Company Description?

What business will you be in?

What will you do?

Describe your industry?

To whom will you market and sell your products?

Where you want your business to be in six months, one year and two years?

Describe your most important company strengths and core competencies. What
factors will make the company succeed?

What do you think your major competitive strengths will be?

What background experience, skills, and strengths do you personally bring to the
business?

Describe in depth your products or services.

What are the pricing, fee, or leasing structures of your products or services?

List all of your major products or services.

Identify your targeted customers, their characteristics, and their geographic
locations, otherwise known as their demographics.

What products and companies will compete with you?

List your major competitors.

How will your products or services compare with the competition?

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 low-cost methods to get the most out of your promotional

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 come to your place of business).

Promotional Budget

How much will you spend on the items listed above?

Explain your method or methods of setting prices.

Compare your prices with those of the competition. Are they higher, lower, the
same? Why?

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

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

Who does which tasks?

I. Management and Organization

Who will manage the business on a day-to-day basis? What experience does
that person bring to the business?

Brochures and advertising materials

Industry studies

Blueprints and plans

Maps and photos of location

Magazine or other articles

Detailed lists of equipment owned or to be purchased

Copies of leases and contracts

For Raising Capital

What initial capital do you have?

Amount of loan

How the funds will be used

What this will accomplish—how will it make the business stronger?

Requested repayment terms (number of years to repay). You will probably
not have much negotiating room on interest rate but may be able to
negotiate a longer repayment term, which will help cash flow.

Collateral offered, and a list of all existing liens against collateral

Service Businesses

Service businesses sell intangible products. They are usually more flexible
than other types of businesses, but they also have higher labor costs and
generally very little in fixed assets.

What are the key competitive factors in this industry?

Your prices

Methods used to set prices

Sales projections and funding required

System of production management

Once you answer all of these questions, you just might be ready to get started in your new venture. Tell me what you think? Are there any questions on my list that you wished you had asked yourself in the beginning? Did I miss any questions?

- Frances Harder