	Name of Material	Level of Inventory for One Month	Unit Price	Local or Imported	Location
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

State any likely difficulties that may be encountered in the procurement of the above materials:

9. EQUIPMENT

What equipments are needed to run the business?

	Name of Equipments	Qty	Capacity	Unit Price	Local or Imported or Both
1
2
3
4
5
6

What are the likely difficulties that may be encountered in the procurement of these equipment?
How can the above problems be overcome?

10. SALES FORECAST

What are the anticipated sales forecasts, monthly for the first one year?

	Month	Product	Unit Price	Anticipated Volume Sale (Worst Case Scenario)	Anticipated Volume Sale (Best Case Scenario)	Total (in N) (Worst Case Scenario)	Total (in N) (Best Case Scenario)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Explain the assumptions made in the forecast (E.g. Steady supply of raw materials, No. of customers per period):

11. START UP COST (Rank cost needed to take off)

	Names of Items	Quantity	Description	Cost (N)
1
2
3
4
Total

State 3 critical factors that can hinder the success of the business:
State how the above factors can be mitigated/reduced:
Should be Empty: