· Title page
· Table of Contents
· Executive Summary
· Company Description
o From SBA.gov: “Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve. Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.”

· Service or Product Line
o Describe what you are going to sell, pricing, and how it benefits your customers.

· Market Research
o Summarize important industry information (you can use content from your Industry Analysis here).
o Information on market demand, market size, economic indicators, location of customers and business, market saturation, barriers to entry, and typical product or service pricing.
o Include research on the competition. Who are the main players? What are their strategies? How is your business different?
o Information on your target demographic.
o SWOT Analysis · Marketing and Sales
o Who are your customers? How will you sell to them?
o From SBA.gov: “There’s no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs. Your goal in this section is to describe how you’ll attract and retain customers. You’ll also describe how a sale will actually happen.”

· Operational/Implementation Plan—From Business Writing Scenarios, p. 187:
o What is your timeline for setting up, opening, and growing the company?
o How will you obtain needed supplies, manufacture your product, or create your service?
o How will you respond to customer inquiries or problems?
o How will you repair or replace your product if needed?
o What size and type of physical facility will your company need? What will this cost?
o This section also explains the daily operation of your business, including its location, equipment, personnel and processes
· Management and Organization
o Who is behind your business? What are their roles?
o Bios—build credibility
o Org Chart

· Start-Up Expenses
o From SCORE: In this section, detail the expenses involved in opening for business and how much capital you’ll need. (Do not include ongoing expenses after your business opens; those are listed in the Financial Plan.) Estimating startup expenses as accurately as possible helps you gather enough startup capital.

· Financial Plan
o From SCORE: Your financial plan is perhaps the most important element of your business plan. Lenders and investors will review it in detail. Developing your financial plan helps you set financial goals for your startup and assess its financing needs. Include the following:
12-Month Profit and Loss Projection
Cash Flow Projection
Projected Balance Sheets
Use of Capital

· Conclusion
o Summarize the most persuasive pieces of your proposal here. This is your last chance to “pitch” your idea.
· Appendices (optional)
· References

Use our course materials to determine what content is best suited for each of these sections. Use research to support each section and remember to be persuasive. Feel free to include charts, diagrams, tables and other visual elements to augment your proposal. How can you convince your readers that this is a viable business in the San Diego region?

Submit your Business Plan as a PDF (one submission per group). Upload your document to Blackboard along with a PDF of the slides used for your pitch deck. Your business plan must be at least 3500 words.

2. The Pitch (presentation): Your group will prepare a brief pitch based on the business plan you have written. Imagine you have five minutes to present your business to a potential investor. What will you tell him or her about your business? How can you be persuasive in just five minutes? Each group member will have one minute to present their portion of the presentation. Develop a pitch deck with at least five slides. You will submit these slides in PDF format with the rest of your Business Plan. Project #3 will be evaluated using the following criteriaTopic Proposal
· Does the memo adhere to standard design conventions?
· Is the writing clear, concise, and direct? Does the writing use a proper business tone and style?
· Are all components outlined in the assignment instructions included?
· Is the memo organized clearly with headings and subheadings?
· Is the memo revised, edited, and proofread? Industry Analysis
· Does the report adhere to design and formatting conventions for a short report?
· Are all elements listed in the assignment instructions included? Has each been addressed thoroughly?
· Does the report use standard business tone and style?
· Is the report organized clearly with headings and subheadings? Is it easy to use? Easy to navigate?
· Is the report revised, edited, and proofread?
· Does the report consider the rhetorical situation?
· Is it clear how the information presented in your report will help you develop your business plan? Business Plan
· Does the proposal adhere to design and formatting conventions for a business plan?
· Are all elements listed in the assignment instructions included? Has each been addressed thoroughly? Are these sections each supported with research?
· Does the business plan use standard business tone and style?
· Is the report organized clearly with headings and subheadings? Is it easy to use? Easy to navigate?
· Does the plan help build your business’ brand?
· Is the business plan persuasive? Have you appealed to your audience?
· Is the report revised, edited, and proofread?
· Does the report consider the rhetorical situation?
· Does the proposal use at least one visual?
Pitch· Are all members prepared, practiced, and polished?
· Are there at least five slides to present? Are the slides well developed and proofread?
· Does each member present for one minute?
· Is the pitch organized, persuasive, clear, and polished?
· Does the pitch take the rhetorical situation into account?
· Does the pitch make use of ethos, pathos, and logos?