MGT 340 - Chapter 10 Study Guide (2023-2024) PDF

Chapter 10: Planning for Entrepreneurs Dr. Kipp A. Krukowski MGT 340 – Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial Planning • Process of envisioning the future of the business • Planning pushes you to move forward and take action • A plan helps you organize those actions in some way Pl...

Chapter 10: Planning for Entrepreneurs Dr. Kipp A. Krukowski MGT 340 – Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial Planning • Process of envisioning the future of the business • Planning pushes you to move forward and take action • A plan helps you organize those actions in some way Plan Types Business Model Canvas Business Model Canvas • Entire business is depicted on one page by filling in nine blocks of the business model • Helpful in visualizing how all parts of the business work together • Useful in identifying gaps in business idea Lean Canvas • BMC alternative designed for startups Lean Canvas Plan Types Business Brief • Concise, professional • 2-3 pages in length • Requires a bit more detail and writing • Use with investors, advisors, other stakeholders Plan Types Feasibility Study • Tool that allows entrepreneurs to test the possibilities of ideas • Focuses on the size of the market, the suppliers, distributors, and the skills of the entrepreneur • Entrepreneurs can assess if they have the time, energy, abilities, and resources • Professional document, 10 pages in length • Use with team members, maybe early investors • “Go/No Go” Decision Plan Types Pitch Deck • Presentation highlighting elements found in a feasibility study and a business plan • Often called the “launch plan” • Purposes include: – Get next meeting with potential investor – Apply to incubator program – Win competition – Get funding • Replaced business plan in many venues • No strict rule for length or style (often 10-20 slides) Plan Types Business Plan • Most formal planning document • Traditional investors and bankers require • Always a work in progress • Usually consists of 20 to 40 pages (or more) • Useful for established companies (poststartup) with history of data and operations Tips for Plan Content • Remove fluff • Specify your target market and how you will penetrate • Be realistic, outline challenges, risks • Focus on competition, their strengths and how you will compete • Explain how your product or service will be delivered • Avoid exaggerated hockey stick projections • Avoid typos, grammatical mistakes, and inconsistencies • Be honest about weaknesses and how you will address • Use visuals 8 Questions to Ask 1. What is your business and how does it add value? – Write a concept statement: Written representation of your vision – Include all features of your product or service, potential problems, and target market 2. Who is your customer? 3. How big is the market? 4. How will you enter the market? – Describe needs the product or service fulfils, problems being solved – Evidence for potential customers 8 Questions to Ask 5. What do you know about the industry? – Research completed 6. Who is your competition? Why are you better? 7. Who is on your team and what do they bring to the table? 8. What are your financial projections? – Concise forecast of future revenues The Business Plan Debate • Value of writing business plans can be debated • Business plan is the most complex and timeconsuming document to create • Entrepreneurs take action to find answers • Formal business plans have their place, but may not necessarily be relevant to the new entrepreneur Pitch Deck Examples • Airbnb: http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/45768374 • LinkedIn: http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/27367069 • Square: http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/36699885 3 Key Points • Match the appropriate planning tool for your purpose. • Avoid analysis to paralysis. It is better to be taking action to gain customer insight than hypothesizing by writing planning documents. • Though you may not be professionally preparing some of the details into a formal document like a business plan, that doesn’t mean that the information is not relevant or important. Questions? Dr. Kipp A. Krukowski MGT 340 – Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship