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• Introduction
• Idea Generation
• Market Research
• Marketing & Branding
• Financial Literacy
• Financial Literacy II
• The Pitch & Storytelling
• Business Planning
• Legal Considerations

We’re putting it together, now. Let’s get started. This lesson will help you think through the information and learning you’ve gathered throughout this course and how to plug it in to your business plan documents. You can also use the materials in the YEP workbook to help with this!

The cover page is just that – a cover page. Put your business name on the front cover in the largest font, maybe size 40 or so, the date in a slightly smaller font, and your name and contact information (email or phone number) in the slightly smaller font, as well. Note: Some folks might include a table of contents with the page numbers for the next sections. That is optional! If you were going to include a table of contents, be sure to have your pages numbered, starting with the page of contents, and include the page numbers with their corresponding section names.

In the executive summary, we’re using the information you organized in the Pitch/Art of Storytelling Unit to offer what your business does in one powerful paragraph. You might also revisit this summary after you’ve completed the rest of the plan to offer a very brief summary (potentially using AI tools) of the rest of the document in one or two additional paragraphs. It should never exceed one page.

This is your business story. We are always trying to be short and sweet when we work on the business plan. We suggest writing your first draft and then reviewing to see how you can make it any shorter and more focused/powerful. Here you discuss:

Where did this business idea come from?

What problem does your business solve? Here you are addressing the value proposition.  The value proposition is a clear and simple statement that explains why customers should choose your product or service instead of someone else’s. It answers the question: “What makes your business special?” A value proposition grabs attention and quickly tells customers why they should care about your business.

Your value proposition shows how your product or service is different (and better) than competitors It can make selling easier, because when customers understand your value, they are more likely to buy. It also should help guide your business decisions by helping you to stay focused on what makes your business unique.

How do you write a value proposition? Try this formula:

“We help [target customer] solve [the problem] by providing [your solution] in a way that [makes you unique].”

HC/DC’s value proposition might look like: “We help people of all ages in our community to access more love and goodness by providing a high-quality hot cocoa or frozen hot chocolate in a way that in a personalized delivery experience that uses local ingredients to bring you our very own Nana’s hot chocolate.

Other examples of a value proposition from some big-name brands:

• Apple iPhone: “A smartphone that combines beautiful design with powerful technology to make your life easier.”
• Nike: “High-performance athletic gear that helps athletes push their limits and look great doing it.”
• A Local Bakery: “Fresh, homemade pastries baked daily with natural ingredients—just like Nana used to make!”

Include a mission and vision statement. A vision statement is your north start, your guiding light! In a perfect world, without any complications, what would be achieved or, what would be the outcome of the impact your business on the world? A mission statement is how you will accomplish the vision. Taking HC/DC as an example:

• Vision statement: Everyone in my community will have access to the same love and comfort in hot cocoa form that my Nana made for me, which will create more good vibes and willingness to support one another.
• Mission statement: By hand-delivering one mug of cocoa or frozen hot chocolate at a time, we offer the personal experience of love and community commitment to your wellbeing made with our beloved Nana’s recipe.

What are you selling? Discuss your products and/or services and what makes it unique!

• Remember to discuss your prices, too. How did you decide on pricing? This is a place for summary so you’re not trying to show all your math. Instead, you’re offering a summary of how you made decisions, using some numbers, as helpful. This might look like:
• Each cup of cocoa sells for $2. After considering the costs of ingredients and supplies, the costs that competitors charge for similar products, we felt $2 was a fair price that will still make sure we can earn a profit by the end of the first year.
• What do day-to-day plans look like? How will you operate the business on a daily basis? What needs done every day/month/year?
• Who are the business partners you already have on board? Are working to bring on board? What makes them important or meaningful partners? What’s the back-up plan if you can’t acquire additional partners?
• Will you hire additional employees? Why? How many? What roles will people have on your team?
• What is your legal structure? Are you an LLC? Sole Proprietor, Cooperative? Etc.
• What are your short and long-term goals for the business? How will you know when you’ve accomplished them?

Remember when we discussed identifying our target audience and analyzing our competition? How we had to find a sweet spot between what others are offering, responding to our customer needs, and solving our business problem? This is where we use it! This section of the business plan should offer in plain words that are also short and sweet:

• Who are your customers? How did you identify them?
• Provide an overview of your analysis of the competition and how you’ll find your edge to attract and maintain customers
• Discuss how the market research contributes to your accomplishing the short and/or long-term goals you outlined in Section 2.

One of the ways you might represent the competitive advantage that your business has is using the SWOT analysis you created and creating one for your competitors. Competitive advantage is a unique feature or strategy that differentiates a business from competitors, improving market position

Let’s think it through: Who are your competitors? What do they do well? (Their strengths) Where do they fall short? (Their weaknesses) How can your business be different and better? (Your competitive advantage) As you consider strengths and weakness of your competitors, consider:

• What are they selling? How much do they charge? Where do they sell (online, in stores, both)?
• What do customers like about them? Check reviews, social media. What complaints do customers have? (Long wait times, high prices, poor service?)
• Now, as yourself: Do you offer better quality? Do you provide faster service? Is your customer service better? What are you offering that no one else does?

Here you will lay out your plan for how to get the word out to your customers about your product/service and how to access it. This is the section that you developed your social media, website, newspaper ads, or word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

• Your brand/logo and how you will use this brand
• What kinds of marketing will you use? (social media, word-of-mouth, newspaper ads, et.c)
• Do you have a website? What is the goal of the website?
• Mention any partners you have that are also points of sale. For example, remember HC/DC’s partnership with the local bakery!?
• Discuss how the marketing and branding contributes to your accomplishing the short and/or long-term goals you outlined in Section Two.

This is a very important section of the business plan. It is important because this section is often used to help potential investors understand why and how they fit into your business plan. There should be four clear sub-sections to the financial plan:

The ask: How much are you asking for from this particular investor? What kind of investment are you asking for? Is it going to be a loan that you pay back? A capital investment that you will match with shares/percentages of your future profits? We strongly suggest updating this section of your business plan for each different kind of investor such as a bank, private investor, potential partner (like the local bakery!), etc.

• Who are additional partners/investors?

Start-up costs in total: How much money you need to start and what you’ll spend it on. Could be helpful to make a list here with bullet points rather than writing a paragraph. If you’re paying additional employees, be sure to include this information.

• Do you need to plan for licensing costs, insurance, etc?

Revenue and profit: How much money you’ll earn and how much of your earnings are profit. Include your timeframe for earning profits and who will be included in profit shares, such as other investors that have already contributed.

Budgeting basics: Offering a simple version of your budget tables can be helpful here to create a visual for the words about the math.